All Forum Posts by: David Zimmer

How do you handle the combination of charging pet fees and cleaning fees? Do the cleaners make more money if there is a pet? Does your cleaner just charge "per turn" regardless of a pet or not? 

I'm paying my cleaner $150 for an 1800 sqft 2/2.5 and they seem to want more depending on if there was a pet. I'd like to find out what a somewhat standard practice out there looks like. Maybe there is a way to find the median cleaning costs in my area?

Quote from @Jamie Banks:

You did everything right, don't worry! It's a great idea to tell the guests the process especially if they're new to renting medium term. I would also collect a reference from the guest. I refer at least once reference and two for guests with pets. 

 Thank you!

I'm very new to this space and just have my first good lead through Furnished Finder. I'm eager to move forward and take care of the deposit and all things and want to move them through the process quickly and comfortably. They inquired and I replied quickly to let them know I would send details shortly and thanked them. A couple of hours later I emailed and asked for the tenant names and described what would be needed to go forward - a signed lease, tenant screening, and security/cleaning/pet deposits (all via KeyCheck). They sent the names and indicated they wanted to move forward so I sent everything via KeyCheck and so far they have completed the tenant screening.

Is there a better or more efficient way to move through the leasing process? What does the time frame usually look like? I don't want to come on too strong with a sales vibe but also don't want to let it drag on and lose a potential tenant. Thanks for any tips or guidance.

Quote from @Scott K.:

Bad deal. There are so many things you haven't mentioned at all it seems like you really haven't done any research if I'm being honest. You won't break even each month. 

 Like what?

Quote from @Glenna Wood:

Multiple tenants equals multiple cars. How are you expanding the single car driveway and carport?

This place uniquely has a second address and separate driveway from a different street in the back of the house. I’ll probably add pavers to the right of the carport and there is another spot or two on the road.  

Quote from @Alex Scattareggia:

Quote from @Alex Scattareggia:

Without knowing the market 100% it's hard to weigh in on the rental expectations. 

However, what I would recommend is to put your fixed costs aside (taxes, mortgage, etc.) and then get more conservative on your rental expectations by about 10-20% and increase your expected costs by the same.  If the deal still pencils out than you probably have enough cushion to make it work even in rough times.  I don´t like relying on any one source of information when analyzing a deal so I would average out as many sources as possible and then scrape some % off that number to get a safe estimate.

I also always like to work with a net in these kind of deals, worst case scenario if you rented both units long term would the investment still make sense or at least not lose money monthly? 

 I re-read this and it sounded negative, and I truly don´t mean it to come across that way.  The deal looks like it could be great.  

But especially right now in a shifting market there are a lot of people who are hurting because they used comps for the monthly income without totally understanding that we have had a pretty spectacular run post covid and that the true market might not be there like that for much longer.  

It is why I would argue for hyper conservative numbers especially on the revenue side in almost all markets.  There are still going to be deals that make sense using this method and then you have simply bought yourself some extra wiggle room if things get a little hairier than expected. 

I didn’t take it as a negative at all - thanks for the input! The place will be a house hack for the first year so I feel like
im mitigating some risk and giving time to furnish and know the property and neighborhood. So I think worst case scenario it helps me offset mortgage and gets me experience managing property. 

Quote from @Sarah Kensinger:

From the info you provided and running the property through Airdna, this is a bad STR deal! Your COC is -13% and the occupancy is terrible at 37%! Unless you want a LTR or plan on moving in personally, I would not buy this property.

 I'm getting 12ish% when I run it pretty conservatively getting 1500 downstairs and 2500 upstairs. Am I missing anything?

Quote from @Michael Baum:

Hey @David Zimmer, have you looked into LTR the small apartment for steady income and a possible watcher and minor maintenance for the 3/2?

A quick look showed 1/1's going for about $1600 in Tallahassee. That matches your first estimate. No real work involved with that unit, then STR the 3/2.

Hey Michael - I hadn't thought too much about that yet. Is it because of the bigger rate I could get from the 3/2? Plus the stability of having a watchful tenant in the 1/1? I like the idea.

Edit - I did a little more research on Airdna and I think I could get closer to 1900 a month for the apartment so I feel like my margins are a little better.

Hi all,

I am under contract (400k) on a split level house that has a great opportunity to be a 1/1 apartment and a 3/2 house upstairs. This would be my first investment property and a house hack at first. The property taxes came back at a frightening number (456/mo) and I wonder if people could check my work and let me know if I'm ignoring anything? 

I think it could average 1500-1600 via Airbnb on the apartment, and 2500 as a 3/2 upstairs but it is hard to be certain since I am new to the space. Perhaps the tax saving could sway me more in the favor of continuing. My earnest money deposit period ends tomorrow.

This purchase would also allow me to begin renting my current townhouse near the hospital and downtown as a STR/MTR, so it helps me gain experience as well. Thanks so much.

Report:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

Screenshot of Zillow listing: