All Forum Posts by: David Wolber

WOW.

Fun times! Well that is probably why there is a huge shortage of inventory right now and crazy bidding wars. Each property my clients have put in offers on have had 6+ over asking offers in under 48 hrs. That's everything from SFH owner occupied to 6+ apartment buildings. Absolutely NUTS right now.

 At what point will it be no longer within their right do you think?  As you and I well know, if a Tenant knows they've got a good thing going and fear getting told to leave they will do everything they can to stall the sale.

@Filipe Pereira I've been showing properties and walking through with a ton of clients these last few months all though all phases of all this.  It hasn't been terrible at all.  In fact, it hasn't slowed much of anyone.  Most are doing two showings, once of common and vacant units, and 2nd showings for occupied units.  This reduces the number of people going through the occupied units.  I'd say, however, most of the tenants i've been dealing with pretty much didn't really care too much about it at all.  A few had elder parents that all they did was make sure they were gone at the time of the showing.  I don't think you'll have any issues.

Good luck!

CT state Realtors have plenty of precautions in place for showings during this time.  Everyone will wear masks and gloves and keep spaced.  She doesn't have to be there.  

Or offer to put her up in a hotel for a weekend and have it cleaned after all the showings.  Because truthfully, in this market, you will just need to show it for a weekend and you'll have several offers.

Lastly, I assume your lease has words in there about allowing access.  If proper notice was provided, and CT is in phase II with proper protection and all there should be little risk.  Like @Filipe Pereira said, sounds like she's stalling you.  Tell her she can either live there during or here's your 30day notice.  

When it comes to selling a property, leases"run with the property". Therefore it doesn't matter who's name is listed as landlord. Even if is under PM or self managed, the lease stays fully in force until the lease end date. Now this could be state specific, but I'd be willing to bet this is the law most places. 

My attorney told me from day one to do it this way and I never argue with the man and he's never steered me wrong!

I'd be curious to hear why as well. 

 My PM company puts the lease in the owner's name as landlord, but we sign as Authorized Manager. Our management agreement provides this signature authority and the lease defines us as the authorized manager. 

@Jaysen Medhurst Sorry, but that's not quite East enough for me. I'll reach out to our Easy Lyme office and see if anyone heads that way.

@Mat O'Grady You still do you're own taxes??  Good for you!  I know math is your thing, but all the depreciation schedules and all that too?  No thanks!  haha

@Julissa Perez Generally speaking if the firm is operating with a brick and mortar office then you are probably good to go.  Unlike Mat O'Grady, I use a CPA to file my real estate, businesses and personal taxes and I use a firm out of Groton that I like and I know several well established development companies use as well.  It's painful to pay that bill each year, but i don't have to worry about anything and I like the fact I can scale without any new surprises.  Not to mention, if I have any questions though out the year about anything financial or tax related she's there and always willing to answer the questions.

Good luck!

-Dave

Hey everyone!   What an awesome conversation!!

@Mat O'Grady that property was under contract in 3 days for over asking with multiple offers.  

@James Lapp I must say your analysis is very in-depth. Nice work. Much better than I would have ever done on my first go around. I just make @Jaysen Medhurst do all mine these days!  haha  As much as I hate it, he's usually right on the money.  For PM fee, yes 8-12% is "standard", but 8% would be tough to get until a larger portfolio.  This property, although 8 units, will be heavy on the management due to it's restrictive unit sizes and location.  I always recommend people to budget 10% even if they plan to self-manage.  You should pay yourself for managing the property and if you ever get tired of doing it you want the numbers to still work.

As far as your original question, we see our vacancy rate in New London at about 5-8%.  Most tenants stay 2-3 years on average (however 10+ is not unheard of) and we usually have a 30day or less down time between tenants.  The New London studio / 0ne-bed class B-C market is pretty hot at the moment as well as nice large 2-bed units for working professionals, ideally with a 2nd bath.

Good luck and let me know if you have any questions!

-Dave

I was really hoping to be able to chime in on this post, but @Filipe Pereira and @Scott Passman pretty much nailed it. Regardless, I'm still going to try. :)

I too own a PM company in CT, near the cost line and Westerly, RI.  Contractor relationships has to be the biggest part, that can't be stressed enough. I've got plumbers and painters that work at night after working all day somewhere else to ensure turnover happens on schedule.  Since I give them tons of work, they give me a great rate, which is then passed on to the owner. The other thing a PM is charged with, in my opinion, is maintaining the asset.  This doesn't just mean getting market rent, but also not letting maintenance of the property slide.  Not just emergency repairs, but also pro-active repairs like keeping track of the roof, exterior spaces like porches and decks, mechanical, common spaces and grounds.  We develop a 1 year and 5 year (and sometimes even 10 year) maintenance plan with most of our clients so they can plan accordingly.  

Shop around, not a single one of us do things the same, so you will want to find the best fit.  This might not necessarily be the cheapest or the most expensive.  

As far as taxes go, we give out 1099s for rental income and end of year expense reports specific to the property to use when filing your taxes.

Good luck out there!

-Dave