All Forum Posts by: David Sisson

@Peter Kuck we do rezone / variance / etc all the time for the architecture business, so I'm not scared of the complexity. However, you are right - it is slow, expensive, complicated. Insurance is crazy around here - I was paying about $500/year for my big single family in upstate NY. Moved here and it was $4500 for a 2 family. Got this down to $3500 when we removed the knob and tube, and later down to $2500 by getting the right agent and bundling in the auto. thanks for the other suggestions, i'll look into cozy for sure. 

 I know what you mean. I've already learned this - sort of - but I still have a few things I want to stick with - felonies + smoking + no evictions. I have already learned (from a local prop manager I know) that it's pointless to worry about credit ratings - the people w/good credit are buying homes not renting. 

Hi @Fan Bi - honestly, I had enough $ to do a SF (but not a multi) this year and wanted to make the purchase before the end of the year. This SF has a double/oversized lot, and is VERY close to my commercial building/business, so is super easy for me to maintain. I'll be splitting the 2nd lot off ASAP - if possible - and either selling or developing it. This makes this one great for me. It's not about cash flow on this one - more about a long term investment (although it'll cash flow a tiny bit out of the gate, and will cash flow much better if we sell the lot off and push some of the $ back into the home). 

I'm looking forward to a multi next year - maybe even a big one if I can swing it. 

In regards to the other stuff - I went back and double checked and the felons are actually felons (financial crime + violent crime) so I'm not renting to them. 

I know I am ultimately responsible for snow and mowing, but hoping to get the tenant to do it at least some of the time. 

I'll probably end up paying the water myself. 

*sigh* huge learning process and thank you everyone for the advice. I'm sure it won't be my last set of questions. 

@Frank Patalano do you think it'd be worth it to move in one of the somewhat cruddy tenants for 6 months or month to month? Other than the 5 year old felony, one couple looks decent. 6 months would get me to better weather and maybe they'll turn out ok. Or is this magical thinking? 

My first home was a very slow live-in flip. I made money, but only because I did the work myself. I would have made more working a minimum wage job for the same time. I learned a ton though. I haven't flipped since, but I have done smaller rehab and made money on it. From talking w/my clients who do a lot of flips, sometimes they don't make much (like less than $10k for a year's work). It's a tough game. 

On the building code side, it's a lot more straightforward to have side by side that are built as townhomes. From a code perspective, they *may* have a 1 hour or 2 hour (I say "may" depending on age...) fire rated wall between the units. It's very straightforward to divide a side by side (ie: sell half, or condo). I think tenants prefer side by side as well - you don't hear the neighbors walking on your head. 

That said, in the northeast  (where I am), it's SUPER common to have over/under style. These can be 2 unit ("double deckas") 3 unit ("triple deckas") and even 4-6 unit. I own and live in a over/under 2 unit that has a finished attic. We call this upper unit "townhouse style" around here. I love my over/under duplex double decker. Around here, especially in Boston, people are turning these 2 and 3+ units into condos too. 

Honestly, just find what works for you in terms of numbers. Probably the side by side is easier on the numbers, but it'll probably have a larger lot. 

Thanks everyone - great advice. Keep it coming.

@Michael Noto I will own the property tomorrow. The current owner is letting me search for tenants before I purchase. 

@Frank Patalano I know what you mean about extra damage deposit. In my mind, this is a cleaning fee, so maybe it becomes a pre-paid cleaning fee. Would that fly in RI? I'm doing my best to catch up w/the RI law. I do know that EP is expensive on water, I have a commercial building in EP and we are about $25/month for water - and it's just 2 toilets / 2 handwash sinks (plus a tiny bit of use from the mop sink). I can imagine once you get a couple of showers, washing machine, and a dishwasher the price will explode. I like the idea of putting some or all of the water cost onto the tenant so they'll be careful with their use. 

I feel I'm close on what I'm asking for, but need to dial it in a bit better. Honestly, I could almost care less about the bank account, not sure what it'd tell me anyway. Most people have so little in their accounts that it's terrifying, so I'd probably never get a tenant if I based my choices on the $ in their checking or savings. 

So, I'm purchasing my first single family as a rental. East Providence, quiet B neighborhood. 3 beds/2 bath. I'd say that the unit is C+ or B- quality, with the nicer homes in the neighborhood being the owner occupied. It's a big (double) lot. 

I'm struggling with finding tenants who are qualified AND interested. So far, the tenants who are interested, all have felonies and/or don't actually have the money to afford the property. I think I need a reality check on a few items and hoping someone can give some advice. Here's what I'm wondering about, somewhat based on tenant feedback:

1) Rent amount. I'm asking $1550/month. Pet an additional $50 (home lends itself well to a dog because of the big yard)

2) I'm asking the tenants to shovel snow and mow the lawn. (a tenant told me this is illegal, which is clearly not true for a SF, but ??)

3) I'm asking tenants to pay for water. (I'm honestly not sure I can ask for this - I just signed up for water in East Providence, and it seems that it's only property owners who can pay this bill, please advise.)

4) One tenant got VERY angry over my application (which is a standard RI MLS app) because it asks for bank information, including account number. Obviously, I want to see if they actually have a bank account, and see what the balance is, because this is part of the screening process. I've done this for tenants in the past - at my one multi. I don't want to scare off tenants w/the app, but I do want to get enough info to screen. The few apps I've received aren't filled out completely, so I'm not even getting what I want anyway.

In addition to all the above, I'm making the property non-smoking, requiring first month/1 month security deposit, $250 pet deposit, $40/adult for background check (I'd only do this when I'm pretty sure that I'd choose the tenant-gets paid straight to smartmove, so it's not like I'm making money on it). 

Anything above look out of place or wrong? I don't think I'm asking for too much, but since I've shown it about 20 times and only gotten 2 applications, not sure that I'm doing this right. 

I'm going to do a "self test" below the closet (basement), then decide what to do about it. I'm also going to offer to let them out of their lease, citing the many "issues". You are right, I need to train them early, because they are already making me crazy. I don't think they'll actually leave, but this might help straighten them out. And if they do leave, I have a nice unit ready to rent out. 

Thank you. They are clearly very needy. This is just one of many "issues" that's come up since they've come in. It's like 3 or 4 "issues" daily. I obviously can't appease them - simply not possible.

They are responsible for repairs within their space. I'm responsible for the building and common areas. I'm also  on the hook for repairing their lights or HVAC if they break. 

This might fall under the category of "building".

I'll do a test and see what it yields, then decide what to do. Obviously, I need to deal w/it if it's a real problem.