Podcasts about ccnr

While demand has come off the peak, we still don't anticipate seeing a dramatic increase in supply anytime soon. So how exactly do you get your offers accepted in a low supply environment? In today's podcast, Jeff and Phil share five strategies you can use to win when inventory is low. Key #1 to getting your offer accepted is agent-to-agent communication. Your communication with the listing agent is the most important thing you can do to get an offer accepted. This is tougher with teams as you may not know the right person on the team that manages offers for the client. It's important to sell your client and the ability of your client to close on the property. One thing to note is that your credibility comes into factor here. If you're new and haven't sold many houses, you may not have any (credibility). The other agent is going to be sizing you up as they form an opinion of you and your expertise. The offers we're seeing get accepted are when agents communicate early and often. This is why it's important to build rapport with the listing agent pre-sale. Be respectful with their time, when you communicate, have your questions ready. Key #2: Be sure it's received. Make sure your offer is actually received by the person negotiating the offer. Key #3: Make sure your offer is competitive. It's hard to know what competitive is. Sometimes no feedback is feedback. It could mean you weren't aggressive enough. The agent usually cares about “is this deal going to happen?”. Your offer has to be substantially over the others. Number four on the list of ways to get your offers accepted in a low supply market ties in with number 3. If you don't execute all of the other strategies above, #4 doesn't matter. Key #4: Terms of the deal. Contingencies in the contract include title, HOA, inspection, appraisal, CCNR, SPDS, financing, and leaseback. These are all contingencies that can be waived. When the buyer wants out, you can use any of these contingencies. We have a buyer's agent that's representing a buy. The agent presented the buyer advisory. The buyer went home and looked up the sex preditor's list in their area. They submitted the inspection but they happen to be in an HOA that got documents out early (which isn't always the case).  The buyers' inspection notice was submitted leaving financing, but this was a cash deal. We signed the SPDS and our buyer waived the appraisal. Then they found out after the inspection period ended (because they submitted the BINSR) there was a sexual predator in their neighborhood and they wanted out. We were looking for ways to get out with the buyer, going through each of the contingencies. That's why this is a way to get your offer accepted. You need to get your client to eliminate as many of the contingencies as possible so that you give certainty to the seller that you're going to close. The strongest way to win is to offer your earnest money hard, at acceptance, for whatever your client can allow (even if just a portion). We don't see many deals where they're waiving the earnest money upfront. This shows certainty that you're not going to cancel. Higher earnest money influences sellers. Most buyers don't lose their earnest money because the contracts are written in favor of the buyer. There are so many ways to get out that it's rare it gets lost. It's our job as quality agents, that the higher number influences sellers. If you have higher earnest money, it does make you look stronger, even if you have 4 or 5 contingencies. The final key for getting your offers accepted in a low supply market is educating the consumer pre-offer. The first time you ever meet a client (at the very first meeting) is when you need to educate the buyer. This is understanding what the buyer is using for their sources of information, and whether those sources are credible or not. This might be asking the buyer, “where do you get your information on the market”? You need to dig and find out how they got to...

This Week’s Featured Interviews: Radiation/Radioactivity – it’s all nuclear madness, no matter what you call it.  But here, two experts give us background on each term, as well as some of how the nuclear industry does not want us to know or talk about any of it. Dr. Gordon Edwards, a Canadian scientist, mathematician, and...

durée : 00:04:15 - Chroniques littorales - par : Jose Manuel Lamarque - La Commission Centrale pour la Navigation du Rhin est l'organisation intergouvernementale la plus ancienne au monde, 1815, son siège est à Strasbourg au Palais du Rhin

How We Created Pro Land Investors of Individuals with Zero Experience (LA 1317) Transcript: Steven Butala: Steve and Jill here. Jill DeWit: Hello. Steven Butala: Welcome to The Land Academy Show, entertaining land investment talk. I'm Steven Jack Butala. Jill DeWit: I'm Jill Dewitt broadcasting from sunny southern California. Steven Butala: Today Jill and I talk about how we created professional land investors for individuals with zero experience. I am just as intrigued and excited to hear about how we've done this. Jill DeWit: Because you don't know? Steven Butala: No, I don't. I don't know. Jill DeWit: You sit there going "I don't know what happened." That's hilarious. You have no idea. Steven Butala: I didn't. Jill DeWit: I don't know, I just threw it up and see if it would stick and it stuck. Steven Butala: That's part of it. Jill DeWit: Okay. Steven Butala: Before we get into it, let's take a question posted by one of our members on the landinvestors.com online community. It's free. Jill DeWit: Matt wrote, "I've had some properties with funky old CCNRs," which is conditions, covenants, and restrictions. Steven Butala: Good work, Jill. Jill DeWit: Thank you. I happened to have lived... Steven Butala: Makes me want to- Jill DeWit: What that is, is if you live in an HOA Homeowner's Association or a POA Property Owners Association, they will often have these old rules and things about paint color and stuff like that. He says, okay, so he's got these properties and they're from the fifties that say things like, you can't build without passing in the architectural review. I've heard of that, and almost certainly the review board is gone... That's hilarious... and also they've all died. They also don't have the... If the review board doesn't reply within 30 days, then presumed it's okay. Type of language that bails you out of the defunct CCNR situation. It's hilarious. I also have a property that says a minimum of a hundred foot setback from the front, but the neighbor's house is 50 feet and was built after the CCNR took effect so it's not grandfathered. The same set of CCNR says, no pets. It's hilarious. Bottom line... This is so good. Steven Butala: Is this for land? Jill DeWit: Could you imagine? Steven Butala: No pets on your land. Jill DeWit: Right. "If I'm flipping the land and the CCNRs are from the fifties, can I presume that nobody is enforcing them and basically ignoring them? There are a few homes, not obeying the hundred foot setback and I guarantee someone in the subdivision has a pet. LOL. The properties are less than 30,000 market sales price." Well, here's my first point. Who wrote.. I'm going to say who wrote this, Matt. I've never read them. Did you need to go that far into it? Was there really a question that somebody asked you? Steven Butala: This is probably on the acquisition side. He's buying it and he's got these CCNRs. Jill DeWit: Why are you getting this far into it? I guess I need... I mean, this is true, if there is an HOA and they still exist and they do have these weird restrictions, it is important to know the major ones. I'd know the major ones but then again, I'm wondering, based on what I'm reading here, if they're even still around? Are people still paying into it? Where does the money go? And who's answering the phone. I'm guessing it's long gone. Steven Butala: Here I have two examples of CCA, CCNRs or HOAs. Number one, I bought a bunch of property in New Mexico one time and I found out later it had a CCA, there was an HOA and I was like, "Oh my god, this is going to wreck this whole thing." The first thing I did... and you should too, Matt, everybody... is Google the thing, see if they exist, see if you can get a phone number and I did. I called them and it was a woman and I think she was cooking dinner at her home and said, "This is Jackie," or something. I said exactly what Matt said, "I bought all this property in this HOA. What's the deal?" She said, "Oh,

How We Created Pro Land Investors of Individuals with Zero Experience (LA 1317) Transcript: Steven Butala: Steve and Jill here. Jill DeWit: Hello. Steven Butala: Welcome to The Land Academy Show, entertaining land investment talk. I'm Steven Jack Butala. Jill DeWit: I'm Jill Dewitt broadcasting from sunny southern California. Steven Butala: Today Jill and I talk about how we created professional land investors for individuals with zero experience. I am just as intrigued and excited to hear about how we've done this. Jill DeWit: Because you don't know? Steven Butala: No, I don't. I don't know. Jill DeWit: You sit there going "I don't know what happened." That's hilarious. You have no idea. Steven Butala: I didn't. Jill DeWit: I don't know, I just threw it up and see if it would stick and it stuck. Steven Butala: That's part of it. Jill DeWit: Okay. Steven Butala: Before we get into it, let's take a question posted by one of our members on the landinvestors.com online community. It's free. Jill DeWit: Matt wrote, "I've had some properties with funky old CCNRs," which is conditions, covenants, and restrictions. Steven Butala: Good work, Jill. Jill DeWit: Thank you. I happened to have lived... Steven Butala: Makes me want to- Jill DeWit: What that is, is if you live in an HOA Homeowner's Association or a POA Property Owners Association, they will often have these old rules and things about paint color and stuff like that. He says, okay, so he's got these properties and they're from the fifties that say things like, you can't build without passing in the architectural review. I've heard of that, and almost certainly the review board is gone... That's hilarious... and also they've all died. They also don't have the... If the review board doesn't reply within 30 days, then presumed it's okay. Type of language that bails you out of the defunct CCNR situation. It's hilarious. I also have a property that says a minimum of a hundred foot setback from the front, but the neighbor's house is 50 feet and was built after the CCNR took effect so it's not grandfathered. The same set of CCNR says, no pets. It's hilarious. Bottom line... This is so good. Steven Butala: Is this for land? Jill DeWit: Could you imagine? Steven Butala: No pets on your land. Jill DeWit: Right. "If I'm flipping the land and the CCNRs are from the fifties, can I presume that nobody is enforcing them and basically ignoring them? There are a few homes, not obeying the hundred foot setback and I guarantee someone in the subdivision has a pet. LOL. The properties are less than 30,000 market sales price." Well, here's my first point. Who wrote.. I'm going to say who wrote this, Matt. I've never read them. Did you need to go that far into it? Was there really a question that somebody asked you? Steven Butala: This is probably on the acquisition side. He's buying it and he's got these CCNRs. Jill DeWit: Why are you getting this far into it? I guess I need... I mean, this is true, if there is an HOA and they still exist and they do have these weird restrictions, it is important to know the major ones. I'd know the major ones but then again, I'm wondering, based on what I'm reading here, if they're even still around? Are people still paying into it? Where does the money go? And who's answering the phone. I'm guessing it's long gone. Steven Butala: Here I have two examples of CCA, CCNRs or HOAs. Number one, I bought a bunch of property in New Mexico one time and I found out later it had a CCA, there was an HOA and I was like, "Oh my god, this is going to wreck this whole thing." The first thing I did... and you should too, Matt, everybody... is Google the thing, see if they exist, see if you can get a phone number and I did. I called them and it was a woman and I think she was cooking dinner at her home and said, "This is Jackie," or something. I said exactly what Matt said, "I bought all this property in this HOA. What's the deal?" She said, "Oh,

In this episode, we have Katrina Phillips from Investor HOA Services on to explain everything investors should know about investing in properties that are a part of HOAs.  --- Transcript   Tom: Greetings and welcome to The Remote Real Estate Investor. On today's episode, we have one of the most knowledgeable persons I know on HOA. We have Katrina Phillips, who's the founder and CEO of investor HOA services. So are you, you are interested in investing in a property that is in an HOA. This is a great episode to listen to. All right, let's do it.   Theme Song   Tom: Hey, Katrina. Thank you so much for jumping on with us.   Katrina: Thank you. Thank you so much for having me today. It's my favorite topic to discuss.   Tom: Perfect. Well, why don't we go ahead and start, give us a little bit of a background about yourself.   Katrina: So I started in the single family industry back in 2012. Prior to that, I was actually a contractor and had several properties that we bought refurbished and sold. And so I spent about 20 years in construction learning it from every aspect so that I can learn it from. And then I started working with American residential property and really develop their operating platform or was their first hire on their operations team. And people really hadn't done this in the past. The first multifamily, we were able to pull things from, but really we were writing the policies and procedures, the books and utilities and HOA were two things that people hadn't really thought about. It wasn't even a line item on people's profit and loss that they were considering in their, you know, when evaluating investments. And so we really began to build that piece of the process. How does that work? How does, you know, the fact that we own 70% of our properties are in an HOA? How do we interact with them and how does that work? So that's how I kind of got into this side of the business.   Tom: Awesome. It's funny to think about 2012 and I was there too. It was the wild West where, you know, a lot of these companies such as yours and the ones that I was working at was raising a ton of money, buying these houses. And it's just kind of learning as we go and, you know, HOA and utilities, you know, came to be pretty important, parts of the details in doing this at scale.   Katrina: It did. And it was so much fun. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. And, uh, you know, we learned a lot and grew it, and here we are today.   Tom: That's awesome. And you have since gone on to start a new company, right? Why don't you tell us a little bit about your company that you are running right now?   Katrina: So I was actually sitting in a meeting and, um, we were working with a utility provider that function very similarly to what we have structured as well. We actually asked them the question of if they'd like to take on HOA as, you know, as part of their process and has it was becoming a really growing concern and issue and having some pretty significant impact on the bottom line for companies. So they said, absolutely not that they wanted to stick with what they specialize in and that really planted that seed for me. And so that's where investor HOA services came into play, where, you know, we took a singular focus to build an operations platform around that that also integrates pretty seamlessly with other companies, systems and process. I knew I couldn't go in and say, throw away what you're working on right now and use what I'm saying to use. I also knew that we had to get it so that people could kind of go to one place to access information and things that they needed to manage the property. And so that's what we began developing back in 2017 is really an operations platform that can be used in several other areas. We just chose to focus on HOA because we could see it with a growing concern, making bigger and bigger impacts to the bottom line of companies. So we focused in there first, so that is investor HOA services.   Tom: That's awesome. So to sort of paraphrase investor HOA services is a provider for investors to manage basically all things related to the hos for the properties that are located at those hos. Is that right? Is that a good summary?   Katrina: That's correct. So everything related in the full life cycle of compliance, which could be a city code, HOA, rental, registration, municipal permitting, and all of those kinds of things on the compliance side of property management.   Tom: Very cool. Very cool. Awesome. Well, let's go ahead and dig into some of the meat of this learning a little bit more about H ways and how they relate to investors who are evaluating. So why don't we take a step back and why don't you define what is an HOA and, you know, high level, what are they   Katrina: So HOAs can be actually kind of several different things. And of course there's no consistency across the country of what an HOA physically is, but in general, in HOA is a nonprofit company that manages common areas, common elements within the community amenities. And there's also of course, condo owner associations, there's civic associations that are often voluntary membership, and we're starting to see more and more different types of HOAs, such as a borough and a neighborhood developments. Of course, in Florida, you actually see a lot of community development districts. There's some really fun, fancy development districts in Florida that have waterslides and water parks and all kinds of fun things in those. And so to be a member or participate and utilize those amenities items, then you pay your assessments fee on an, you know, either quarterly or annual or semiannual basis. And the HOA then kind of takes care of all those common area elements.   Tom: Got it. And that's interesting about some of the, those new amenities that are poking up around water slides. I mean, he made it sound it optional at all to join the HOA, or is it like, you know, since your property's located there, or is it kind of built into the deed that you have to join the HOA? I'm curious about that.   Katrina: Yeah. Civic associations are voluntary. Often they'll have a community pool or something that is shared amenity there or a park or something along those lines. We'll see a lot of lakes and that kind of thing within a civic. So that's voluntary. You also have something called a club membership, which will be, you can pay for different levels of membership within that. So for example, most often they include a golf course. You know, they might include a workout facility that's extra above and beyond what a standard membership would be. And so those are voluntary in regards to what the levels are that you can buy into. But in general, yes, if you're in an HOA, just kind of a standard HOA, then you are required to participate in their program.   Michael: And it sounds like there's kind of numerous different styles of HOA. I know for me, when I hear HOA, I just automatically think of condo association, but what you're telling us is that they could apply to single family homes, town homes, you know, planned communities. Is that fair to say,   Katrina: Yes, they can be commercials, commercial spaces. There's just all kinds of different options out there.   Michael: Interesting. Got it.   Katrina: There's probably about 10 that are standard that we see standard across the board. And then in different parts of the country, you see kind of different nuances within that. Like I said, you'll see boroughs, of course, in New York and New Jersey, that's a little, you know, structured similarly to a civic or community development, but they all have a little bit of different nuances to them.   Michael: Okay. Interesting. And you touched on amenities a little bit, and I was curious if there is such a thing as kind of a common or a standard set of amenities that you get as being part of an HOA, or do they vary as drastic as the style of HOA that there could even be out there?   Katrina: They vary very drastically. So we have especially see this a lot in Georgia where maybe it was built in the eighties, especially, well, pretty much any community built within the 1970s and eighties when HOAs first kind of started coming on the scene, they are just more of a planned community. So you'll see the coldest actual see similarities in regards to finishes on the exterior and, you know, mailbox requirements and that kind of thing. And then it's kind of more where it evolves as time went on. And that's where you kind of see some standardization on what I guess they were into in that moment. So then you hit into the two thousands and, and then now into the late two or 2020 range, and you're seeing these, you know, fun things like that are going on in Florida. So really it varies pretty tremendously. And that's a big part of what we do is we look at okay, what amenities are available, where that assessment money going to, and what's the benefit you're receiving from that.   Tom: That's interesting. I never thought about it that way about, you know, the vintage of the property. Like what was the fad for developments in the way that they structure these communities? So depending on what year you bought it, it is kind of a different flavor of the way that they were structuring. Super interesting. So I got a question. So if you put your investor goggles on and just think this is very high level about evaluating a property with an HOA, what would you say generally speaking, like what are the good things about buying a rental property that's in an HOA and what would be some of the detractors of buying a property in investment property? That's at an HOA. So we'll start with the positive.   Katrina: Yeah, let's start with the positive. So one of the things we learned and identified very early on is here, we are an investment firm and we're based out of Scottsdale Arizona. And our house is in Georgia and the HOA begins to function as kind of your eyes and ears and helping you monitor and keep an eye on that property. So I think as an investor, that's a huge value to you. You don't have to actually have people on the ground, you know, checking that property, the HOA is doing that for you. So I think that's probably the biggest positive as well as from a leasing perspective, of course, you know, you're leasing a property that has most likely some upgraded amenities and features that are desirable to people leasing. So, you know, it assist with that, it making it a home to that person occupying that property, not just a rental, they feel like they're part of a community and part of a home on the flip side of that, that can actually, that community sense is something that the HOA have expressed that they're concerned about when institutional investors come into their community, will there be that loss of sense of community because it's a renter there and they're not going to actually participate in the HOA itself. So that can be a con I think one of the other issues that has occurred over the last several years and kind of my number one thing that I focus on is rebuilding communication bridges, because what happened was when institutional investors came into communities, the HOA did it kind of feared that and was a little concerned that the property values would degrade and there would be issues. So one of the things that has been, I guess, a missed out by the industry is that they didn't work to keep those communications open with the HOA and the HOA began to grow very frustrated. So what they've done out of their frustration is began to really Institute some rental restrictions to either prohibit institutional investment in that community, or really eliminate it and control it. So that's been kind of the, the other side of it that's evolved since 2012, when we first got into the industry, they were happy and they were excited about us coming into the communities. We were remodeling the property and making things better. And then that slowly started to shift in 2013 and 14, where they began to grow skeptical. So there's been a lot of work to alleviate that situation, but there's still some work to do there. So that's kind of the flip side of it, where the HOA is, are frustrated and they're kind of lashing out in these different ways to really essentially get some people's attention and get things cured. And together,   Michael: You touched on it a little bit ago, Katrina, but I wanted to circle back to it for my own edification. We said that HOA is our nonprofit businesses, who is the HOA when we talk about HOAs.   Katrina: So the HOA for the most part is a voluntary board of directors of owners within that community. So I we're seeing fewer and fewer of those, maybe it's because most HOA has gone out and decided to have a management company come in, such as associate or for service residential and come in and manage that. So the HOA is just meant to collect dues, cover the expenses of maintaining those common elements. And then that's pretty much it, that's all their job that's there. And then of course, to ensure that people adhere to the CC&Rs for that community and, you know, don't let their grass get to leave their garbage cans out, all that fun stuff.   Michael : Okay. And so when you talk about the HOA members or board being frustrated with institutional investors coming in and looking to crack down on that a little bit, that's just a group of owners in that specific community that are feeling that way and expressing those frustrations?   Katrina: Correct.   Michael: Got it.   Tom: Gosh, I love your point about, on the good side of thinking of as another eyes and ears. I think a lot of times, you know, we ask these questions, I kind of have an idea of which direction, you know, we're going to get a response, but I never thought about that way of thinking of the HOA as, as kind of part of your team love that. So you touched into a great transition point CC&Rs and, you know, making owners out here, what are some of the recourse that the HOA companies have and with owners that are not adhering, and I'd love for you to get into that and CC&Rs and rules around that.   Michael: And Katrina for those of our listeners that might not be aware, familiar, what does CC&R stand for?   Katrina: Covenants codes and restrictions? So it of course varies by state. Each state has some extra nuances. You know, Florida has some really interesting ones, New York, New Jersey as well. So the CCNR are put into place and in those CC and RS, it's really spelled out what the recourse is. We have some, we've had some interesting updates over the last several years in regards to what the HOA can charge you because previous to this, and it kind of started in an Arizona, which is where most HOA has, you know, kind of evolved from. But the previous to this legislation that came through the HOA, kind of do whatever they wanted in regards to getting your attention and having you pay fee. So we're seeing over the last five years or so where they're really standardizing that across the country, which is wonderful. We like standardization. And so they're making it so that they have to go through a very specific process to notify you of that violation, give you a period of time to cure. If you don't cure, then it goes to the next step. And so usually it's a courtesy warning, one, two, and three, then by warning three are incurring a fine, and those generally start at $25. But in a lot of States, we also have, what's called a stair set process, which is another thing that investors, there's a way to work around this or work with the HOA to do what we call the clean slate program. So the HOA in some States, the fines violations and assessment costs falls the property, not the owner. So you have a new tenant move into that property. And the prior tenant kept violating with trash cans being sent out. And that violation was then go into a monitor status from anywhere from six months to one year. And if they re-violate within that timeframe, it, it goes right back to where it left off.  So if you were at already at $75 in fines, it'll go to a hundred or it'll go to a hearing. So that's something that investors aren't aware of, but you can work with the HOA to, again, wipe that slate. Clean, say, we've had a new occupant in it. We're a new owner. We're going to do things differently now. And we promise you that we won't have those violations incurred. So like I said, it's been really interesting to see over the last several years where they've kind of standardized that with the HOA is, can do kinda maintaining some control. And that has to be documented in their CC and RS, what their fee schedules are now, which really helps you kind of plan for that and be prepared for what's going to come your way.   Tom: So what are the more common? So talking about, you know, people, you mentioned putting trash cans out, what are the other kinds of issues where people incur fines from HOA, those would be all in those CC&Rs and what are the common issues that you think most investors deal with or violate?   Katrina: So the number one thing, and we track this, we look at it, we break down and give a lot of granularity to the types of violations that are coming in. And number one on the list is always landscaping and specifically weeds, especially in April and October, when they're doing those inspections on that, and you can get almost weekly fines for that or notices of fine. So landscaping is number one, and I would say two is two and three are usually pretty close and it's trash cans and parking violation. So we have a lot of residents to try to park on the lawn, try to park, you know, on the street when street parking is not allowed.   Michael: I own a property in an HOA and I get nasty grams all the time. Trash cans are still out. It's been a week. I don't think God, God, God, I got to get ahold of the tenants and pass the message along.   Tom: Did you say nasty, nasty grams? Is that the nastygram?   Michael: Exactly, but a letter informing me of a violation, I call the nastygrams.   Tom: So how about when you do have some issue, can you guys push that to the tenants that are living at the property, if they're violating these rules? Like, are there any laws or registrations like around that? Like if they violate an HOA rule, should it be the tenant that has to pay it or fix it, or I'd love to hear your thoughts on that.   Katrina: Yes, indeed. So what we call that the tenant charge back process. So we actually have a whole workflow that goes through, we've received a courtesy notice. It gets sent to the tenant. The tenant actually, um, for most of our clients has about seven business days to return photos to us and make sure it's care. We're trying to really alleviate that even courtesy notice from going any further than that is we're trying to alleviate aggravation that the HOA is feeling about institutional investors. So we really work on the front end, as well as tenant education to let them know you live in a HOA, here's the rules and regulations that you need to be aware of. And most of the hos are now taking their several hundred page CC&R document and really narrowing it down to the top things to be aware of. So we make sure that that is available at the fingertips of the leasing team so that they can educate the tenant.  We find we have a much better experience with them. And so that all gets documented so that we can see very clearly, okay, is this an HOA issue or a resonant issue? The resident keeps leaving their trash can out every week. And now it's a thousand dollars in fines because they've been incurring daily fines, which always just makes me cringe because a thousand dollars just for leaving your trash can out, we see it all the time, but it's unfortunate to say the least. So there is a whole system and process where we educate the tenant. We notify the tenant every time we receive documentation and really keep them in the loop and engaged and involved with being part of that solution there versus, you know, ongoing continual issues. And then we also work with the leasing team so that they're aware of, Hey, I think you may need to have a conversation with us, this occupant here and see if you can alleviate that. And then the third piece of that is of course, communication directly with the HOA is to let them know we have informed the resonant. We have received these photos. Do you consider this violation cured and closed? That's then the issue that I've spoken to, a lot of, of the SFR groups out there where they have that $8,000 mailbox, because they sent out a contractor to fix the mailbox post, but they didn't fix it according to what the HOA was looking for. So we make sure we really communicate with the HOA and let them know what the care was and how it was fixed and make sure that they're good to go with that. And then if they, if there is a fine, we establish with our clients a list of what will be a charge back versus not. So for example, a trainees trend and it's above seven feet where it needs to trend. Most of our clients don't want their residents getting on a ladder. So they'll not charge that back. But if they do, if it's under the seven foot mark, then, and there is a fine incurred, then that gets put onto the tenant ledger to hold them accountable for that.   Tom: Got it. Jump just the other kind of aspect of the CC&Rs and the rules, not necessarily fines, but you know, percentage of the units that can be rented. So there's some other really important aspects of those rules that an investor would need to know that's in those CC&R. Do you mind touching on some of those,   Katrina: Right. So we complete a review of all CC and RS that come into us and we're looking for a rental or leasing restrictions. We're also looking for sign restrictions. And other thing that people don't often think about is that certain hos don't allow you to put a sign for lease sign in the front yard, or they don't allow, you know, you can put it in the window, but you can't put it anywhere else, or it has to be a certain size. So we'll look through that, the CCNRs to identify any of those kinds of issues. And then the rental restrictions kind of break down into three categories, either have category one where they just do not allow leasing in their community. And we will recommend that you dispose that property or they'll have the second category. Is there some kind of restrictions where they require a background check and approval of your resident before they move in, or there's a cap in place of 10%?  Usually there are things that you can work through on those rental caps, they're called hardship letters. And you can put in a hardship letter to that HOA requesting them to review and make an exception to that 10% cap. And then there's also in that category where you can't lease the property for anywhere from 12 to 24 months, it has to be owner occupied. So we then document that information in our systems so that you can see the breakout of that. And then they use third category is they just want a copy of the lease and to know who's renting the properties basically. So those documents are captured and sent over to the HOA,   Michael: Shifting gears here a little bit Katrina, I want to talk about HOA fees because you mentioned at the beginning that are nonprofit bodies or organizations. If you will. I feel like me personally, sometimes that they might be for profit, but so what are the fees usually go towards paying?   Katrina: So the piece should be going towards paying for those common area. Upkeep. There should be a capital reserve account noted on their budget. They should be issuing the budget to you on an annual basis and it should be reviewed and make sure that there, the other concern that I know a lot of investors have expressed is we keep paying these assessments, but the money is not going to what we've been paying into. And the HOA is virtually insolvent. So they're carrying a negative balance. They have some sort of debt again and against the HOA something's going on in their financial stability is in question. So that is what the money is supposed to be going to. And as well as management of that HOA collecting the assessment funds, paying for an inspector to go on and stacks for fines and violations and those kinds of things, that's where the budget should be going. And like I said, they should have a healthy capital reserve accounts to complete any upgrades that are needed to that age away.   Michael: Okay. And so you bring up a great point about upgrades. Would upgrades be a reason for an HOA fee increasing from year to year?   Tom: Yeah. Do they change? Yeah. I'd be interested to hear your feedback.   Katrina: They do. And you know, 2020 has been interesting for several different reasons. But one thing we're seeing from the actual AEs is a lot of special assessments that are hitting people's accounts. And I have to say, this is the first year I've seen where so many are being instituted and put into place. And so there's actually two levels to that where they don't even have to have a board meeting to vote in a special assessment, depending on what the cap is of that, that amount. So that it could literally just show up on your doorstep one day that you have a $20,000 assessment do so generally speaking in a normal year, we'll see about anywhere from a three to 5% increase of assessments year over year. So several years ago when we started the company in 2017, we've actually seen quite a bit of increases over the last three years.  And I think that's HOA is trying to make up for some of the depositions and things that they have in their capital reserve accounts. So what we're normally would see would be a three to 5% increase, but since 2017, we've seen average across the country of assessment dues go from three 30 to 440. So it's quite a good jump, healthy jump over the last few years, but know normal would be three to 5% where, you know, just cost of things have gone up. So cost of their power bills for the common areas. And those kinds of things have gotten a little bit more expensive. So, you know, on average, I would say anywhere from a $5 increase to about $25 would be pretty normal. Anything above that, then I'm starting to look at the budget and kind of see where that money is going. What's going on.   Michael: And you mentioned special assessment. Can you talk a little bit about that? What that is?   Katrina: So it's more common of course, in the condo world and the townhome world. Uh, but a lot of our SFR investors have condos and town halls and things like that. So that would be to replace a roof on ability repaint the exterior in a standard single family development. It would be to put a new roof on the clubhouse, replaster the pool, those kinds of things, where they should be putting aside a capital reserve fund. But what we've seen is, you know, with the change in the economy in 2008, 2009, I think a lot of hos did, you know, ended up dipping into that reserve fund to keep going and keep solvent. And so now they're kind of trying to make up for that. And so we're just seeing a lot more this year than we have in the past. It could also be to do with the average age. And most of our clients' portfolios are just kind of hitting that Mark where they're starting to need some major items completed.   Michael: Okay. And is there a good ballpark or kind of range or estimate you would anticipate based on size or age of an association or community for how much reserve they should have? The reason I asked the question is I live my primary. Isn't an HOA. I have a condo and there was, I got, there was a study done that showed the financial stability of the association and it showed that they were way under-funded, but they had several hundred thousand in cash in reserve. And so I said, well, that seems like a lot, but I have no idea how much they should be. This, this company thought they were underfunded, but I feel like they're adequately funded. Is there a good ballpark or general rule for that?   Katrina: No, because there's just so many factors that go into place there, you know, have they managed their funds over the last several years? I would say that HOA is probably managing pretty well with a couple of hundred thousand in there. I've literally seen some with nothing in their capital reserve budget. So I think as our housing inventory ages, uh, you know, it is just becoming more and more of an issue, but yeah, I don't think there's a standard number you guys can count on to tell your investors that, you know, set aside this much because you may, you know, have this come up at some point. It really varies wildly.   Tom: If you're buying properties within an HOA, is there a way for you to get on the HOA, like a seat or, you know, if you get enough properties or I don't know, I'd be curious to hear your experience. If you can't beat them join, that's not the right way to say it. If yoou can't beat em, join em, but like basically getting on the inside, I would imagine like having multiple customers, like it's probably pretty big sway potentially within certain hos.   Katrina: Yes, definitely. Especially with institutional investors, you could potentially own 30% or more of a community. So some have instituted in their CCNRs where even if you own several properties, you're still only get one vote, um, board items, but for the most part, yes, it definitely can help sway those voting items. I actually, one of the questions you guys had further down here was have I been on a board and, or joined a board of the company that I worked with previously? And yes, I was on a board in North Carolina and attended several board meetings. What we had done was we were doing a build to rent a pilot projects at the time. And so we were going in and doing infill in a community that was already established a really nice HOA. We did the same thing in Georgia as well. And we actually attended several of the board meetings just to say, this is who we are, what we're about.  These are our goals as a company and what our know kind of core values as a company are. We're not just a nameless faceless corporation where, you know, people that really care about your community. And so it actually really, really helped. It was very, you know, contentious at first, they weren't really excited about us being there, but we were able to really turn that around and then, you know, create a really good relationship with that HOA in the longterm. So there is definitely benefits if they can get some notes, your company and the people at your company, you know, they don't sign you or, you know, put violations on unless you've broken the rules. But I feel that it goes a long ways to kind of alleviate how often they're going to, you know, hit you with those kinds of things, if they know who you are. And, and then instead of doing a formal final email you directly before they even document that, so you can go in and get it taken care of and never even hit your account. So that was a lot of fun, but it had some pretty tremendous impact. And then we've been a member of a few different boards throughout the country and, you know, same kind of thing where you identify an HOA that seems to be a, maybe elevated in their feelings about your company and whatnot. And you want to, you know, stay in that community and not sell out of it and continue to lease your properties there. I think it's always a great idea to participate in board meetings and discussions with the HOA, because again, remember their biggest issue and concern was that they would lose the sense of community than an HOA brains because it's, you know, it's a corporation coming in and investing in here. So if you can kind of guide them to a different philosophy on that, it has a pretty tremendous impact. Yeah.   Michael: That makes a lot of sense. Makes a lot of sense. Katrina, can you talk to us a little bit about the value that you've seen in your experience from a rental perspective and then maybe from a sale perspective as well that a well run HOA can bring to an investor? Of course the poorly run ones might harm the value, but as far as rentability and resell value for an HOA property, how have you seen that impact things?   Katrina: It's definitely positive on both ends of it, right? Because you've got the tenant who now has access to a pool and other things that, you know, if they were to purchase a home, they maybe wouldn't have access to those same things. So by renting, they have that added benefit. And on the South side, you know, I haven't seen data on exact numbers of, you know, increases the value by say $5,000 because of course, then you're paying dues and stuff in there. And I haven't seen any data pull to see how it impacts the sale, but, you know, I definitely know, well run H ways you'll see them move a lot faster. We'll sell that home much faster. People are clamoring to get into that community and be a part of it. So, you know, especially like those really fun ones in Florida, you know, they almost have a wait list of people trying to purchase homes in there cause they want to be there.   Michael: The water park in the backyard makes sense.   Katrina: Yeah. I mean, how great is that? So, you know, it definitely impacts leasing, you know, several years ago, stock saw statistics that it definitely on average knocks several days off of the lease up timeframe. So it does seem to help.   Michael: Interesting. Okay, great.   Tom: Awesome. My last question I have right now, and this is, I guess, sort of an aggregation, probably of some of the topics that we've talked about, but just at a high level, if you're talking to a newish investor, who's thinking about buying a property, that's in an NHOA, what advice would you give them on how to go about evaluating and owning a property in an HOA?   Katrina: I think they should definitely, and most people don't do this. I think one thing they should look at is is it, if this HOA is financially solvent and how is it being run because you're right. If that HOA is not being run well, it will certainly have an impact on your resident experience in that home. The very quickly start to feel like, you know, they're being picked on and you know, that's not the resident experience that any of us want. So, you know, as an investor looking at an HOA, I would definitely take a look at that. What does this HOA look like? Are they keeping up with things, are the common elements and go to order in good shape? Are they easily accessible? You know, is it kind of making sense? What if they're charging $300 a year? Can I see where that money is going essentially? So I think visually kind of inspecting the community would be really helpful. And, you know, in evaluating that decision to lease there or not,   Tom: How would one get the financials related to an HOA?   Katrina: So in when they're purchasing home, they should be asking for an estoppel. And in that estoppel gives you your statements, your CC&Rs, and ours, all of your documents that you would need. And I think also, like I said, I've spoken about tenant education before, but it's so critical again to the whole kind of overall experience and whether or not you're going to keep that tenant in that home longterm. And of course that's a goal for most SFRs is really going to keep them in the house, you know, two, three, five years. And so, you know, by obtaining that estoppel, now that becomes challenging when you're purchasing via auction or other avenues. But if you're purchasing through MLS and through I'm sure groups like yours, where you can have some of that documentation in place, then I would encourage everybody to go in and take a look at that because it definitely will have an impact to kind of the longterm viability of that investment.   Tom: Great communication. Well, thank you so much for coming on. This has been super interesting, you know, hos there's so much value in having that kind of preset neighborhood look and feel that is desirable and a good standardization. And I love the feedback about getting to know the HOA and partnering with them on your team has been super helpful. And I want to thank you for coming on.   Katrina: Yes, I've really enjoyed it. Thank you guys.   Tom: Awesome.   Michael: All right, thanks. Have a great one.   Tom: Thank you to Katrina Phillips for today's episode, super knowledgeable. It got a lot out of that. If you liked today's episode, please subscribe to us on your podcast. Send us a note. My email is tom@roofstock.com. I love to talk investing. I love to talk podcast content. I love to talk investing education hit me up. This episode was brought to you by Roofstock Academy. Roofstock Academy is a holistic program with one on one, coaching group coaching, over 50 hours of on-demand lectures covering getting started to scaling up. A special bonus Roofstock Academy is now giving $2,500 towards Roofstock marketplace credits. That's right. You can pay $1,250 for $2,500 of marketplace credits. All right. Happy investing.   Theme song

What We Spend Our Time On (LA 872) Transcript: Steven Butala:                   Steve and Jill here. Jill DeWit:                            Hello Steven Butala:                   Welcome to the Land Academy Show, entertaining land investment talk. I'm Steven Jack Butala. Jill DeWit:                            And I'm Jill Dewitt broadcasting from sunny Southern California. Steven Butala:                   Today Jill and I talk about what we spend our time on. This topic and all topics are generally driven from the questions that we get. Jill DeWit:                            That's true. Steven Butala:                   This is a big topic in our live event, and it wasn't one that I anticipated at all because I kept saying, "Stay Organized, stay organized, stay organized." And so finally somebody said "what the heck does that actually mean to you?", because it's easy to say that, everybody says that, "the more organized you are the better you are, and the more money you're gonna make". Which is all true. So what does it really mean? This is where this topic came from. I'm gonna tell exactly what I spend my time on, and Jill probably just sit here and listen. Jill DeWit:                            Yeah I will. Cause it's something I don't usually spend time on is listening. Just kidding. Steven Butala:                   You know the truth is, Jill and I, how we approach what we spend our time on is totally different and we both get to the same finish line. Jill DeWit:                            That's true. Steven Butala:                   Rabbit and the hare kind of thing. Jill DeWit:                            That's true. Who's the rabbit and who's the hare? Steven Butala:                   I'm the rabbit. Jill DeWit:                            Okay. The turtle and the hare. The rabbit and the hare are the same thing. Steven Butala:                   Oh sorry, I'm sorry. You saved me from getting 4000 emails. Thank you Jill DeWit:                            "Who's the rabbit and who's the hare?" "Oh I'm the rabbit." Okay well then I'll be the hare. That's hilarious. Steven Butala:                   Let's make fun of Steve day too. Every day is make fun of dad day. Before we get into it, let's take a question posted by one of our members, on the landinvestors.com online community. It's free. Jill DeWit:                            Michael asks, "Hello friends, I'm sure you've had many calls with RVers wanting to know if they can visit the land with and RV. If you own smaller parcels and subdivisions, more likely there are covenants that prohibit RVs and mobile homes at any time. Do you have experience with CCNR enforcement? Can Rvers get away with just visiting the land? I suspect living in an RV for a period of time, in a no RV subdivision would eventually trigger code enforcement. I can't in good faith advertise lots to RV campers without knowing what could happen. Please let me know if you sold anyone CCNRs to folks who have used the land for RV vacations without issue, even thought the covenants prohibit it. Thanks." Phew, that was a lot. Steven Butala:                   The truth of it is this, probably 99% of the time, no probably 99.8% of the time, after we sell that property, we don't know what happens. Jill DeWit:                            Yep, and ... I have something to say about it too before you're done. Steven Butala:                   Yeah, yeah. Jill DeWit:                            I usually put it on them, because usually in the beginning, or not the beginning, the beginning when I was doing land and I was handling these calls first hand, I would put it on them. I would say "you know what? I really don't know. I don't know how long you can keep it out there, I don't know what's allowed." So I would put that ... and I don't wanna know, that's the other thing too. I don't wanna spend that much time on it, getting to know all the things 'cause if I do,

What We Spend Our Time On (LA 872) Transcript: Steven Butala:                   Steve and Jill here. Jill DeWit:                            Hello Steven Butala:                   Welcome to the Land Academy Show, entertaining land investment talk. I'm Steven Jack Butala. Jill DeWit:                            And I'm Jill Dewitt broadcasting from sunny Southern California. Steven Butala:                   Today Jill and I talk about what we spend our time on. This topic and all topics are generally driven from the questions that we get. Jill DeWit:                            That's true. Steven Butala:                   This is a big topic in our live event, and it wasn't one that I anticipated at all because I kept saying, "Stay Organized, stay organized, stay organized." And so finally somebody said "what the heck does that actually mean to you?", because it's easy to say that, everybody says that, "the more organized you are the better you are, and the more money you're gonna make". Which is all true. So what does it really mean? This is where this topic came from. I'm gonna tell exactly what I spend my time on, and Jill probably just sit here and listen. Jill DeWit:                            Yeah I will. Cause it's something I don't usually spend time on is listening. Just kidding. Steven Butala:                   You know the truth is, Jill and I, how we approach what we spend our time on is totally different and we both get to the same finish line. Jill DeWit:                            That's true. Steven Butala:                   Rabbit and the hare kind of thing. Jill DeWit:                            That's true. Who's the rabbit and who's the hare? Steven Butala:                   I'm the rabbit. Jill DeWit:                            Okay. The turtle and the hare. The rabbit and the hare are the same thing. Steven Butala:                   Oh sorry, I'm sorry. You saved me from getting 4000 emails. Thank you Jill DeWit:                            "Who's the rabbit and who's the hare?" "Oh I'm the rabbit." Okay well then I'll be the hare. That's hilarious. Steven Butala:                   Let's make fun of Steve day too. Every day is make fun of dad day. Before we get into it, let's take a question posted by one of our members, on the landinvestors.com online community. It's free. Jill DeWit:                            Michael asks, "Hello friends, I'm sure you've had many calls with RVers wanting to know if they can visit the land with and RV. If you own smaller parcels and subdivisions, more likely there are covenants that prohibit RVs and mobile homes at any time. Do you have experience with CCNR enforcement? Can Rvers get away with just visiting the land? I suspect living in an RV for a period of time, in a no RV subdivision would eventually trigger code enforcement. I can't in good faith advertise lots to RV campers without knowing what could happen. Please let me know if you sold anyone CCNRs to folks who have used the land for RV vacations without issue, even thought the covenants prohibit it. Thanks." Phew, that was a lot. Steven Butala:                   The truth of it is this, probably 99% of the time, no probably 99.8% of the time, after we sell that property, we don't know what happens. Jill DeWit:                            Yep, and ... I have something to say about it too before you're done. Steven Butala:                   Yeah, yeah. Jill DeWit:                            I usually put it on them, because usually in the beginning, or not the beginning, the beginning when I was doing land and I was handling these calls first hand, I would put it on them. I would say "you know what? I really don't know. I don't know how long you can keep it out there, I don't know what's allowed." So I would put that ... and I don't wanna know, that's the other thing too. I don't wanna spend that much time on it, getting to know all the things 'cause if I do,

An update on problems being faced with the decommissioning of the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor in Vermont. Sandra Levine is senior attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation in Montpelier, Vermont, where her work focuses on climate change, clean energy, land use, transportation and natural resource protection. I became aware of Sandy after I was sent a link to her op-ed article, Risky Vermont Yankee Transfer Should be Stopped.Dr. Gordon Edwards of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, or CCNR, offers a brief masterclass in what radiation is and what it does. This 10-minute talk was prepared for the Science for Peace Forum “How to Save the World in a Hurry,” held at the University of Toronto on May 30, 2018. Karl Grossman interviewed on the Evan Greer show: Keep Space for Peace Week – let them know about local events in your area by sending an email to: globalnet@mindspring.comMore from Dr. Gordon Edwards: These five audio files, recorded on August 22, 2018 and dealing with the “Red Canoe” protests in Ottowa, have all been posted on the Digileak web site:https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=XZxM6s7ZijIl7b91lsYfsJpYHoEjgQWidzLkhttps://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=XZ3M6s7ZH7U0YNc3JfhmJemmBVVYA8E3QkhVhttps://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=XZcM6s7Z5C7nTJ6bni0bVuA6t4W1854pc2tyhttps://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=XZRT6s7Zagwdz3OInzyxKyJFon1tOysxXKekhttps://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=XZQT6s7ZXJcU6NF3QNJMdyHTaDRHHFwPhV17www,nuclearhotseat.comPodcasts are posted on Nuclear Hotseat website listed above or on YouTube channel: nutzforart

Have you thought about using vacation rental services like Airbnb as a property investment? It can offer a great return on your investment, but you need to consider a few important factors first. Looking to buy a home? Search all homes for sale Selling your home? Get a FREE home value report Many real estate investors have taken on a new strategy of using vacation rentals like Airbnb and VRBO to generate returns. If this is a type of investment you’re thinking about adding to your portfolio, there are three main points you need to be aware of first: 1. Location and zoning: For example, Scottsdale is by far the best area for vacation rentals because the demand is high for these properties. You have to be aware of zoning as well since certain subdivisions don’t allow short-term rentals. You need to check with your CCNR or HOA to make sure they allow this kind of rental. 2. Management companies: This isn’t a ‘set it and forget it’ kind of investment; it’s very active. More tenants coming and going means a better return, but it also means more time. A management company can handle the influx of income, the books, cleaning, and other similar things. 3. Exit strategy: As with any investment, ask yourself why you’re doing it. Have an exit strategy that allows you to rent the property long-term if you decide to change your investment strategy. Also make sure you buy a property that has a good chance at appreciating in value. There are plenty of other nuances you’ll need to consider for this type of investment. It’s a full-time job to have a vacation rental. The upside is quite high though. “THIS ISN’T A ‘SET IT AND FORGET IT’ KIND OF INVESTMENT; IT’S VERY ACTIVE.” I recently spoke with a client who bought a property about seven years ago who is now only about a year away from paying off his 30-year mortgage on the property. His strategy was to put every dollar of profit from the vacation rental right back toward the principal and, as a result, he’s going to pay off a 30-year mortgage in eight years or so. You also have to provide full furnishing for the vacation rental from plates, silverware, and dishes to microwaves and furniture. Then there are towels, linens, and toiletries. The list goes on and on. Basically, you can’t just consider the cost of acquisition for the house, you must factor in all those furnishings as well. Costs really add up when you start talking about chairs, beds, and couches. We’ve helped a lot of clients maximize their investment with this strategy with a great return on their investment. If you have any other questions about this investment strategy, give me a call or send me an email. I’d love to talk with you about it!

Carmel Kilkenny speaks with Gordon Edwards of the CCNR about the plan to transport 150 truckloads of HEU 1700 kilometres from Chalk River to South Carolina in the United States.

Gordon Edwards, of the CCNR, explains his concerns following a presentation by the CNSC

Gordon Edwards of the CCNR explains the group's opposition to the proposed DGR plan in Kincardine, Ontario