All Forum Posts by: Dan Crenshaw

To everyone still following, the plot thickens. The cost to have someone come out to unfreeze the pipes was $400. My tenants told me that because I was charging them for that, they are paying $100 less per month for the remaining 4 months of their lease AND they want their full deposit back at the end. What is my legal course of action from this point?

Thanks everyone for your replies and advice!  

@Rick Ferguson I like that list you have.  I'm going to have to come up with something like that to add to my lease.

@Russell Brazil I agree with you 1000%.  You would think something like that would be common sense.  I guess not.

@Bryan O. Yes, it is stated in my lease.  And it also states that any remaining balances from unpaid service fees would be deducted from the security deposit.

@Sam Shueh Yes, you are correct, but this is the boiler, not the hot water heater. My boiler is set for 180 deg.

Every time my tenant would leave, they would turn their heat off (hwbb) to save money. I told them not to do that because you’re not really saving that much AND the cost of a frozen or ruptured pipe is WAY more that what they would ever save on a gas bill. SO......about a month later, they say they have no heat after being away for a few days. Come to find out, one of the sections along an exterior wall is frozen. It costs $400 to unfreeze and get the water moving again. There is no way that pipe freezes with 170° water moving through it, so the heat had to be turned off (yet again) for a period of time. Who is responsible for the cost of the service call?

Half my tenants use Venmo. Never had a problem yet (knock on wood). The only thing I found out is Venmo won't let them send 2 equal payments around the same time. They pay $1100 a month, but if they send 2 payments from one account, it has to be $549 and $551. Other than that little hiccup, no issues.

Do any of the units need to be renovated? Use that time to renovate the unit while you "live" there for the 60 days. Kinda kill 2 birds with one stone. I "know a guy" who did it that way and he told me it worked out perfectly.

New Jersey also requires anything 3 units or more to have a multiple dwelling certificate, aka "Green Card"  

I just closed on a 4-family in Vauxhall a few weeks ago after a LONG process. NJ has some pretty crazy rules. Let me know if you have any questions. I'd be happy to help!

@Mike Hanneman  I know that between the mortgage payoff, and a few tax liens, there wasn't much wiggle room. The $4000 on a $400k+ property is less than %1 of the purchase price, so I don't see it as being that much. The numbers still work. Just wanted to get some other opinions. I appreciate your input. 

@Nick Kutschke My realtor knew about this property before it hit the MLS, so I lucked out and got the opportunity to see it first. New Jersey is a tough market, so I use a realtor who happens to know a lot of people. It's been beneficial so far.

I'll be sure to keep this thread updated as it moves along. 

Gross income minus PITI, PMI, and all other operating expenses like cap ex, repairs, vacancy, landlord utilities, etc. I left out PM because I will be managing the property myself, but still looked into what PM would cost and it still cashflows pretty well. I mean, unless I've made a mistake somewhere, I think it's still a solid deal. I'm just concerned about paying a little more for it than what the bank thinks it's worth.

I ran into a little bit of a snag, and need a little help.  The 4 family property I have under contract under-appraised, but just slightly. Here are the details:

Purchase price: $439,000

Down payment: 5%

Property taxes: $7100

Gross rent: $4800

PITI with PMI: $3088

Other expenses: $1000

(Calculated) Monthly cashflow: approx. $700

Appraised at $435,000 and the seller is not willing to come down to that price, so I'd have to come out of pocket the other $4k. If my math is right, the numbers still look pretty good, but I'm still somewhat new to this whole thing. Any and all help and advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!