All Forum Posts by: Anne W.

@Greg Scott in our market, probably few houses would have positive CF anymore. This one, if I have 35% equity, the monthly CF is about $150. I am hesitant to go to C or lower neighborhoods in this economy. The valuation is too high. 

**This is cross posted since more foot traffic here**

Hello BP,

I am here to soliciting your input and thank you! Looking for a 2nd rental. Inspection done today. I am on the fence.

- Location: Old neighborhood, up and coming. 6 houses to an elementary school ( 7/10 per Greatschool.org). Within a mile, there's a high school (6/10), sports field, community rec center, swimming pool, police station and fire station. Also with in a mile to major turnpikes.

- House: 50's brick ranch, builder grade everything. 3 bedroom, 3 bath but only one shower. There's a space for adding a shower.

- Inspection issues: 1) the cement on the side of the house and back patio. big crack, 3 inches lower than its original place. The settling force tilted the basement window well. to repour the cement and fix the grading, about $20K

2) original insulation(disgusting), original electrical (need various repair), original plumbing, sewer line needs work (clay and cast iron). New roof.

3) Finished basement. Lead paint is one basement bedroom. About 400 sqft basement ceiling has asbestos. The entire 1200 sqft basement floor has asbestos but encapsulated. Faux wood paneling in the entire basement and one room at the main level. Not sure what's behind the faux wood.

4) no dishwasher in the kitchen, no hook-up.

My concern: the market is crazy, we paid the market price for this one, not a deal. This is "as is", so can't negotiate price for inspection results. I don't think I have a deal, but I don't think I can get a deal in this market, either. The inspector is very familiar with the neighborhood and he said the overall condition of this one is 3.5/5. 

What should I fix before I can rent it out? Is this property too high-maintenance for a rental?

Hello BP,

I am here to soliciting your input and thank you!  Looking for a 2nd rental. Inspection done today. I am on the fence. 

- Location: Old neighborhood, up and coming. 6 houses to an elementary school ( 7/10 per Greatschool.org). Within a mile, there's a high school (6/10), sports field, community rec center, swimming pool, police station and fire station. Also with in a mile to major turnpikes. 

- House: 50's brick ranch, builder grade everything. 3 bedroom, 3 bath but only one shower. There's a space for adding a shower. 

- Inspection issues: 1) the cement on the side of the house and back patio. big crack, 3 inches lower than its original place. The settling force tilted the basement window well. to repour the cement and fix the grading, about $20K

2) original insulation(disgusting),  original electrical (need various repair), original plumbing, sewer line needs work (clay and cast iron). New roof. 

3) Finished basement. Lead paint is one basement bedroom. About 400 sqft basement ceiling has asbestos. The entire 1200 sqft basement floor has asbestos but encapsulated. Faux wood paneling in the entire basement and one room at the main level. Not sure what's behind the faux wood. 

4) no dishwasher in the kitchen, no hook-up. 

My concern: the market is crazy, we paid the market price for this one, not a deal. This is "as is", so can't negotiate price for inspection results. I don't think I have a deal, but I don't think I can get a deal in this market, either. The inspector is very familiar with the neighborhood and he said the overall condition of this one is 3.5/5. 

@Steve Ehrman  Our lease says 24-hour notice. Tenants know it, still feel "very comfortable" for us to go in without them. 

@Lynn McGeein  thank you for the input. Our lease specifies 24-hour notice for landlord access. We gave three weeks...

In general, the tenants are very reluctant to have us in the house. I checked in January and no sign of weird behaviors occurring. 

Thank you all very much for the advices! This is truly a great forum!

@ Austin Fogt I explained to them three weeks ago that this is the only time available for the entire month of April. If they insist to be in the house for every repair, it's going to be difficult. The wife started full-time working a couple of month ago.

Hello all, I am looking for some advice. 

Background - brand new washer provided last July when tenants moved in. They complained metal-striking noises and we ordered the repair under warranty. There were four repairs, even Whirlpool was involved, can't fix. We managed to have Whirlpool to give us a new washer. Three weeks ago, I told the tenants about the delivery. They said that they wouldn't be available. I told them that I must be there to sign the delivery, so no problem. They went silent. I texted them again today about tomorrow's delivery, they said no, they "feel very uncomfortable with people being in the house while they are away". By the way, they are a couple with two small kids. They have cameras at every entrance and in the garage and basement. The property is in a very nice and safe neighborhood (HOA, top schools, etc.).

What's the best way to handle the situation? I am obviously upset because I have to reschedule a delivery after four repairs. The lease states that the landlord only needs a 24-hour notice to access the property. The tenants appear to take care of the house, but there have been at least one repair per month, including quarter-size paint chips on the deck which they want us to touch up paint. 

I have received so much help in this post. Thank you all very much for sharing your wisdom! I don't know how to @ someone in a post, but I truly appreciate every advice posted here! 

I thought I was well prepared to be a landlord. I watched tons of videos and read many online articles on how to be a good landlord. It's our previous house for 10+ years. We did partial remodel to the upstair bathrooms with professional help, my husband and I touch-up paint all the walls and it was deep-cleaned before showing, even my garage was shopvac-ed. We also bought new washer/dryer (spent so much time trying to find a floor sample of the nice set). 

It seems that I focused on the wrong thing. Real Estate is dealing people and being a problem solver. 

Julie, thank you for the information. I am really surprised that Zillow's template is silent on this topic. Lesson learned.