All Forum Posts by: Dave Holman

@Nick N. Good news. Many contractors who don't have extensive experience with heat pumps say that they can't be a primary heat source but this is not the reality. I've used two 15,000 BTU Fujitsu Halcyons as my primary heat source for 4 winters in Maine with stretches of -20s and they keep our home 72 degrees with no problem. Insulation matters way more than heat source. We have the two on our first floor and no heat on the second floor- stays toasty up there all winter with the doors open. The mini-splits are the ones that are only efficient down to 15-20F above. Single head heat pumps are good down to -30 and below in my experience. The only reason the the Mitsubishi and Fujitsu units claim to be efficient only down to -13 (Well, Fujitsu says -15 but they use the same standard test which measures down to -13...) is because the lowest test standard is -13F, in the real world they produce great heat at the absolute lowest temperatures Maine can ever experience. I just installed a Mitsubishi 15,000 BTU as the one and only heat source in a single family rental and gave it extra insulation- each bedroom has supplemental baseboard if people want to keep their doors shut. After years of experience, I cannot say enough good things about heat pumps- I use them for hot air and hot water in all my properties whenever a furnace or boiler needs expensive repairs- goodbye fossil fuels. Insulation+heat pumps are about the same price as a new boiler/tank and a much safer investment in my opinion, who knows what oil/natural gas will cost next year or in 10 years. Efficiency Maine's $500 rebate means that these units are about $3K installed. Winter electric bills may be in the $150-$250/month range but summer I leave them off and our hot water/electric bill is about $40/mo- so annual utilities for a heat pump home might range $1500-$2500- a little less on average than a oil/gas home.  

Thanks Luke, very helpful reply, upvoted! I should've clarified, the ad had a lot of details about the property and also my min income requirements (3x rent) and that there'd be a credit and background check so I think most of the inquiries are not coming from left field. 

I'm closing on a single family investment property in a few weeks and have a bunch of people interested in renting it due to a Craigslist ad with no photos (we're replacing kitchen appliances and some flooring right away, so I want to use photos of the new stuff). I will run the application through Cozy.com once we have photos. Should I do phone screenings of interested potential applicants before they apply? If so, what questions can/should I ask without running afoul of Fair Housing laws? Also, should I schedule open house showings for anyone or just those who've applied and/or been phone screened? Thanks for your advice! 

I peg vacancy at 5% in this area- though with good management you may get it lower. My repair/capex budget is about $250/mo for a small single family. Fannie Mae recommends reserving 2% of purchase price/year. Hope this helps! 

I've heard a lot of interest in Saco, Biddeford, Gorham and Westbrook from investors who can't find much Portland cash flow. That said, unlike a rental you won't live in, I'd recommend studying towns and neighborhoods where you would really enjoy living and then seek deals there rather than the inverse. Even if you only plan to stay for two years, why spend two years of your life in a place you're uncomfortable or don't like when you might make just as good returns somewhere you do like? You're not crazy to do this, in fact it sounds like a very wise investment plan as long as you're comfortable being landlords to tenants that you'll see and hear most days. You'll want to screen them very carefully and pick people who you don't mind interacting with. Good luck!

I'm buying a house with partners. It's under contract and we filed for an LLC which should be approved any day now that we're assigning the contract to. We've been writing personal checks and spending $ for inspections, loan fees etc. Two questions:

Once the LLC is created, and we fund a checking account for it, can we bill the LLC for these costs and reimburse ourselves?

Can/should we declare these costs on the LLC's 2017 tax returns even though they occurred in 2016, before the LLC existed? Thanks for any guidance!

I've known Tom Loring, a CPA at Macpage a long time. He's an investor himself and very honest guy. 

http://www.macpage.com/articles/63-913/tom-loring-promoted-to-manager/2

Thanks Cristina, I plan to attend.

Thanks Ryan and James, helpful suggestions! 

I co-own and manage two single family homes in Maine and am buying a multi-unit in 2017 and more down the line. All are in separate LLCs with different investor equity compositions. Should I start a separate property management LLC that buys everything, pays all expenses, contractors etc. and then bills the LLCs OR should I just keep track of each property's expenses? Pros, cons?