Increasing Profitability in Current Investment Properties

[Nicole Jones]

I have two multi-family properties purchased within the last 8 years in Fresno, Ca. Although I have always passionate about real estate investing I'll be the first to admit that when purchasing these I didn't do my homework or use any calculators to ensure profitability. I was lucky enough to at least break even and some years even come out ahead but I'm wondering if anyone has any advice for re-evaluating these properties to assess the steps I can take in increasing profitability. I'm thinking in terms of fixing things up a bit on them to pull in higher paying renters. One multi-family in particular is literally the worst property on the block, I inherited a very low paying section 8 tenant when I purchased and after doing some rent analysis on the area (as well as getting some complaints about this tenant) have decided to not renew his contract this year... Possibly do some improvements and get the property up to par with its neighborhood. Is there a calculator to evaluate the max amount of money I should put into a property vs. what I can realistically expect to charge for rent? As in when I should expect to recoup my investment. Also, both properties have a bit of equity in them. My goal in the next year is to make sure I am making as much as I can with the deal I already got myself in and then look at my options for possibly using the equity to purchase a new property within the next year. Any advice pertaining to anything I mentioned would be greatly appreciated.