All Forum Posts by: Eddie Werner

@Mitch Deminski is spot on.  Condition, price and location determine how long it will take to fill a unit.  It's very important to analyze rentals using actual rental rates, not what you think it will rent for or what an owner just wants to get in rent.  That's when you deal with long vacancies which is the biggest enemy of any rental investor.

This is normally stipulated in a lease under forms of acceptable payment.  Common options are cash, personal check, money order, online payment, etc. Does your current lease have this section? 

That should be in your property management agreement.  We collect a percentage based on total income so if we collect $50 late fee and this client has a 10% management fee we keep $5 and the owner gets $45.  

It's not safe to assume anything.  I would not analyze deals this way.  Crunch all the numbers so you have to input values and get more accurate cash flow/return on investment calculations.  Use the BP calculator or a spreadsheet you can a make yourself.  If you are only using the 50% rule to calculate cash flow you will probably get into trouble.

Alot of other variables come into play like age of roof, windows, HVAC, etc.  If anything I may use the 1 or 2% rules just to quickly screen many properties.  I know my local area though and those rules are the very basic first step to qualify a closer look.  I would only recommend using them if you have local knowledge or a property manager that can help.

If your lease states that you cover appliances then it's on you to fix.  If you have verbage in your lease that appliances are supplied AS-IS then it is on your tenant to repair.  It all comes back to the lease so just reference what part of the lease covers appliances.  Depending on the rental rate of my places I buy fridges that don't have ice makers to alleviate this issue.  Higher priced rentals tenants do expect it but for others it's more of a hassle so I prefer to go with more basic fridges that don't even have the option.

Need a little more information but it seems on the expensive side.

Yearly taxes

Condition of house (age of roof, windows, HVAC), hopefully these are all newer since house was built in 1967.

3 or 2 bedroom, integral garage or street parking, etc?

If you want to private message me the address I can let you know more speficifially what I think.

$100-$200 a door is very achievable in the Pittsburgh market.  The % rules can be misleading but are good benchmarks for very quick analysis.  Getting to you goal of 40 doors won't be as daunting as it first appears once you get started.  The first 1-5 properties are the toughest because your learning and figuring things out.  The next 10 come easier and after that the next 20 come even easier.  Just get the ball rolling and it starts to pick up speed on it's own.

I wouldn't lean to heavily on the % rules they are just guidelines.  If you have an inspection or walk the property with a contractor or seasoned investor they can guide you in terms of what to expect for maintenance and capex.  The biggest ones being a new roof/windows/HVAC, etc.  If it's an older building you will have a solid year or two of maintenance issues making themselves apparent (plumbing, electric and handyman type repairs).  Just have ample reserves while you get a handle on things and you will be good.  If you are buying a large building make sure you get people with the right expertise to look at them.  If the building is brick bring a good mason who can point out possible pointing issues, pushing walls, failed lintels, etc.

If you have a flat roof or even a normal roof have a good roofer check it out.  With enough expert opinions you can feel really confident about what costs may appear in the first year.

For rent estimates/desireability just contact a property manager in the area these building are located to help you determine those values. 

Congrats on 2 duplexes!  You are a lot further than most.  I am an active buy and hold investor and property manager.  I flip too but lean to rentals for consistent long term monthly income.  Let me know if you want to get together and talk.

For my personal investment properties I have worked with S&T Bank, InFirst Bank and Somerset Trust Company