Be Careful When Offering Incentives to Tenants

Question: “Due to the crazy laws in California, I have to give my tenant a 60-day notice to move. But I’d like to get her out sooner by letting her skip the last month’s rent. Good idea?” Answer: No and yes. Offering an incentive is a good idea, but never give a tenant an incentive
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Should You Sell Your Rental to Your Tenant?

Question: “Hi Gary. I want to sell my rental and my tenant is interested in buying. Can you handle that for me?” Answer: Yes, I’d be happy to. But first, excuse me if I’m a Negative Nancy or, if you’re a Saturday Night Live fan, Debbie Downer. In my 30 years selling homes for clients,
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5 Reasons to Invest in Real Estate Over Stocks

Question: “I think I know what you’re going to say, but do you recommend investing in stocks or real estate?” Answer: Not being a stock expert, you don’t really want me advising you about stocks. But I can share with you 5 advantages that real estate has over stocks: 1. You can personally impact the
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Can the Seller Cancel if They Didn’t Sign Escrow Instructions?

Question: “I got a good deal on a little condo that would make a great rental. Now the seller is trying to cancel saying he never signed escrow instructions so we don’t have a deal. I’ve asked my agent if that’s correct and he thinks the seller is wrong but isn’t sure. The seller can’t
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Can You Fix and Flip with a 1031 Exchange?

Question: “Hi Gary. I have a question about real estate investing. Can you buy and flip fixer uppers doing a 1031 exchange?” Answer: No. If you buy a property and sell it a short time later without “holding it for investment” a sufficient time (probably 1-2 years), the IRS will likely consider it “dealer property”
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How to Screen Potential Tenants

Question: “We’re in escrow buying a couple of condos as investments. We want to make sure we get good tenants. Can you suggest any tips for screening potential tenants?” Answer: I used to put on a seminar called, “Purchasing Duplex, Triplexes, & Fourplexes as a Home or Investment.” Here are some of the tenant-screening strategies
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What to Watch Out for When Buying Investment Property

Question: “I want to buy an apartment building but I’m a little afraid the agent or seller will cook the books and my return won’t be what they say it is. What should I look out for?” Answer: You’re smart to be cautious. Here’s a list of things I look for when I buy or
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Don’t Leave the Loan in Your Name After a Sale

Question: (This is actually from an agent interested in buying one of my listings for himself.) “I’m interested in buying your fourplex. What if we took over the payments without telling the lender – never had the experience of lender calling the loan due – they just want to get paid. And we could put
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Showings with Tenants in Multi-Unit Properties

Question: “Hi Gary. I want to sell my triplex and was wondering how you handle showings with the tenants?” Answer: Typically, once you move from single family to multiple units, the showings are handled as “show with offer.” This is done for two reasons: Out of fear that if the tenant knew the property was
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How Much Do Property Managers Charge?

Question: “I just inherited a couple of rental properties from my dad and don’t want to manage them myself. Can you give me an idea of what property managers charge?” Answer: Happy to. Depending on the property, managers usually charge 5-10% of the rent. Of course, that’s for their services only and doesn’t cover expenses
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