All Forum Posts by: Elise Bickel Tauber

Hey Katie! Is there a reason you wouldn't want to just purchase a flip and turn it quickly? We have a great lender who will lend up to 90% of the purchase price and up to 110% of the rehab costs so you could get in, turn it, and get out while the market is hot this spring/summer and have even more cash to work with regardless if you go with another single family or multi unit.

I will also say I have a lot of investors I work with who are moving from house hack to house hack and it is really working well for them. I have a young couple who have gone from nothing to 12 units in 3 years.

So I've heard different things from different CPAs. It is really all about reducing the risk and liability. Most of my investors will purchase up to $1million in an llc which could either be 1 large property or 5-7 smaller properties. But really it is up to you how you want to structure your business.

Welcome to Bigger Pockets! This is a great place to meet people and network!

Have you ever looked into a blanket loan? Pittsburgh has a lot of duplexes, triplexes, etc. Have you thought about purchasing a couple duplexes or triplexes together so you can bulk purchase a larger number of units? Or did you want all under 1 roof?

 I'll send you a message!

I get this question all the time....How can I save money and make sure I am the most profitable. While I can give you my speech on the importance of a good management company, making wise investments, etc I believe, in my humble opinion, that the absolute worst thing you can do as a landlord in a way to "save money" is become a slum lord. I've seen a lot of investors recently decide that they are just not going to fix things. For example, A company that I use to manage for (but no longer do because of these practices) decided that heat in the middle of January wasn't urgent. They ended up taking 44 days to fix the problem. And not because they were waiting on a part or something crazy (if those would even be excuses for a 44 day wait) but because the discount hvac guy they used was booked up and they refused to pay emergency rates. They ended up saving about $1800 on the furnace replacement but ended up with a 5 figure fine. I also had the time that an owner decided that they didn't want to "waste the money" to properly take care of a mold issue. They ended up getting sued by the tenant for a lot of money and losing. 

Even if you know better then to be that extreme, let me also mention the mindset of taking good care of your tenants. I'm not saying bow down to every ridiculous request a tenant makes (and we surely have seen it all) but I am saying, that if the tenant is making a reasonable request for a repair, handle it in a timely manner. Don't try to save a couple bucks by not doing it at all or taking a crazy amount of time to find someone who is "cheap" to handle it for you. Tenant's decision to stay in your rental property 9 times out of 10 will be based on the way they are treated. Even if the tenant outgrows your property, they will ask to move to another property of yours (if you have multiple) because they enjoy having you as a landlord. I've had many tenants request to move from their current place because it is too small and want to move into a different one of our units. The cost of turn overs is far too great to be changing tenants every year. 

One last thing to keep in mind, your asset is the house. If you are not handling repairs you are not taking care of your asset and are reducing your equity in your home. And if you decide you are done with rentals or even just want to sell one for some cash flow, you are limiting yourself on your return on your investment.  Remember as an investor that you do not want to pay full price and someone else wont want to either, especially if it isn't turn key, so keep up with the small stuff as it comes up and you can avoid a large repair down the line.

Hope this helps!

Hey Caleb! We use Valerie Smith with Smiths Cleaners. They are Great! 603-438-3851

Great article Andrew! I think its a great idea for all owners to consider a tax appeal. I'm assuming you guys could help owners handle the appeal?

I am seeing a huge upswing from both investors being interested in these areas and the demand from renters in Penn Hills, Carrick, Brighton Heights, Troy Hill, and Etna to name a few. 

We just helped someone with a 1031 exchange coming from another city. I'm located in Pittsburgh PA. We were able to do what Stephanie p said. We ended up doing a nice value add multi here right outside the city!