All Forum Posts by: Carole M.

An investor landlord has to abide by the Condo HOA Decs/Bylaws and Rules. There are monthly assessments which will cut into your profit. There could also be a "leasing cap amendement" which limits the rentals in the development/building to a certain percentage. When this limit is reached, you will may not be able to "rent" the condo, and may be "forced to sell". It would be wise to talk to some local realtors and possibly RE attorneys for info on the particular condo complex/building.

Hoping the Giants win!

#1 Make sure they have Insurance and add you as Additional Insured.
#2 Check references if all possible
#3 Get a copy of Insurance Certificte prior to having them on premises for the job.
#4 Have some professional inspect the job upon completion
# Licensed with local municipality. This insured that they are bonded and insured as well.

I learned the hard way, I did ask for Ins Cert with AI and he said YES, then he pushed the date up by one day and I did not have Ins Cert at that time. Job completed, he refused to give Ins Cert because job was done. In short, the job done was substandard and I wound up taking him to court and having roof redone by another contractor who was RECOMMENDED by an attorney I knew.

Joshua

A few months back you had a feature where you could find members etc by clicking on the letters A-Z and scroll down to find them. I tried to find some in order to contact them and this feature is hno longer there. I find you need to have a market or classification and scroll throufgh scores of names. the A-Z festure was good. I see all the times people I would like to contact, but maybe not at that particular moment and I don't remember which posts they are on either.

Larger Condo Assns have a Management Fee, plus salaries of personnel and these salaries can exceed 100K total depending on the number of employees, i.e. maintenance, administrator/manager, assistant manager etc. We have a complex of 398 units with almost 1,000 residents. This complex has a Property Mgmt Firm (which is paid separately under contract), then we have the salaries of the various personnel, which we have currently 4 employees (2 admin/2 maintenance.)

How many units are in the property? Do they have a Condo Assn? Do they have a leasing cap percedntage which limits the renters? Our condo assn has a leasing cap of 10% and after any new owner who decides to rent must go through the Management Company/Assn for approval. If they are at their cap then you wil have a hard time renting and will need to get an Exception. Many condo owners are being forced to sell because of the "leasing cap" in the Decs. We had one owner give 1% of ownership to renter in a QCD in order not to sell at this time.

I have an excellent RE ATtorney in Evanston, IL.

Carole M

I had two bathrooms almost fully gutted with exception for the tub. I hired a handyman to update the bathrooms and he did a beautiful job and was well worth the cost per bathroom. He pointed out the condition of the underlying walls, floors etc and what should be done to each area prior to tiling and flooring, which is extremely important when rehabbing an area that is subject to moisture. I then was able to expense his costs. I then hired a bathtub refinishing firm for the tubs and that turned out beautiful. The time he spent on each bathrom was minimal. I then used him as handyman for the entire house when I needed anything done as he was familiar with the plumbing/electrical. He also updated all electrical to comply with building codes.

I would start by talking with an attorney about a Partnership Agreement or LLC Agreement and also talking with a CPA.

Price depends on the type of roof and the age of the building. We had a flat roof on an 83 year old building. The roof had been patched by my parents many times. Leaks inside the 2nd floor unit. Roofer put on a new roof and charged me $12,500, however when I had the roof checked a week afterwards, I found he put a new roof over old rotten boards and the moisture bumps were starting to show- he was to replace some of the boards as stated in the contract. Long story short, he would not redo the roof, so it cost me another $11,500 to have the new roof pulled up and replace the rotten wet boards underneath. I took him to Court. Lesson learned - make sure you know the condition of the board/planks replaced when doing a new roof and again depedning on age, replacee them. It will be cheaper in the long run.