All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Hey all,

I purchased my first property this year (duplex) and the current lease which was in place before the purchase is coming to an end. I plan to raise the rents and implement a new lease. I just want to make sure that I'm going about this the right way. My plan is to send a notice about the raised rent 90 days prior to the end of the lease (law is 30 days in NJ), asking for a response by 60 days before the end of the lease. If they agree, I'll then send them the new lease to sign. Does this sound right? Should I actually write a whole new lease, or can I just have them sign the rent raise notice as a renewal agreement as well?

Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I’ll be cash out refinancing on my first property in order to invest in my second. The property is a duplex, and I’m now thinking it may be a good idea to do some work before the refinance in order to add value. What are some of the best ways to ensure the house will appraise higher and pay off in the end? I’ve never rehabbed a property so this is new to me.

Obviously it depends on the property, so some areas I’m thinking can be improved are window replacements, exterior painting or interior painting. The appliances are already fairly new. Also, there is a detached garage that is completely run down and unused. Could be turned into another unit, but that’s a bigger project than I can take on right now. However, it’s basically wasted space at this point and is about 1000 sf or maybe more.

Thank you!

@Charles Mitchell

I’m also interested in this. I’ll be cash out refinancing on a duplex soon, and I’m thinking of doing some work to it before the appraisal. Not sure what work to do that will pay off in the end though.

 Hi Daniel,

I decided to get a water test and move forward since the test showed no lead in the water. I haven't closed yet, but I'll be owner/occupying and plan on installing a water filter on the faucet in my unit. Not sure about a whole house filter yet. I do expect to replace the pipe at some point in the future, but I'm not considering it an urgent issue at the moment since there is no lead in the water.

I'm in a situation where I can either refinance my first and only duplex (owned free and clear) to get the funds for a down payment on another rental property, or take on a partner who can provide the funds in exchange for equity instead of doing the refi. I would still retain control of the LLC.

This has me thinking about the general pros and cons of the partnership strategy vs doing It myself. Although some might be obvious, I'm curious to get some extra insight since I'm just starting out. For example, with a mortgage I wouldn't be giving up equity, but the LLC would be more in debt which could prevent it from scaling as quickly.

Thanks, Adam

I'm in the same situation currently. The cost to remove the pipe is close to 15k in my area of Jersey City for a number of reasons. I'm considering just putting language in my leases that protects me from any lead related lawsuits in the future, but I'm still skeptical about the whole thing. It would take me at least 2 years of cash flow to even afford this replacement.

 Thanks James. The triplex is in Jersey City, NJ

 I’m not sure exactly but the water main is on the opposite side of the street, and it comes to about the center of the house. 15k is a rough number but I had the plumber there today looking at other issues and he said it would be up in that range to replace that line

 The numbers might still work if the roof also didn’t need replacement lol

 Are you concerned that your tenants are drinking it though? In my case I would be occupying one unit, so half of my concern is for my own health like you stated. But on the other end, I’d be liable for my tenants