All Forum Posts by: Billy Cha

@Kenny Lee no problem! Happy to share our experience. The sub meters conveniently work off of existing cellular infrastructure. A 2-way beacon was installed in each unit and records and transmits the usage. No internet needed. But there is a very small subscription fee per unit, per month. Well worth the convenience. Hope that helps.

Hi Kenny,

My wife and I recently had submeters installed in our duplex. We purchased the kit from Jet Utilities and had to hire a separate plumbing service to come out and install the components. The kit and install ran us a little under $2K once it was all said and done. The process was relatively simple once we got the ball rolling. We have an app that we now use to remotely monitor water usage for bill back purposes. The app isn’t fancy but it works for what we need it for. Only problem we had was that customer support and clarity on the process once we received the metering components was essentially non-existent. I’d recommend shopping around but we do love the remote metering capability we now have. 

Haven’t had an opportunity to rehab a property just yet but thanks for sharing this! What a score for the neighbors. Recently purchased our first investment property in NE Portland and it came pretty clean (minus old rugs and paint cans).

Feeling stuck in Portland as well. On the hunt for the next deal but torn between holding for a down market or continuing to buy in this high $ market.

@Adam Best Thanks for the additional confirmation here. Also, thank you for the heads up on the training classes. I've actually seen a couple of online classes come up for Portland tenant laws. I haven't been able to attend any calls as they were mostly booked up and wait listed but I'll share the link here as soon as I find it.

@Brad Hammond It's been a long time goal of ours to invest in Portland were my wife and I are born and raised but turning out to be more trouble around every corner i.e. ever changing landlord tenant laws, fees, taxes. We'll add this one to the to-do list. Thank you for the reply!

@Jeff S. Thank you for the confirmation! Unfortunate to hear we have another pay-to-play fee but glad to get the confirmation now. Hope in time to avoid a penalty. We are actively looking for a good accountant. Tax season is turning out to be a rough time to get a reply but we're definitely on the hunt. Thanks again!

My wife and I acquired our first rental property this past August 2020. The property is a multiplex and we are currently house hacking. It was tough to take the leap but we have talked about investing for so long we finally had to pull the trigger. That being said, we are both still learning and tackling new issues and questions as they arise. We try to be as proactive in our learnings as we can but still have a lot to learn/experience. Our newest struggle deals with Portland’s Schedule R. To my understanding we are required to register our property with the city of Portland annually. However, when I read the ordinance and form it requires we include our “business” ID # and entity information. We are private investors who don’t own a business entity. Does anyone have any advise they can share regarding this ordinance? Thank you in advance for reading and sharing.

@Michael Noto My wife is nodding in agreement as I'm reading this to her :) In terms of $, we were thinking exactly what you mentioned $100 (which would be near max increase cap in Portland). This was my suggestion but after reading this I am definitely thinking more on turnover and vacancy cost as you've mentioned. Might be worth it to stay on the lower increase spectrum and see our way through 2021. Appreciate the thoughts!

@Fred Cannon These are certainly challenging times and we want to keep good tenants. I think the take away from most feedback here is open communication. We're looking forward to talking with our tenants. Thanks for taking time to share!