Welcome back from the wonderful holidays. Saw all family and grandkids.
Now it is back to work. It has been a challenging year with all the foreclosures. Lots of new buyers for the investment properties. I might mention that investors especially from out of town hire a buyer’s agent rather than a seller’s agent. The seller’s agent must represent the seller. The buyer’s agent represents your interests. I have written a book that will be available soon that guides buyers on what not to buy. A friend of mine that is a mortgage banker has partnered with buyers of short sales. However, they will not buy condos. In my book one of the investments I recommend against is condos for rentals. Experienced renters avoid them because associations don’t like renters. The renters feel like they are being spied upon. If they are coming from apartment living condos remind them of apartments. They are looking for detached living such as a home.
I am cancelling my comments service. Too many fruitcakes and I received fruitcake for Christmas. However, you can email me at propertymanager@arbourpm.com
Happy day! Old year is coming to an end. We lost many accounts because of foreclosures. Our clients owed more than the property was worth. They felt it would take years for values to equal mortgage amount.
You can’t blame them from quiting to drag a dead horse.
I did read some good news for Sacramento Ca. The organization that recurits new business to locate here announced that they have more inquires from companies exploring the possiblility of locating in Sacramento then at any other time. Two new companies are close to making the decision to locate here. This means jobs. Sacramento lost more than 45,000 jobs during this great recession.
I feel 2010 will be better so- HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!
All investments require management. Some require less than other investments. Real estate is more management-intensive than most other investments. You can do it yourself or hire a professional property manager.
I encourage new investors to try managing by themselves for a while to better understand what the professional has to handle.
Many of our new clients are former DIY owners who are frustrated and exhausted from handling details, demands, and personality conflicts with their customers, the tenants.
FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS
Let us discuss the financial requirements of being a landlord. One of my colleagues made a profound statement in a class we were attending: “DON’T OWN REAL ESTATE UNLESS YOU CAN AFFORD IT.” What did he mean? Most rental income won’t cover emergencies such as replacing a roof, major plumbing problems, or electrical, air conditioner, and heater failures. Other expenses are reserves for rent uptime and advertising. Some experts say that you should allow about $1,300 annually for maintenance of a single-family home. Depending on age, new homes would be less while older homes would be more.
An excerpt from my new book HOUSE INVESTORS’ MANUAL
