4 Unit Multi-Family in WV (1 year in)

[Ryan Dunne Ewing]

Hello all,

My name is Ryan Dunne Ewing. I am a 29 year old licensed attorney that decided on a whim to purchase a 4 unit multi family property in Charleston, WV 53 weeks ago. Whew boy have I learned some hard lessons.

The house is located 5 houses from the state capitol, which is what really attracted me to the building. The capitol is gorgeous, and there is a huge need for housing for the state legislators, state workers, etc... The units are all exactly the same: 1,500 square feet, 2 bedrooms 2 full baths, heat pumps and hvac, with parking in the rear.

Purchase price of the property = $209,000.

We are a full year in now. I’ve put an entire new roof on the building and fully remodeled half of the building.

The updated units have new kitchens new baths new hvac new everything. We even added washer and dryer hookups in the units (which required me to crawl through a basement crawl space that still haunts my dreams).

House is fully rented and Rents are currently coming in at $1085, $1085, $685, and $685 a month = $3,540 monthly gross income.

Remaining problems with the house: it is stucco and it needs repaired and painted. The front landscaping is nonexistent. There is a front porch that is rotted and needs fully removed and rebuilt. The back parking lot needs new gravel and the basement is a nightmare (old and dirty).

The $685 a month units are scheduled for full rehab, but I’m hesitant. I don’t want to lose the revenue and the tenants have been there for YEARS.

I’ve put approximately $60,000 in repairs updates to the two units (this number includes the new roof and all new windows). Estimates with my contractor come to an additional $45,000 to fully renovate the building top to bottom inside and out.

My question: I’ve got a cap rate on the property that currently stands at about 14%.

What do I do next? Do I continue rehabbing the other two units fully to get them up to $1,085 a month? Do I go “all the way” and fix the exterior of the building and landscape the yard? Do I try to refinance to pull money? Do I wait to do that until I have fully remodeled the entire building? Do I sit and just let it cash flow while I catch my breath?

Everyone has told me that I’m moving at a breakneck pace. I’d agree. Besides the roof, all of the work was done with myself and one contractor. I’d really appreciate some general advice from the community as to what I should do next. Any and all advice are welcome.

Thank you for your time.