All Forum Posts by: Gabe N.

Wow, that's a massive savings! AWWU was very misleading then when I asked about getting metered water. They said it would certainly DOUBLE my cost over the flat rate $186 for a duplex. Kind of feel like I've been getting ripped off this whole time. They did say it was something like $500 to have a meter installed and you can never go back to flat rate but with those prices it kind of makes sense.

Yeah and I could be wrong on the water/sewer for 4+ unit property. That was what AWWU quoted if I went metered on a 4 plex but I don't actually have a 4+ unit in Anchorage on the water system. My duplex is the $186 flat rate and my cousin has a 3 unit that is $240 flat rate. I asked him what the rate would be if he added a unit and ran a 4 unit and he said he was quoted $400-450/mo as well. Actual rates may well be lower. Rates also are tied to how much your tenants run laundry so perhaps you have a single coin op unit? I would imagine with washer/dryer in each unit the water cost would go up quite a bit.

What is your monthly water/sewer cost for a 4 plex?

Water/Sewage is a big one in Anchorage that is normally paid by the landlord. Anchorage Sewer and Wastewater offers flat rates on 1, 2 and 3 unit buildings ($186/mo for duplex and $280ish for a triplex) but on the 4 plex and up it's a metered water supply that gets billed on a per gallon basis. Normal rates are $400-500/month.

Another big one is property tax which the Municipality absolutely rakes you over the coals for. They also will not adjust the tax assessed value down based on appraisal or sale price. I asked and they said it was simply inflated 3% per year after an initial appraisal and they would not change it. My duplex at $325k tax appraisal is $5300 per year taxes and my 4 plex in Wasilla at $400k appraisal is $4600/year.

Also depending on which side of town you live on there are different requirements for trash service. On the east side of anchorage (from airport heights eastward-including Muldoon and Boniface) every building is required to pay for trash service from the municipal Solid Waste service. Rates are fairly reasonable but they will literally not allow you to cancel it and use a private trash company. If you don't pay they just refer your bill to a collection agency to track you down. The requirement is a minimum of a single trash 1 yard trash can for each unit in the building. Monthly that amounts to about $22 per trash can. When I bought my duplex they just dropped them off, dug up my mailing address from the tax assessors office and started sending the bills.

Electric is better now that ML&P (Municipal light and power) sold out their government monopoly electric to Chugach electric. Gas is Enstar and they are reasonable though in the winter the gas bill is about double or triple what it is in the summer.

My bills go like this: Gas-$50 per unit summer, $125 winter, Trash $22/unit, Water/sewer $120 per unit, Electric $50-75 per unit.

I pay all the bills for my duplex as I owner occupy that building and just work it into the rent for the other half. Most rental properties here are separate electric but everything else is together. Some have the gas separately metered. In terms of how renters look for rental units it's normally expected they pay electric but the landlord covers the rest. The exception being duplexes where the tenant sometimes takes care of gas and trash.

Facebook marketplace has generated 90% of my good rental leads. I'd start there before anything else.

Yeah it definitely seems like optimism is back up and multi family inventory is back down although it seems like prices are still somewhat depressed. At the same time rents are still down which is hurting at least in Wasilla. In hindsight Anchorage is a much more stable market and even though prices are high so are rents. My “good deal” in Wasilla is, while not terrible, pretty much break even since rents are low in the valley. Once I have some equity built on this deal I may opt to sell and buy something in Anchorage.

But yeah your assessment overall is spot on. As usual it takes buying in the right spot and finding or making the deals, not hoping for a screaming deal on the MLS.

Thanks for checking in, let’s stay in contact as I expect that I may need a good agent in about a years time on the next deal!

@Thomas S. You are not wrong but I think you are taking things a bit to far. While I agree with your points, your delivery could use some work. I wouldn't necessarilyt characterize people that don't agree with you as "not investors" or "money hoarders". There are far worse things in life than having a bunch of money or equity in a property. Simply having equity that you are not pulling out does not disqualify a person from being an investor, in fact many people have paid of properties that cash flow more than enough money to support their lifestyle and then some and there is absolutely no need to expand beyond that size of portfolio. So the question is when is enough enough? Not everybody needs a thousand units and 10M a year in income so the need to leverage everything as hard as possible to reinvest is simply not there and would not make sense.

Again, I'm not saying your wrong, I'm just saying maybe lay off the absolute statements and derogatory remarks towards those that don't agree with your approach. I do agree with your approach (for the stage of investing I'm in) and I very much appreciate your advise especially in the Landlording forum where I've learned quite a bit so please don't take this as a slight towards your knowledge or what you've said on this forum.

Definitely depends on the market. Wasilla has some very good deals if you are patient but the market there is the first to flatten out when the market has difficulties. Anchorage is great but with current prices it's mostly an appreciation play as there is very little in the way of cashflowing property there. 

Either way, now is a great time to buy. With Anwr opening up and oil prices rising the economy is starting to come back and I predict property values rising again.

@Nicole A.Thanks for that advice. I've heard back from them and they are definitely going to be leaving by the end of the month so it's only a two week move out now. Also, that is a good tip on starting eviction and writing up a real cash for keys offer. I'm working on writing that up but I don't yet really have solid ground to evict them as of now so I am hesitant to start eviction. If the cash for keys doesn't work then I will have to catch them doing something stupid to get that second cure or quit notice that would allow me to get into eviction.

So a little update: I gave them a 10-day cure or quit notice on the 12th with hopes that they would improve their behavior and condition of the property. The very next day they had an unapproved new roommate moving in and I got complaints about noise and their dogs pooping in the common hallway over the weekend. Talked to them yesterday, explained how an eviction works and what it would do to them and offered cash for keys. Worked like a charm and they are moving out within 30 days. 

Just goes to show that you can't change a persons behavior. Better to just part ways with a problem tenant as quickly and cleanly as possible.

Originally posted by @Thomas S.:

Set policies and follow them to the letter with every tenant. The damage is done to this place now, including the sub floor, so what you need to do is concentrate on getting them out asap and get the place renovated and back on the market.

When it comes to late payments rent is late at midnight on the day it is due. You should be issuing a pay or quit the very next day every time. Repeated late payments is usually grounds for eviction however it depends on your stste codes which every landlord needs to know by heart.

 Okay, so just to reiterate this: they are paying late per their lease but not late per Alaska law. Alaska allows 5 days after the stated due date before late fees and corrective action can be taken. They usually pay around the 3rd or 4th. And yes, they have had one instance of paying on the 5th and I received payment on my way to post a pay or quit so I'm definitely down with getting that cash on time.