All Forum Posts by: Fabian Peraza

In all likelihood I will be deploying in the next couple months and will need to leave my triplex in the hands of a property manager while I'm away. Peace of mind is my endstate. Hoping I can get recommendations that I can contact immediately. Also, open to any general advice from any seasoned investors in the city and industry professionals. I only have had the property since the summer so I haven't gone through the entire school cycle or even implications with the City of Philadelphia. I'm working on establishing a power of attorney as well. I appreciate any input!

The dead-latch recommendation is a good one and hadn't thought of it. Precisely, the deadbolt is difficult to close and perhaps that lead to the habit of not closing or thinking its already closed after turning the latch. Why aren't you a fan of the self-lock? For the increased potential of a tenant locking themselves out? On the other end of the spectrum, I've had tenants lock themselves out when it was just a deadbolt. Great conundrum.

I've had two recent issues with break-ins and attempted break-ins within the last month at my triplex. My initial setup was a deadbolt and handle setup. In the break-in, the deadbolt was left unlocked and a student-tenant's acquaintances broke in assaulted the tenant in the common area. Besides that aspect, I wanted to enhance the front door security by removing a handleset and replacing it with an entry knob that has the capability to auto-lock. In a higher traffic multi-fam renting partially to students, having two "checks" to ensure the front door has a better chance of remaining locked after use. Today I learned the entry knob that was installed last week was forced in and the knob came off when the tenant tried to enter into the house and had to be let in by another tenant. Although I haven't seen the knob yet, tenants believe it was an attempted forced entry.

This could be a case of a tenant being harassed by someone he/she knows and the solution could be to work with or remove tenant if viable data comes to light. But as of right now, I'm at the "fooled me twice" stage and looking for ideas on security solutions or ideas for multi-family property to protect the tenants and property better. This property is a couple blocks from a major university (Temple) in Philadelphia in what would be a "B" block in a "C" area (new construction and mostly students living in the block).

NOTE: 1 Common entry front door and three additional unit doors inside.

@Birgit Williams

Birgit, very sorry I just saw this now. I hope your daughter found a suitable rental around the area! I closed on the property on the 31st of July so it was a rush to get everything ready on time for the start of the semester. But the renovations are coming out great. As far as contractors, I used mostly in house workers in the plant who formed an LLC for side work. They build trim material and walls all day so they live an breath this stuff. I can definitely share! VA loan was such a smooth process than what I had pictured in my head. What a great deal for veterans.

@Ramy Khalil

I'll pass along to you as well. Best of luck!

City of Philadelphia. I'm not entirely sure. I'll be calling L&I later this week to find out. 3 out of 4 under 1 year leases.

Hey BP,

Closing on my first property (triplex 3BR 1 Ba in each unit) and have some questions on how to handle my first crop on tenants. When I move in, I will have 2 tenants in the 2nd floor unit and 2 tenants in the 3rd floor unit. I will be occupying the 1st floor and will potentially get a roommate within the first couple months. The units cater to college students but currently not rented out to students (students were in the first floor but recently moved out). The seller has been renting by the room for several years now. Obviously, I gravitate towards filling those two empty rooms in the second and third floors to immediately remove vacancies. I do envision eventually renting to students after I settle myself in with landlording. The seller (also the seller's agent) has graciously offered to fix everything I asked her to (to include portions of the roof; roof over porch and rear roof). I feel slightly uncomfortable renting rooms to tenants who don't know each other (and don't share any common bonds as college students may have) and I'm wondering whether or not I should begin to ask tenants to vacate in a slow drip in order for me to renovate and put up for rent again where the tenant will have to pay the full amount for the unit as opposed to the room (and leaving me with vacancies). If I do that, I will probably miss out on the start of the school year and perhaps find myself where I first started. I also think it'll be difficult to rent those other rooms as they are not as big as the others in the unit. One tenant has turned off the valve to the central air in order to cut cost and his roommate doesn't seem to mind. But that third potential tenant might turned away by that.

Right now, I feel like my best strategy is to continue renting to the tenants I've inherited until I get my feet wet and build a cash reserve for next year's crop of students. If I had all 6 bedrooms (or 2 units rented) I would cashflow approximately $550 after all expected expenses. With the 4 current tenants I would be short approximately $250-$350. Any advice or suggestions is much appreciated. Thanks!

@Coco Zuniga

Thanks for the warm welcome! That's exciting news for you! Congrats! The triplex I placed on offer is on a block that's basically all student housing. I hope to get the inspection report sometime tonight or tomorrow morning. It took about 5 1/2 hours. But it is an old home and it felt extremely thorough to me and I appreciate that. I work for a major homebuilder so I feel well-equipped with the knowledge and various resources to tackle most expected repairs. 

@John Knisely I will owner occupy. Triplex is a block away from Temple U so reading a lot student rentals currently.

Hey all. Bigger Pockets has been my pocket guide to real estate over the last couple months. I have finally put a triplex under contract and underwent the house inspection earlier today. This is finally beginning to feel very real and I'm excited, overwhelmed, and nervous about what lies ahead but I'm confident once I close this deal I know I would've made money which is the golden rule according to the Grant Cardone podcast and many others.

I'm financing with the VA as well and it has been such a smooth process so far. I'm looking forward to connecting with you all!