All Forum Posts by: Elizabeth Schellhammer

@Adam Schellhammer and I will definitely be there. Can't wait! Thanks for organizing this. :)

@Carlos Rodrigues, I am curious to know as well.... I would love to hear a legal professional weigh in on this.

Hey Carlos, I have rented to undocumented immigrants and usually have a good experience. Of course, you cannot run background or criminal if they do not have documentation. However, I have found this population to be very good in my rentals. Usually they make less complaints and take good care of the property. 

Being bi-lingual is also a plus, you might find yourself in a niche market here. Although, I am not sure what the law says about knowingly renting to undocumented people. That would be interesting for an NJ Property lawyer to weigh in on. 

Good Luck!

WOW, I can't believe how people are reacting to your decision to evict. You did what you thought was best and it obviously took you two years to make this decision.... I don't know your personal situation but my W-2 is as a Social Worker.... I have seen many unimaginable things that parents do to their children and I know you made the best decision.

LOL, I love when threads get like this, not for the education, but for the entertainment! Good Luck, Brent, I wish I had advice to offer. 

I live in Brigantine (own a duplex there) I work in Atlantic City. Housing is very cheap in AC right now... however taxes are steep. I have not felt compelled to invest in AC as the quality of the city right now is not great. I truly hope it turns around... but even with all the future plans I am not seeing any signs yet. I also worry about quality of tenant in this area. 

All that being said, you can get housing cheap and rent for pretty decent prices so I definitely don't think it's a bad investment.... just a lot of risk involved. 

Please keep me updated with your investments in AC, I would love to hear how it goes. Maybe we can even partner some day. 

Good Luck!

beautiful building, congrats!

Joe, that is good advice. I agree with wanting to be as distant from tenants as possible which is why living in and owning a multi family seems to need certain strategies. It's awkward to be too friendly and it's awkward to be too standoffish.... I think that wording it the way you do is appropriate. I do not like being associated as the person who makes the decisions. I would rather say, "I spoke with the business partners and no we can absolutely not accept partial rent payments" or whatever. It's much different dealing with tenants in a place that you live in as opposed to tenants that you hardly see.

Such an interesting thread.... My husband and I currently house hack in a duplex. We've owned it for a little over one year and have had two different sets of tenants during this time. The duplex is a top and bottom duplex not a side by side. We live in the bottom unit as it is larger and currently rehabbed. We rent the upstairs unit. The first tenants that we rented to were amazing. They were quiet and basically kept to themselves. I never heard them above me. ever. I had no complaints during this time and loved collecting the rent check every month. The next set of tenants that moved in are much different, they are very loud, I hear their tv, they bang around a lot, they keep me awake at night as they seem to stay awake very late doing god knows what. It has not been a pleasant experience. Needless to say, we will not be renewing their lease at the end of this term.

I have learned that house hacking can be great and it can also be awful. I will never live beneath my tenants ever again. I also have contemplated a strategy of telling the tenants that we are the property managers for the owner. I will have much stricter boundaries and rules. I do not appreciate when tenants knock on our door at 8:00 on a Tuesday to let us know that a window latch is loose and that they would like it fixed asap.

The benefits of house hacking have certainly outweighed the cons... although I usually am singing a different tune at midnight when I am still laying awake listening to the people above me.

All that being said, I would definitely do this again, I would do things differently for sure, but I would do it again.

Oh and I want to add (really just for fun, not for any educational purposes) That I once knew a couple (unmarried) who were living together and the girlfriend was paying rent directly to the boyfriend. The reason that this was so shocking to me was because the boyfriend is in the coast guard and receives a living stipend. THE COAST GUARD PAID HIS RENT AND THEN SOME and he still charged his girlfriend to live with him. LOL, they are still together, but this always shocked me because never in a million years would I pay cash to my partner when his living expenses were being covered. I'm sure some of you will have differing opinions... but it is interesting to think about, especially in wake of this amazing bigger pockets post.