All Forum Posts by: Michael L.

Quick Update:  'New' tenant finally moved in and I received some rent for June form Sec8.

Will follow-up next week with vacancy figures and other details.  Happy Independence Day to all!

Quick Update:  New tenants have not moved in yet.  Checked with PM on what's the status.  Have not heard back yet.  My vacancy is breaching 7 months, which I am not happy about.  I also noticed that although vacant, the unit is still incurring various charges (maintenance, lock changes, materials, legal, etc.).  Once a tenant moves in and I resume collecting rent, I hope to post and update on the total vacancy costs.

 Nice tip!  Was the 'on the ground person' pretty receptive?

Sorry to hear the bad experiences folks are having.  In some promising news, I see a rental application was approved for my vacant unit on 2/22 with a 'desired' move in 3/1.  (I did get some text from Elite regarding this, but didn't find it in AppFolio until now).  To see prospective tenants, you have to go to Leasing > Guest Cards or Rental Applications.

Will keep everyone posted.  I've also been keeping a tally of the vacancy costs, which I'll post once I resume getting rents.

 My bad, this refund was for 2016 year.

Anyone know what's going on with the Property Taxes in Cook County?  For 2017, only one payment was made via my escrow...was waiting for the 2nd installment in Oct, but just got a check in the mail for overpayment!?  

Is this related to the assessment appeal that was done by Elite earlier in 2017?

Quick Update. This is what it looks like when you have 1 vacancy...plus a host of repairs and other maintenance items going on at the same time. (All expenses minus mortgage PITI):

Oct : -$540

Nov: -$700

Dec: +$200

Jan: -$140

As you can see, in an ideal situation (minimal maintenance&other costs) it's possible to cashflow a small amount.  On average, I'm expecting to be even or slightly to the negative until a tenant is found.  Other factors in play are whether the current tenants are paying their portion on time as well.

My current setup: 2 duplexes, 4 doors, 1 vacancy since Oct.  

Hi Momk, that sounds terrible!  Have you been in contact with Alex directly?  I'm not sure what advice I can give you other than to keep the pressure on Elite to fill those vacancies.  With my purchases all the units had tenants or a tenant within a month of closing.  This is my first vacancy.  Has anyone considered trying pursuing non-Sec8 tenants?  Seems like Sec8 rents range about 900-1200, which market rate rents are about 25% lower, $700-900.  I wouldn't mind having a higher quality tenant and accept less in rent.  Thoughts? I'm certain folks here on BP know much more about the local market.  Hopefully they can chime in to offer advice. 

What's with the " This post has been removed." messages above?   I don't recall what the removed posts said, but find it odd that they were removed at all.  Feel free to jog my memory.

It's been awhile since I provided an update, but here it goes...

Duplex #1

- ton of maintenance costs in Nov/Dev ~$2000 for a variety of things (Sec8 Inspection repairs, furnace, painting, etc.)

- Water bill has been around $160-$220 every two months

- One tenant has a significant balance ~$1,000

Duplex #2

- One tenant did a move out in Oct, unit is still vacant.  I was told the unit was rent ready in early December.  I'll wait until February timeframe to re-visit the status.  Cashflow overall has been zero to very little with this vacancy and all the repair costs these last 2-3 months.

- Maintenance wasn't as bad during Nov. (~$400), but when I logged in this morning, I saw this "No water. Busted pipes. $525.00".  Not happy to see this.  I'll follow-up with the PM to see what's going on.  Possible the vacant unit not circulating any water caused the pipe to freeze.

Can't say that I'm too happy with the large maintenance costs towards the end of 2017.  Hoping to get some good new from the PM asap.

Ouch!  That's a huge hit.  I was under the assumption that to stay in the Sec8 program, you had to stay in good standing.  Is that not the case?  Otherwise, where's the incentive to be a decent tenant?