All Forum Posts by: Brandi Carballo

It really depends on the statutes in your state. In my state I would have to give them a 30 day notice if they have lived there for less than 2 years or a 60 day notice if they have lived there for 2 years or longer. I do not have to give any reason, and the notice does not have to be for them to move on/by the 1st of a month, it can be for any day. 

I would definitely get rid of them! They sound like problem tenants. Plus your good tenants may decide they don't want to live there anymore if they keep having to deal with these people. 

 Thank you! I will contact one or both of them. I have several projects at 2 properties in Salem

Thank you for the other info. I guess I would be ok with paying a contractor to do an estimate if it would get someone of good quality to actually show up.

I own several 4 plexes and I like to purchase distressed properties. You can usually get a good deal on them, but they usually need work.

My first property was purchases from an out-of-town owner who wanted to buy closer to her home. Although the building was in good condition, she had been cheap with repairs and every unit was way outdated. We immediately made improvements such as adding fencing to tenants' "yard" areas, and replacing the ancient washer and dryer in the laundry and doing some general clean up and maintenance. As tenants move out (2 so far, in 3 1/2 years) I am renovating the units and am raising rents. So far this is a fantastic investment. We lived in one unit the first 2 years, so we were able to buy it with a 0 down VA loan. We paid $225k for it, rents are $2750/mo. When we bought it total rents collected were $1800. The new, energy efficient appliances also lowered our utility bill.

Our second property was in even worse condition. The couple who owned it were elderly. The husband had died and the wife had a stroke and was in a nursing home. Her children had no desire to be landlords and couldn't agree on things like repairs. They had one of the tenants "managing" the other units for a discount and he did a horrible job. The whole building was in awful shape, needing a new roof, new siding, new windows and every unit needs to be gutted. I had to replace a heater, stove and two fridges immediately after closing. The day I closed the Sheriff's office forcibly evicted a meth addict from one of my units. Why did I choose that property? Potential. It was the worst property in a decent neighborhood where most people rent. It is cute and has character and charm. The rents are low for the area, making it easy to find tenants. I got a conventional mortgage and have put another $20k into repairs. I still need to replace the siding. I plan on renovating each unit as tenants move out. I renovated the meth addict's unit but in this market I could only do a $25 rent increase.  It already cash flows nicely and the other units will see higher rents with each reno.

My point is that if you can't buy a nice, good condition property then buy a distressed property. Even when you take reno costs into account, they are usually a really good investment. It is a lot more work, but it is well worth it. In the market that I am in a newer or updated, turn key property would give me about a 5% cap rate. At purchase price and the rents at purchase my cap rates were 8.5% and 13%. And as a previous reply said, look for motivated sellers! Mine were both motivated, by different circumstances. I got a great deal on the second property with cash back for repairs because of how motivated they were.

I own a 4 plex in Salem, Oregon and I am purchasing a single family home there.

I have a property management company on my 4 plex, but I am moving to the area and plan on managing it myself from now on. 

I cannot, for the life of me, find contractors of any kind to do work. The only work I've been able to get done is the roof. 

I tried to find a general contractor to completely remodel a unit. I called every contractor I could find a number for, only 1 came out to the property to look and he never got a quote to me. We ended up doing the work ourselves.

I tried to get a plumber to come out and do the plumbing work, no one was available. The ones that were wanted to charge $75 to $150 to come out, look and give me an estimate. 

I had to have major electrical work done and I let the prop mgmt company hire the electrician they recommended. When I went to the property a week after the work was completed I found an uncovered junction box with about 10 live, bare electric wires sticking out in every direction. My property management company didn't even check the "completed" work. Now I can't find an electrician to do it correctly.

How do you find good contractors that are competent and reliable? 

Is it normal for contractors to charge a fee to give an estimate?

One of my friends suggested I may be having issues because I am a woman,  I would like to think that this is not the case. I am knowledgeable about home repairs and have no problem paying good contractors for good work. But I did decide to test her theory and had a guy friend who was knowledgeable call plumbers with even worse results than I had with GCs and electricians.

Ugh.

 Would there be enough room on the wall where the fridge is now for a small wall mounted fold up/down table? Ikea sells them, they're perfect for 1 or 2 people.

Laws differ from state to state.

If you were in my state, for example, neither you nor the sex offender has any obligation to notify neighbors. Only sex offenders designated as "preditory", which is very few (about 1%) require notification, and in those cases law enforcement notifies the neighbors, not the offender or a third party. Most sex offenders do not have a requirement to not have contact with minors, some do. So if you have looked into his compliance and he is fine, then he probably does not have that condition.

Also in my state we are required to honor existing leases when we purchase a property, so no new lease and no kicking him out until his lease is up. Unless, of course, he has violated his lease or lied on his application. I would definitely look into that and kick him out accordingly.

If he does live with the child you saw him with I would definitely report that to the local child welfare agency. They will investigate and make sure that the child is safe, even up to removing the child from her mother's care if they feel there is a danger of him reoffending (especially if circumstances are similar to his offense).

I would not pass up the opportunity to buy the property if the numbers made sense.

I would, however, add a requirement that the seller notify, in writing, all of the tenants about the sex offender's presence and the type of victim (6 to 10 yr old female) he was convicted of molesting. 

Next up, after purchase, I would notify him in writing that I intend to terminate his tenancy when his lease expires. I would also let him know that I would allow the lease to be terminated early should he decide to move before that time. I may also offer a cash incentive to help him decide to leave early.

If the other tenants aren't already aware of his sex offender status, they will probably be very frustrated and vocal about getting him out. You may have a lot of angry calls after you purchase the property, you are just going to have to deal with explaining the legality of kicking him out. I'm sure the other tenants will start harassing him. Hopefully this will help him decide to leave.

(I worked in law enforcement for 5 years, my husband is a Deputy Sheriff and we own several rental properties).

I own rentals and my property management companies mail me checks. I would prefer direct deposit, but I'm not complaining about receiving checks in the mail.

To save money I would leave the sink where it is. Move the stove over to the left of the window, that will leave you room above it to install a vent (microwave combo if its in your budget), and extending gas plumbing is much easier that moving the sink. Then put the fridge to the left of the door in the last picture, where the pile of the tenant's stuff is. Fill in with cabinets and counter tops in an L shape along the walls with the sink and stove. Depending on how high the window is off the floor, you might not have to do anything to it to fit the cabinets/counter under it. That would be the most cost effective solution. 

I personally would not put the stove on the same wall as the sink. You would only have a tiny amount of counter space, and the wall with the window would become unusable. If that was your only option due to the gas plumbing, you should add a row of cabinets/counters to the opposite wall, next to the fridge. 

I've remodeled 3 kitchens in the last year and I try not to move plumbing, its just too expensive and requires permits.