All Forum Posts by: Angela Gilltrap

1) Do you have the records of rental rates for your apartments over the years? I think you may find there has not been a percentage increase in a while. 

2) No renter ever wants an increase but I do believe they understand when you offer an explanation. I send a letter along the lines of: "Love having you as a tenant however, we've noticed that the current rental rate has not factored in the yearly increase in expenses." 

If you have the stats, add in the increases they've seen over the years and depending on your plan, I would say "I'm committed to keeping these apartments affordable and after this initial increase know that you can expect between 2-3% per year moving forward. 

Then I would recalculate the rents. How long has it been since you last raised them? 

Does you city council/county offer a flat rate for multi-dwelling apartments? Call the county and ask. Have you priced how much installing individual meters would be to bill back the tenant or, if none of this works, I would raise your rents to include this cost. Hope that helps!

Thanks everyone, it’s always good to hear what other people experience—good and bad. As always, clear communication is the winner. To me, micromanaging never helps. If you don’t trust people to do their job, you shouldn’t be hiring them.

I've worked with quite a few property managers but lately, I'm getting inundated with multiple phone calls a day and up to 10 emails from property management about non-urgent matters. Our agreement states they can spend up to $1000 without contacting me. While it's good to be kept in the loop, I feel this increasing barrage of contact is excessive. I want to work on big picture stuff and I can't do that if I'm being dragged into the day-to-day. We have a once a month in-person meeting and I'm happy to chat once a week at a designated time. What are your thoughts? How often do you want to hear from property management? At what point do you end up paying to manage management?

One other thing you could implement is a policy that any repairs over $500/$700 require a minimum of two quotes. 

I feel your pain. It’s a terrible situation to be in.  

A few suggestions: Firstly, are any of your tenants eligible for programs such as SCRIE or DRIE? If so, this may help with cash flow as partial payments will come from outside sources. I would put up notices in the foyer, have an information evening and send out information pamphlets to tenants. Having this in place will also help with rent increases down the track. 

Secondly, for those who won't pay, I'd make a very strict 2 month arrears policy and find a good non-payment lawyer. Every two months they are behind take them to court. Each and every time. Again, inform tenants of this new, no exceptions policy. After a while many will get sick of having to take the time to go to court and will either move out or start paying more frequently. And often one visible eviction can be enough to let the tenants know you mean business. If that still doesn't work you, at least have a paper trail to enquire if you might have grounds for a holdover further down the track.

Another option for those who aren't paying is to include a list of local charities or numbers of outreach services when sending delinquency notices. Information on one-shot deals can help keep your arrears in check.

Yearly increase: What yearly increase are you instigating? Make sure the new price takes into consideration the arrears.

In terms of repairs, contact your local council to see if there may be any government/non-profit programs that may be available particularly if you have low income renters. You'll be surprised what resources are available or even, who you may meet that can offer great advice in your area.  

Re-do your budget based on the percentage loss you're experiencing. It's no good having a budget that has a 5% loss when you're running at 30%. You will definitely have to do some fancy footwork but lower your expectations of what can be achieved in the next six months. 

If all else fails, I'm happy to lend you my magic wand!!!!

I agree, there are so many benefits to owning even in seemingly overpriced markets. I know apartments that are available to buy in Manhattan for under $100,000, provided you use it as a primary residence. Do you need a pool and a doorman or is it worth living in a walkup, paying less, investing more and trading up as you go? At the end of the day, it’s what’s important to you and your goals. If you want to work remotely and travel the world, do that. I would simply say set a financial plan that has a start date and an end date and stick to that. Reassess what worked and what didn’t.

This is a great thread, thanks for the question. We were recently looking to purchase land in Upstate New York and the prospect of fracking definitely turned us off. How close is too close and what are the ramifications if your neighbors all decide fracking is the best way forward?

I work a lot with lower income buildings, what we've done in the past is have online payment options then be available on the first Saturday of each month for residents to drop their payments off in person. This also seems to keep monthly payments from being sent late. 

We have a management company but still looking for good software to manage maintenance requests. 

I would also see if your properties might qualify for any government grants for upgrades.