All Forum Posts by: Chris Eaker

2nd the expenses on a 117 year old building. You will also have to provide lawn maintenance. Is it up north in Connecticut? You will need to provide for snow removal. Pest control, too. Also, NOI does not include your mortgage payment.

@Kyle R.

Everything I've heard and read says that RUBS is not allowed in the state of North Carolina. Check into that. Apparently you have to sub-meter the water. I think you can also just meter the hot water and charge based on that tenant's usage of hot water as a percentage of all tenants' hot water usage.

I have been a librarian at the University of Tennessee Libraries for 4 years. Before that, I was a civil engineer for 10 years.

@Andrew Cushman, thank you for this information. This is what I was looking for. I was thinking exterior renovations could happen immediately as you said. I do not plan to empty the complex of residents prior to renovations, just as they vacate.

Hello All,

In a value-add multifamily property (say 75-125 units size) in the early years, there will be quite a bit of upheaval for the current tenant base, i.e. construction onsite to renovate the property, renovation of units, possibly implementing RUBS, enforcing more rules on the tenants, and raising rent. How much turnover can be expected during this early period, say the first, second, and third years of owning the property?

Thank you for any info you can offer.

@Fred Sams

Depends on the type of beam. What kind of beam was removed (the 4x8x12 one) and what kind was installed? If the new beam is a LVL beam, it is as strong as or stronger even at 6 inches height than two 2x8s sandwiched together, but I would still get a structural engineer's opinion it.

@Rohan J. I agree, look around at the other area rentals. If they are not paying for the water for their tenants, then go ahead and buy it with the expectation that you will implement a bill back program (called Ratio Utility Billing or RUBS). I am not sure if using a RUBS company will be economically feasible for only 5 units, but you can always do it yourself or simply implement a flat water fee equal to 1/5 of what is left after you deduct for common area water (which you may or may not have). I prefer the ratio billing because then tenants have more incentive to reduce usage + if only one person lives there, their bill will be less than a unit with 4 people.

On the other hand, if every other landlord pays for water, you can not bill them back as @Joel Owens said. 

If you like the area, then operating it from 9 hours away is feasible. You would need to be able to go there periodically and be on the phone with the PM weekly early on, then monthly. Be sure the PM uses a service like Appfolio where you can go into your owner's portal and see real time information. Use a service like Wegolook.com to get periodic inspections from a disinterested party. You just have to stay on top of it to make sure it doesn't start slipping away.

I have a 3/2 in the Fort that I rent to students, but I do the management myself. I have received postcards from a guy who manages in that area. His name is Robert Holmes. His website is rentutk.com. If you work with him, would you please let me know how it goes? Thanks.

@Bariso Sora for software, Google @Michael Blank and go to his website and buy his Syndicated Deal Analyzer. Maybe sign up for his coaching or course if you're highly motivated.