All Forum Posts by: Eddie Werner

Pittsburgh is a great rental market for investors!  Cost of living and housing prices are pretty low which is great for renters and investors.  You just need to be mindful of what to look out for when potentially buying older houses as most of Pittsburgh's housing stock is older.  It normally takes 2 solid years for all maintenance items to pop up in these older homes.  I would say that and having boots on the ground to advise on areas to focus on or stay away from depending on your criteria are the two biggest things to consider.

It depends how updated the house is in regards to windows, roof, furnace, AC, basement issues, electric updated or a lot of knob and tube.  If you walk the house with an inspector/contractor/property manager/local investor they could advise where the major issues may occur so you can plan more directly.  If you are just buying the older house it will take 1-2 years for all issues to become apparent.  You will have different issues depending on what time of year it is (winter, frozen pipes if not well insulated), spring and summer, water getting through windows or brick exterior that may need pointed or has bad lintels)....the list goes on.

If your new to buying old properties I would recommend at least 3-5k in reserve to weather the first two years of repairs and learning how the property will perform.

Would need to know your current managers marketing plan and metrics behind them.  They should know how many inquiries, showings, feedback from showings, etc.  3 months is very long.  It's either over priced for the area when comparaing to other similiar rentals, not clean and/or functional (odd layout), or there are other aspects in the area or features of the home working against you.  These could be a run down house or two in close proximity to yours, too many steps leading to the front door of the home, limited parking, etc.  I haven't seen your houses so these are all just examples to consider.

There are landlord associations that are just Facebook groups people join and share references, rental listings, ask questions, etc.  I am not familiar with a more formal structure.

After you buy it you would close again with your client based on the owner financing agreement.  Your closing attorney draws up the mortgage and note based on the agreed terms with the client.  There would be an amortization chart showing the full schedule of the term of the owner finance deal.  It's fairly simple but a closing attorney would need to help you through it.  They don't have to pay anything down if you don't want them to.  If it's your owner financed deal then you set the terms with the buyer.

@Travis Howser Your welcome.  That's really up to you.  When I started buying rentals I just used 10% PM in my monthly calculations.  The analysis won't be perfect down to the penny, you just execute on meeting your investing needs.  Most tenants I have average a 3-5 year tenancy, some have been with me since the beginning and may never leave.  

I have the occasional one that leaves after 1 year but if your goal is to buy rentals then the more you get the placement fee will become less critical as the whole portfolio will average out most tenants staying for multiple years.  There are ways to off set the fee, charge pet rent (I charge $250 non-refundable and $50/month per pet), some tenants have two dogs and pay $100 a month extra.  If you can charge for a garage spot, extra storage, coin op laundry, etc. there are ways to make other forms of monthly income to cover if not off set property management costs all together.

Don't forget late fees.  Our grace period is normally until the 5th of the month so after that a $50 late fee hits.  Some tenants pay late every single month and the fees add up.  There are a lot of ways to offset PM costs, these are just a few.

There are a fair number of management companies in and around Pittsburgh.  Join the Pittsburgh Real Estate Investor's Facebook page.  I know of about 5 in and around Pittsburgh.

If you get a judgement best bet is wage garnishment.  Even then they can switch jobs though.  Tough spot for sure, maybe look at adjusting screening criteria to improve chances of more responsible tenants.  Depends on your rentals/price and location though.

You shouldn't spend this much time thinking about light bulbs.  Get rid of the dimmer!

Probably, I would talk to your local small banks.