I Know You Have Questions!

I know that people read this Blog as the stats show pageviews, clicks, and RSS subscribers. I don’t (think I) know any of you, but thank you for reading. I find most of my topics from interactions with my customers, other investors, and other real estate agents. I really enjoy working with real estate investors and especially enjoy helping them be better owners and landlords.

But now I want to hear from you. Have I missed a topic? Is there something you would like me to discuss? Are you running into the same obstacle or problem in your own business that continues to frustrate you?

Drop me an email to scott(at)ficekinvestments dot com (this syntax keeps the spammers away) or better yet, comment on this post and let everyone hear what you are thinking.

Thanks again and I look forward to hearing from you and posting many more topics.

Scott

6 comments

#1John GallNovember 27, 2007, 10:29 pm

Great Blog! I have a few questions, feel free to use what seems worth answering.

1: Aside from watching asking prices for rents on places like Craigslist is there a good way to determine the fair market value in a given city or area for a property?

2: If you could purchase only one property would you choose a 4 bedroom and skip 3 bedrooms or consider all looking for the best deal with the best cash flow or overall appreciation potential.

3: Will a 5BR rent much higher than a 4BR given roughly the same overall finished square footage of the property.

4: If you had $45k to invest, would you buy one property with 20% down to get some cash flow or buy two with 10% down and break even on cash flow or have a small negative cash flow?

5: Are any suburbs in particular gold mines for rentals?

6: Are outer suburbs with inexpensive newer housing stock like Otsego and St Michael, Albertville still viable for rentals for single family homes?

Thanks for your consideration.

John

#2Scott FicekNovember 27, 2007, 10:37 pm

Great questions John. I will tackle each one in post. Thanks for the comment!

#3John GallNovember 28, 2007, 3:19 pm

One More:

1: Of all the types of rental propety, is there one type you’d recommend for a first timer?

#4John GallDecember 2, 2007, 11:06 am

Another question I thought of. When screening a tennant, if they have bad credit but a solid rental history would you rent to them? Do you recommend credit checks or focus more on criminal and rental history. Hope your weekend was a good one.

#5Scott FicekDecember 3, 2007, 9:16 pm

Thanks John, weekend was good. I have 3 kids, ages 5 and under so weekends are not what they used to be!!

I initially answered your question in this comment, but I think it is better as a post (it needs more attention than a comment).

#6John GallMarch 14, 2008, 9:09 pm

Thought of another question related to late charges. What is normal for late charges? I charge $40.00 but i’m not sure where I came up with that. Because mine kicks in on the 5th, my renter often pays on the 4th which is past the desired 1st or earlier . So with this in mind i’m wondering if the late fee if paid along with late rent a few days after might not be a good thing. And if so maybe I structure my leases a bit differently to encourage paying higher rent for those who want to pay say anywhere from the 5th to the 10th. I wonder if it might not help cash flow to say make the rent paid by the 3rd $1550.00 then instead of calling it late after the 5th, make a tier and call it a rent option or something and say from the 4th-7th $1600.00 and 7th-10th $1625.00 and then after the 10th it’s late with another $40.00 as the actual late fee. Then after the 15th the eviction starts. This might create a situation where your tennant if paying consistantly chooses to pay the higher rent because it suits their lifestyle. I’d assume as long as the lease is written properly this would be legal. Thoughts?

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