All Forum Posts by: Bethany Turon

@Luca Mastrangelo Hi Luca, I’m a property manager and real estate investor in the area and can also connect you with commercial mortgage contacts. Let’s connect!

@Courtney Oldrin

I Courtney, I’m not sure exactly where you are, but I do all my own accounting and taxes and would be happy to explain the basic concepts to you. You’ll need to understand that even of you for someone. And there are free tools out there to help you!

@Jeremy A. PM sent

@Brendan Lawrence I would be happy to connect you with my Maine residential mortgage broker to discuss more.

@Yixue Zhao I agree that the “avoid old homes” thing is an outside the Northeast mentality. The homes built up here are often very sturdy. I have a duplex that was built in 1885 and have owned for about 15 years now. I’ve switched to vinyl siding (adding insulation), removed a sinking garage, and replaced the fence. They found some old knob and tube wiring in the walls that cost me $2700 to fix and I’ve replaced a boiler. All in all pretty reasonable for 15 years and the age. I like old houses because often the workmanship is very solid.

@Michel Bamani To increase rents, you will make sure that hasn’t been done in the past year (they can tell you when you get the detailed tenant breakdown), and if it hasn’t, you write the director a letter asking you to increase them. I have current max, previous letter examples, and the brochure on current landlord incentives if you want to PM me.

@Michel Bamani You need to call the Auburn Housing Authority and tell them you purchased a property with Section 8 tenants. Tell them the address and they will transfer you to the person who oversees the tenants. They will send you paperwork to fill out to prove the ownership and enter in your direct deposit information for payment. Do this ASAP or else you’re at risk for having the payment for next month go to the former owner (hopefully you had a clause in the contract to ensure they would forward you the payment if this happened). Once you do the paperwork, you’ll start getting regular communication from them. You want to have a call with your person and they can walk you through the status of each tenant, what their portion is, and what Section 8 pays. You’ll get letters when it is time for annual inspection. You can attend but you don’t need to. They will mail you a letter to let you know if you pass or fall, and then you will have a time period to make any needed repairs (30 or 60 days, I can’t remember). They will come out then and reinspect to ensure the repairs were completed. As far as new tenants, all you have to do is place someone with a voucher, then they will inspect and tell you of any needed repairs, same thought process, you will have time to complete the repairs and then you are all set. Right now L/A is paying owner $750 to accept new Section 8 tenants as an incentive and they are covering as couple thousand in repair costs after the first $500 if necessary.

@Jeremy A. I’m working on one

@Elizabeth Compton What towns specifically are you looking to buy in and what sized units? I’m in Androscoggin and Kennebec counties and can help you get connected.

@Sean Delisle What town is your STR in?