All Forum Posts by: Andrew D.

I believe this depends on your market. In the Iowa market where I invest it is rare to see either SFH or MFH without a stove and fridge and my guess is that it would take a long time to find a tenant if you did not supply those while everyone else does. I do have an Aunt that invests somewhere in California that says no landlords in her area supply fridges.

Welcome @Nicholas Wallraff.  I'm a Cedar Rapids investor but just single family houses.  It's good to see your starting early and seem to have a game plan.  Feel free to give me a shout.

Welcome Orian!  It can be challenging getting your spouse on board.  Cedar Rapids is a great city to invest in with many good paying jobs both blue collar and white.  Prices are reasonable and rents are high enough for good cash flow.  Let me know if you need any help.

@David Dachtera that's an interesting idea. I only do SFR so not worth the hassle but I suppose if you were paying for heating the water that would help. I remember going over to a house once where they had 2 50 gallon water heaters in line. The first one was a storage tank and then the water would flow into the actual heated tank. The theory was that allowing the water to sit in a heated basement first caused the water heater to not heat the water as much.

In my own personal residence I love my gas tankless water heater and cut down on my water heating costs significantly after replacing an old electric 40 gallon.  This is an on demand unit and I've noticed it does take longer for water to get hot than it would with a traditional tank.  One thing that I didnt see mentioned on this thread is that these units need to be flushed periodically.  With the hard water we have here I have to flush mine 3 times a year or they will eventually lime up.  I would rather not have to go to 20 plus houses 3 times a year to flush these water heaters.   The one thing I miss over an old fashion gas tank is you will still have hot water if the electricity goes out.

@Jesse Carlson Did we work together over at Weber? Any time I get a chance to get laid off I take it and just got let go 3 weeks ago. This is the best time to be off and I've got some deals going in Cedar  Rapids right now if you're interested just let me know!

@Dan Ward

This is a great thread and I've picked up a ton of info in the 5 pages!  I live in the midwest where we encounter the cold winters hot summers.  It seems that on exterior painting no one gets nearly the amount of years that the manufacturers warranty the paint for.  I have a general contractor friend that swears that using an oil based primer under a latex paint will add years to the paint job.  Is there any truth to that?  Also, is there any paint, primer combo for exteriors you'd recommend for durability and long lasting results?  We've got all the major paint suppliers and I'm more than willing to pay for long lasting products so I don't have to re paint often.  Also, any tips on exterior prep for just regular wood siding?  

@Ryan Parnow There's a guy in Des Moines that does a lot of 1031 exchanges that comes highly recommended but it sounds like you've got choices closer to home.  I'm with the majority I'd look at shedding some of those low cash flowing properties.  I'm sure it's a lot of work holding onto properties that are cash flow negative.  

I've had great luck cash flowing single family houses in Cedar Rapids but I know tons of people that swear up and down about multi's.  I'm stubborn and tend to stick with what I know.  I know that ultimately the houses when vacant could be sold at a premium to homeowners rather than trying to negotiate with investors when selling multi's.

Our market is hot right now and this may be the year to sell some of those that don't cash flow.  I personally would rather sell the properties one by one at the end of tenancy for top dollar and pay the long term capital gains than 1031 the whole lot.  I've seen people try to do this in our market and end up with people trying to low ball them or cherry pick the best of the properties which isn't what you're intending to do.

Shoot me a pm if I can help!

4 bed/ 2 bath with one stall attached in Cedar Rapids for $1300.

I have never dealt with this particular situation and welcome input from other landlords.  My New Years resolution is to stay on top of tenants lease end date and enforce signing new leases as opposed to going month to month.  Also to avoid vacancies I've set up Facebook page to advertise upcoming vacancies.   I apologize in advance for being long winded and I'll try not to be to confusing!

I have a tenant who's lease is up March 31st.  Let's call this Property A.  They've been with me a few years, pay on time and keeps the place up nice.  At the beginning of January they inform me that household income has decreased and they won't be able to afford that particular property anymore and would like to know if I would have anything available April 1 in their new price range.  I'm glad to hear that they would like to continue renting from me so I check into what I might have coming available in the lower price range and also proactively begin marketing there current house knowing they will not be renewing their lease.

I then find a property of mine that meets their budget and criteria.  It's property B.  It's a tenant I've had a few years.  Back when I started out I allowed tenants to go month to month after the first year.  I've since shied away from that.  Late last year this tenant had said he's planning on moving to another location sometime after winter 2016.  I contacted him last week and he said he wasn't planning on moving till August.  I told him that m to m had to be mutually beneficial as I have a much better chance to re rent in the spring than fall in my market.  He understands and would like to talk again the beginning of March.  He's engaged and fiance is in Afghanistan till mid March then they want to buy a house together.

In the mean time I have secured another tenant to rent Property A.  They love the place and plan to be in by April 1st and pass the screening with flying colors and intend to rent several years until their credit is on track to buy.  Hooray no vacancies!

Now of course as much as I'd love to you just can't make everyone happy.  I call the tenants at property A.  I tell them that unfortunately I don't have anything available in their price point available in that time frame and basically wish them good luck.  They've seen my website/ Facebook page outlining upcoming available houses and have seen property B as coming soon.  They've driven by it and seen all the pictures and are in love with it.  It's perfect and they'd be willing to stay in property A a few more months to wait until Property B is available.  They have concerns that the 2 dogs they have will make it difficult to find a new property and have had problems with previous landlords and want to keep me as their landlord because I am great!

Now this creates a small dilemma.  I have a couple of options here.  Property A is a high dollar rental in my market and takes a little longer to find qualified tenants for.  Since I have found a tenant already I feel as though I need to act on it and get a lease signed with prospective new tenants.  With it being mid January I could easily give notice to tenant in property B that I need him out March 31st.  I already know that he will not be renting from me again but has been great and very accommodating as a tenant and a hate to kick good tenants out.  If I don't due that however I risk losing the tenants in property A that due to other barriers could be great long term tenants.

I'm torn and unsure if I should think with business sense or my heart.  What would you do?