All Forum Posts by: David Quinn

Thank you very much for the info Dave!  I’ll try to cover the whole project with the heloc tied to the duplex being renovated. 

Hello, I'm looking for recs for a good investor friendly CPA and attorney (bonus if they are the same person!) in the Hartford - Springfield area of Western Mass / Northern CT. I'm in Suffield, CT. Looking to build my RE business from a couple of small multis into larger multi's and other commercial RE. If you know a great CRE broker that would be awesome too. Thanks!

- Dave

Thanks for the part 2 answer Bill.  So if I rent it for say 2 years and then sell that would be ok?  

Hello, I have a duplex in Boston I've owned for around 17 years.  Currently in the middle of a large renovation with the goal of converting to two condos and selling individually.  I owe roughly 400K on the mortgage and should get somewhere around 900k - 1.1M for each unit.  Purchased for 560K originally; obviously quite a bit of depreciation.  Lets assume my basis is roughly 300k or so (before the renovation).  The renovation will run roughly 400-500K.  I'm using 2 HELOCs to fund the renovations.  One is connected to this property, the second to another property.  As I understand 1031 rules, I must purchase the new properties using all the proceeds of the sales of the condos (if I want to defer all taxes).  

My first question is - if I have to use all the proceeds toward the new properties, how do I pay off the HELOCs I'm using to fund the renovation?

Second, separate question - can I 1031 into a property I intend to flip?  Is there a minimum time I must own the new property before selling?

Thanks for any help!!  - Dave

Thanks for the advice folks. As an update, after I sprayed a professional came a couple of days later and treated the entire apartment; they are coming back tomorrow morning for the second treatment. They will then come back a month later to see if there has been any more activity. Regarding the mattresses: I ended up just kicking in 200 bucks toward a new one rather than the entire cost. If it happens again I probably won’t cover the cost of anyone’s bed, but with the rent by the room model it’s tough not to pay for the treatment itself. 

Hey Kuriakos, I tend to agree with keeping the tenant.  If she’s already agreed to the $350 increase, I’d go with that for now and then increase by 5-8% per year till she’s at market.  A good long term tenant that also keeps your property in good shape is tough to find.

Hi, I have a duplex in Boston.  In both units I do the “rent by the room” model.  Last night one of the tenants in the 2nd floor told me he had bedbugs and got rid of his box spring and mattress.  I went by today and one of his roommates, whose room is just across the hall, also has bedbugs - a much worse case.  I carried out his mattress and then sprayed the heck out of his box spring and around the room (and apartment) with my own pesticide. I also hired a professional whose coming in a couple days.  Fortunately, both the guys are already out of town for a few days anyway.  I’m paying for the treatment - no problem there.  The first one recently asked if I’d pay to replace his mattress.  After some thought, I agreed to pay for it as well as his roommate’s.  My reasoning was to keep the peace and hopefully keep them into a new lease (both good tenants).  Obviously one of them brought the bugs in - this is the first case in the 15 years I’ve owned the house.  Of course there is no way to prove that.

I’m curious what others might do in this situation - should the landlord pay for new beds?  Sheets and blankets?  The tenant’s arguments would of course be they have no idea where the bugs came from and they’d be right.  Thoughts?

Thanks for any input!

Thanks for the great info Rick!

@David Barnett  Hi David, its a duplex in Brighton, very close to Oak Square.  I have been getting $800+/bedroom but reduced this one to 725 before getting someone in there.  There are people on my street getting close to $1000/bedroom, not sure if we'll see that again soon.

@Dan K.  Hi Dan, yes i have a handyman now and its a huge help.  With the equity and cash flow it just doesn't make sense for me to do anything larger than a few small projects myself.  I plan to do a larger renovation in the next couple years and will use a GC for that.

Hi Nate, I did this myself in Brighton 15 years ago.  I had negative cash flow for a while but after moving out and some sweat equity the property began to cash flow.  It has since appreciated a lot (Along with rents) - about double what I paid for it.  I also have a quad in Marlborough.  This area of “metro-west” is starting to come up a lot and could be your answer.  Marlborough, Framingham, Hopkinson, Milford, etc.  If you can find a triplex or quad inside the 495 belt, live in one unit (maybe with roommates) and rent the others, you should be able to pull it off and see some good appreciation in the next few years.  Rents are coming up a lot.  Check out the commuter line of the MBTA or areas easy to get to the Mass Pike.  Just be aware most multi’s in the area are pretty old and may be in rough shape.  Covid won’t last forever and people will always value a reasonable drive into the city.  Good luck!