All Forum Posts by: Aubrey Page

I have a friend that is self-employed by a non-profit and therefore writes off 90% of her income.  Her non-profit is working with foster kids and she also provides respite for those kids so she wants a 3bdr house with storage and a yard.  She is living in a great place, but her landlords want to increase the price beyond what she can afford.  She started looking at other places and realized how little $600 or $700 can get you for rent.  

She has the consistent income to purchase a place, but her 1040s state she makes a few thousand a year and that is how you get qualified on a loan (federal law?).  She had an idea to find an investor who wanted to buy a house knowing she would rent it, but we don't have the cash on hand for that.  

Am I missing some other genius idea on how she can buy a house?  Any smart ways to find investors in the Cincinnati area (St Bernard, N Avondale, Walnut Hills, Clifton, etc)?  We are new to this game so I don't know as many creative solutions.

@Nicole A. I feel like you gave really sage advice. I do feel that Tenant C is being overly dramatic and acting as if we have more control over the situation than we do, but I also feel like my responsibility is to make sure other people uphold the lease.  If Tenant C still feels concerned (which she likely will) would you offer her an out? Wouldn't that just turn it into a "we'll get rid of the snitch" apartment building?

@Max T., I was in each apartment the other day for repairs and saw nothing suspicious.  They're too smart for that.

We have a new-to-us class c quadplex in Avondale in Cincinnati. Tenant A moved in 1 Feb. Tenant B moved in 5 Mar. Tenant C moved in 7 Apr.  Tenant C reported on Apr 10 that she smelled marijuana so strongly when she woke up that she had to open up her windows to air it out.  We talk about drug use on the premises during lease/property rules signing.  This is obviously not allowed. 

Step 1:  I posted a "reminder" letter that said "We have spent a lot of time moving each of you in and we want to be able to maintain our contract. However, we will proceed with eviction proceedings with anyone smoking or using drugs on the property."

Tenant C text me today and said that it isn't fair to her or her son to have to deal with this. I absolutely agree which is why I had asked her on the 10th to keep reporting times/dates she smelled weed usage at the apartment so I could gather a timeline.  She hasn't done that even though she says it has gotten worse.

Tenant C said that she knows that Tenant A/B knows that she was the one reporting (even though I said it was me in the letter).  Tenant C has expressed fear at the thought of Tenant A/B taking "recourse" on her.  I have no reason to believe that is likely, but regardless...people cannot smoke weed inside of our building.

I am hoping someone with more experience on here has an idea.  Any option I can think of makes Tenant C the snitch.  I suspect it is Tenant A, but have no proof other than Tenant B said she was not there on April 10th.

Great points everyone! None of my tenants have asked for one. Anyone they want to let into their house would have their number so it avoids solicitors. Maybe I need to nix the doorbell on my primary residence...

I have a class-c quadplex that had hard wired doorbells many years ago. I want to install a wireless doorbell for each unit. The only ones I see are the ones that plug into outlets which seems like it is easy to mess with. Does anyone know of battery powered ones? Would especially like one item that has four buttons.

Wow! This thread is amazing. Let me try to be succinct. 1946 Quadplex of 1bdr/1bath units. Each has three electric baseboard heaters and a refrigerator. Separate panels and meters. The service wire from the weather head to the meter is frayed. We knew that before purchasing. To replace it we were told about $500. BUT it is apparently only a 60amp service wire. 100amps is code, I get that, but I'm not sure if that is enough to support 4 flat screens and 4 hair dryers plus baseboards and heaters. Questions: Is it possible to have had tenants with all of this going on and a 60amp service wire? It seems impossible but maybe I am misunderstanding. Will 100amps be enough? I know we have to get an architectural drawing if we choose to proceed and they will tell us how much, but the electrician said we only needed 100amp box on the two units we were thinking of changing out to electric stoves. That's a low number because it is only one unit, right? Last question, what do you recommend for houses with old cloth wiring (no ground) for places that should be GFCI. There are no GFCIs for this purpose. Is there a work around?

Thanks Alex Jagoditz ! That's perfect! It's at least a starting point for us to make our own.

I sent you a message.

I know a great hardwood flooring guy and a plumber that did a great job on my small job.  No all-in-one sort of guys...

I have called two different electricians given as a referral. One never called me back, the other called once and has not answered subsequent calls.  I just need the wire outside of my quadplex that goes from the weather head to the meter replaced.  So they have to be licensed, insured, know how to do permits, etc.  So frustrating since we are doing the internal stuff ourselves that we can't get someone to call us back about the ONE thing we need a professional for.