From the first decision to invest in real estate to actually buying your first rental property, there is a lot of work to be done. This task may be daunting for the first-time investor. Owning property is a tough business and the field is peppered with
Conduct a smoke detector battery exchange twice a year at all properties. Keep alog of the exchange with tenant’s acknowledgement. Perform routine maintenance and have
DetailsNew York seems to have more than its fair share of knuckleheads. Paul Krugman and Tom Friedman are both stalwart columnists in The New York Times. And there’s staff writer James Surowiecki at the New Yorker magazine. More about that in a minute… [First] we return to wondering about money. Not that we care especially…
DetailsMany landlords have a “My way or the highway” attitude, and THAT attitude limits their income. We MUST be in tune with our residents’ thinking and life-needs so we can
Value means different things to different people. To a banker, loan value is determined by whether or not the building is likely to generate enough income to pay its expenses and meet debt coverage ratio (DCR) guidelines. It meets value or it doesn’t. An investor might have additional perspectives. While any mortgaged investment must first…
DetailsOn April 9, 2013, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance making it mandatory to seismically retrofit approximately 2,800 soft-story buildings, those defined as wood-frame residential structures with five or more units and three or more stories with weak first stories. There are roughly 4,300 such buildings. Owners are required to pay a…
DetailsQuestion 1: What are the requirements for when and where to install CO detectors in two-story units? Answer 1: In 2010,California enacted the Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act. Among other things, it requires the installation of carbon monoxide detectors in “in each existing dwelling unit having a fossil fuel burning heater or appliance, fireplace,…
DetailsOn April 25th, 2013 the Department of Housing and Urban Development issued an update letter FHEO-2013-01 regarding service and assistance animals with direct application to residential housing. This letter tied together
I believe that the “Systematic Code Enforcement Program” is a SCAM and that is why landlords in the City of Los Angeles must come together and become proactive to get rid of this very bad LAHD law/policy. The LAHD claims they have the legal authority to enter your apartment building and go through all your…
DetailsSolo 401k is the ultimate retirement plan that offers powerful advantages for real estate investors. Solo 401k is also known as the Individual 401k or Owner-Only 401k and is an IRS-approved Qualified Retirement Plan (QRP) that has been simplified for the