All Forum Posts by: Craig Janet

This can't be real. You have 5 million and your posting on a internet chat board to invest. Put your money in the bank and live off the $300K a year or just keep doing what your doing and make another 5 mil. Do you really want to deal with tenants and leaking toilets.

Are you saying that you will break even if you live in one unit and rent the other. That sounds like a pretty good deal.

Keep in mind. If he sells it to someone else the new owners may have other plans for the building and not renew your lease.

Not your problem but it will be. You can bet that her car note, cell phone bill, electricity bill, cable/internet bill will be paid before you if you offer her any kind of "assistance". You should start the eviction process as soon as she's late. She will either come up with the money, move out or you will expedite the eviction process.  

Even if those numbers were possible lets do some math.

2000 Rent- 200 PM Fees- 200 Insurance- 200 taxes- 150 repairs Cap Ex- 100 Vacancies=  1150 per month.

Or a CD at 5.5%= 190000* .05= 10,450 /12= $870 per month.

Is the extra $280 worth the risk and headache of an out of state rental? For me its not. In my area the rental numbers are even worse. I'm sitting on cash right now. 

A zoning duct system may work, but how much more square feet are you adding to the system? Will it be able to handle the extra load, probably not. As others have mentioned the restrictions on a zone system will have stress out your system unless you have bypass ducts and that will be very inefficient. A zone system installation will be expensive and not efficient (if your current system can even handle it)

Unfortunately there isn't going to be a cheap solution. Either run mini splits in every room are a separate unit. If there is duct work already there I would bit the bullet and put a new system. 

The bed was fragile? LOL! That means that it was a piece of junk.

I would not have any further contact with the tenant. You offered multiple reasonable solutions. I'm 100% positive they will not hire a lawyer. Don't offer any cash or discounted rent. If they try to withhold rent move to evict immediately.  

I''m a HVAC guy and the 90% of the time a frozen unit is because of lack of air flow (dirty filter, bad blower motor, restricted ducts) or lack of freon. The run time doesn't matter. A properly set up system can run 24/7 and not freeze up. 

We have similar weather here in south Louisiana and the rule of thumb is 1 ton per 500sqft. So you are undersized. 

According to your worksheet, the best return you can get is 5.7%. Tbills are paying 5.6% this is the world we live in now. Its crazy.

Be very careful with a home within a flood zone. There is a lot of legislation going on right now that will affect future rates. Budget for increases because they are coming.