All Forum Posts by: Stephanie D.

Hello! I am just looking into insurance on my new rental property. It does not have a basement and the lower level is 3-4 feet above grade. Can the sewer still back-up into this kind of property? The cost is low, but I don't want to get it if I won't ever need it.

Thanks, @Maggie Tasseron. I'm actually pretty handy and love DIY, but right now my main issue is time. I have a full time job and very young kids, so I will need to pay someone to do stuff for me for a little while at least. 

Thanks all! Deal went through! Top priority is getting the place ready to rent and getting tentants in ASAP. 

 Thanks! Got it! I think I just got too impatient and wasn't waiting for the dialog box for long enough. 

@Okeoma M., very interesting about female investors. The same is true about my current field (academics). 

I love the idea of preventative maintenance checks. I was hoping to organize regular inspections with my PM, but it would be nice to formalize it a bit and make predictions about upcoming major expenses. 

My duplex is near a university too, so hopefully it will continue to be in high demand as a potential exit strategy.

As for my M&R, my plan was to keep $6000k aside per property for emergencies, and save 10% of rent (which is about 1.6% of the value of the property) for regular maintenance, with any leftovers accumulating for major repairs. I hope this is sufficient.

Oh, and I'm going for it by the way!

Thank you for the motivation, Jim! (Why can't I figure out how to tag people?!) Very inspirational. 

Good point, Dea. It would be expensive to sell too soon, but there are multiple offers on the property so I don't think we'd have a hard time selling. And another great question for Okeoma. Do people save for capex on top of building maintenance?

Thanks, Byron! It is reassuring to hear from someone who has gone through something similar and come out of it happy. 

Thank you both for your responses. I really do think it is mostly just cold feet. I will never know if it was a terrible idea or a great idea until I dive in and try it at some point. 

I like your approach of being conservative, Okeoma, and I have worked my numbers with ideal and less-than-ideal scenarios. The profits are always best with typical scenarios, but it would take a lot for the property to stop cash-flowing. I'd like to know more about exit strategies, though. Is this something you just keep in mind, or do you have specific plans in place?