All Forum Posts by: Alex Del

@Jonathan R McLaughlin, I went with option 1.

As an update, I ended up having a lengthy discussion with the realtor and attorney to try to get in the contract "property delivered vacant upon closing"; the seller didn't want to budge on not renewing the tenant's lease.  In the end we dissolved the deal and moved on.  Luckily a multi-family property that I had on the back burner incase this one fell through accepted my offer the next day, so I am on my way to closing.  Same neighborhood, fully renovated, reasonable price, and we were able to come to terms that worked for both parties. 

Thanks again to all those who shared their thoughts and experiences! It was very helpful

@Kevin Manafi, thanks for the input.  As the contracts had been drawn up to reflect the property was to be delivered vacant, I signed and had been awaiting the seller to sign making the contract official.  However, they delayed signing for about a week and have now just come back with "the 1st floor tenants will remain in place".  Now their lawyer, the seller and the realtor are dancing around this issue trying to explain it away rather than find a solution.  I agree with this being a deal and an opportunity but I am new into the investing/ multi-family world; this would be my second one and I really don't like the idea of hemorrhaging money due to a tenant getting upset for me not renewing their lease after them being there for 20+ years and not paying and going through a lengthy eviction process here in NY... the risk might be too much for me to take on at this stage in my career.   

@Michael Dumler, thank you.  There is huge potential for these units pending the removal of the current tenants, its far below market value; in addition, it needs a lot of work.  The plan was to occupy the one that needed the most work, rehab it, move out, rent it at market value.  However, I may just be moving on to the next one... 

@Andrew Freed, that's an excellent idea and I like the sound of it. My apprehension comes from the tenants deciding to not move out or not pay... maybe I'm over thinking it. Because this is a VA loan, I have to occupy one unit, the 2nd floor is rent ready and in great condition. If I were to move into the 2nd floor, deal with the termination of the lease on the 1st floor, and then move into the 1st floor and initiate the repairs while getting a tenant for the 2nd floor I feel that there will be quite a high cost involved with vacancy and possible legal fees all at the beginning of the investment.

I appreciate the advice from everyone!

Thanks for the reply, I am in New York and am expecting worst case... I will be talking with my attorney tomorrow to discuss the options.

Hi all, 

I am looking to go under contract for a property that has 2 units and needs some work to bring it up to speed with what the current market in the area offers.  However, in the unit that needs the most work, the seller isn't interested in not renewing their lease (month-to-month).  They have been in the unit for about 20 years, there is no security deposit on file and what they pay is hundreds below market value.  Would it be stupid of me to close on the property with them in place and not renew their lease myself?  I feel like that could open me up to a ton of potential problems, such as them deciding not to pay the rent, going through a lengthy eviction process, a judge siding with the occupant due to their time in the property and community.  

Any advice or experience would be greatly appreciated.  At this point I may be walking away from this one if the tenants are to stay in place. 
 

Hi all, 

I have a 2-family home where I am currently trying to come up with a plan for how to have the tenants cover the utility costs.  Unit 1 has oil heat through forced air, it only serves that unit and has its own oil tank, so that one is easy; the tenant of Unit 1 pays for their oil.  

However, the second furnace heats the hot water for both Unit 1 and 2, as well as serves to heat the baseboard heat in Unit 2; this is served by its own oil tank.  What's the best way to chop that up as far as that oil bill goes?

Lastly, the electric has 1 meter going into the home, which goes to the main panel which serves Unit 1, and off the main panel there is a subpanel for the electric in Unit 2, however no 2nd meter.  As far as electric bill goes, what's the best way to divide that up, if any?  I'd like to avoid including the electric in the rent so as to deter the tenants from "running the A/C with the windows open because they like the breeze", and if they do it's on them.

Thanks for any insight you can offer!

Alex  
   

@Basit Siddiqi

Thank you for the reply,

I keep everything separate when it comes to transactions for the rental unit, hopefully by this coming summer I can transition from a house hack to a fully rented 2 family while I move to the next investment.

I appreciate your response!

Hello all, 

First post here.  I am currently coming to the end of my first year in a house hack and I am checking over my documents and bookkeeping before tax time.  The setup is as follows: 2 family, separate, propane for cooking and heating oil; shared electric (one meter for building); septic and well.  

With regard to the electric, I charge a flat 100 per/month.

I have been using Stessa for bookkeeping purposes.  I have everything tracked through that and a spreadsheet as a redundancy.

My question is: do I label the Income for the 100 per/ month electric charge as rents? I don't see any other applicable place for it.  

Any advice would be greatly appreciated,

Alex