All Forum Posts by: Alecia Loveless

@Max Briggs I use MySmartMove too. I don’t have any horror stories but every time I go to run a check the cost has gone up. Yes it’s only by $1.00 but it’s gone up over $9.00 in the past 4 years.

My last one 2 weeks ago was $47 which I pass on to the tenant. Once they sign the lease and pay the deposit I credit them back the cost of the background checks off their first month’s rent. I feel this is a little benefit that helps set me apart from other landlords in my area.

@Katie Camargo My sister has several warranties on SFHs in her portfolio. She no longer buys warranties because she has found the repairs are often shoddy and slow.

Her last deal she had a claim on the HVAC was leaking. After several weeks the warranty repairman met my sister and looked at the HVAC unit and said there was no leak. When it was clear water was running from the unit.

Fast forward another 8 weeks and the HVAC dies and the tenant moves out. Now the living room and 2 bedrooms that just had new flooring put in them 8 months ago are ruined from the leaking water from the HVAC and have to be replaced again.

The warranty isn’t covering the shot HVAC much less the ruined flooring and sub flooring.

My sister doesn’t recommend buying warranties anymore.

@David Lewis Facebook marketplace is my go to for keeping up with rent trends in the area I invest in.

In smaller markets this method is a little iffy because there’s less comparative units.

I often find myself looking at a listing and it’s pictures and through experience know that my units will likely rent for $100 more because they’re nicer.

We've only really got one agent out of maybe 50 in the marketplace that regularly lists rental units on the MLS. Her listings tend to be higher end and often have multiple bathrooms making them more expensive, usually $400-$500 more than a typical unit would go for.

As you learn more about your local market (or the market in question) you will get a better feel for what things go for.

As far as trends go I’m seeing more listings currently than I have in the past couple of years and I’m starting to see some with lower prices than I have seen in recent times. However I’m also seeing some nicer listings with higher prices. So at least in my market of Northern New Hampshire for the first time in 2-3 years we’re seeing some options.

@Ariel K. I have an instance where two tenants, a mother and a teenage daughter are using 3X the water of the other set of tenants, which are two sisters. Every month the one water bill comes in consistently $40 higher than the other unit. And about $50 higher than another comparable unit I own across town with a husband and wife.

The sisters and my contractor report that the unit in question ALWAYS has their washer running. We suspect she is taking in laundry as a side job.

This would not be the case of an extra 4000 gallons per day, likely only a few hundred gallons. Do your tenants have their own washers/dryers?

@Xavier Perera If it’s financially feasible I suggest starting by house hacking a 4-plex. The cost shouldn’t be double what a duplex is, but should likely be less per unit.

The learning curve wasn't any bigger for my first 4-plex vs the SFH then subsequent duplex that I bought.

Where I got into my first big learning curve was when I bought my 8 unit, both in the increase in number of tenants and because it was a fixer upper with inherited tenants that had also been neglected and mismanaged for years.

I’d recommend starting with a property that needs little/cosmetic work that can be rented from day one, and preferably has existing tenants. That way you can hopefully do renovations as tenants move out one by one and start to build your network of contractors.

Once you’ve got a little experience under your belt then you can attempt buildings that need more renovations/repairs or have had management issues.

If you initially end up needing to raise rents I like to do them one at a time to minimize potential turnover from happening in multiple units at once.

@Lincoln Waite Our units where utilities are included are at least $200/month more than units where the tenants pay their own.

I’m guessing your rents are far below market value.

I’m getting out of the business of paying for utilities because too many tenants had the heat set at 78 with their windows open when it was -20 out.

I just converted a 4 unit to individually metered propane Rinaii heaters and the final cost was about $24,000. I’m guessing it will take me about 3.5 years to recoup the cost. My oil bill is now for about 40 gallons per month or about $165 as opposed to $800 2X per month.

If it’s sustainable in your market you might consider mini splits. And separating the electric.

My last electric split my electrician gave me a list of the big things I needed to purchase and he told me to buy them from an Electrical supply company on EBay that sells all new products and this saved me about $4500.

@Travis Gutting hi Travis, most of my deals have come from the MLS and being able to act super quickly when a good one gets listed.

After 5 years in the business I’m starting to get a few word of mouth referrals which is how I closed my last property which was my first off market deal.

Be patient and do your best to network.

@Gregory Schwartz Hi Gregory, thanks for responding. I’m trying to increase my presence to the local renter population.

So far I’ve gotten mostly local businesses and a few colleagues that are following me.

The best strategy I seem to have deployed so far was to contact all my current tenants and let them know I’d give them a cash referral fee of $250 for anyone they recommend to me that goes through the vetting process and successfully moves in. I’ve had about 6 referrals so far in less than 2 weeks since I have done this.

I usually have very low turnover so I was hoping to organically grow my presence and name brand so that I had more visibility in the marketplace.

I’ve got 31 units, and I’m sure there’s 4-5 other landlords with 15-50 units in my area. We’ve got one big player that probably has at least 600 units with their own rental office and full time maintenance crew. The big fish has local market presence from years of being in the business but no one else is doing anything on socials.

@Simon Packman Not sure where you're located but I have Vermont Mutual in Northern New England for most of my properties and the most I'm paying for any of them is around $4400. I have 8 buildings from a SFH to an 8 unit and everything in between. Some are as low as $1800.

If you haven’t try several independent insurance brokers. They seem to have the widest variety of coverage.

I’m working to build a comprehensive marketing plan for my rental business. I’ve got a website, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Is anyone else going this route with their advertising to try to create a niche for their rentals?

If so do you have any suggestions or tips for best practices to do this?

I’m about 1 month in and feeling a little discouraged. I know it will take time.

So far I’ve just been doing free posting, no paid marketing. I’m trying to get a feel for if any target works better than another.

Thanks!

Alecia