All Forum Posts by: Gregg Jossie

Hi Sam,

Welcome to Wichita! I grew up here and love it. I'm currently househacking just south of WSU. It's been a great experience and I wish you the best as you get started. Feel free to reach out, I'm happy to connect.

Welcome to ICT, Ian! I've lived most of my life here and there's plenty to like about the area. I'm fairly new to investing as well, though I have worked in commercial property management and appraisals in the past. I've been househacking a duplex near WSU for a few years. Happy to connect.

Welcome, Colton! I’m househacking in Wichita and have been fortunate to have a low maintenance property with a low maintenance tenant. It took my wife and I over a year of serious searching to find one that met our criteria, but with a little patience, I’m sure you can too. I manage the place myself and have not had to put much time at all into it beyond what any homeowner should expect for their own place. Obviously that could change at any moment, and it’s hard to predict, but if you’re househacking, why not give it your best shot to find a low-maintenance duplex, and handle it yourself? Use cozy or some other free program to manage requests/collect rent/draft a lease and save the 4-10% in PM costs. Best of luck!

@Frank Geiger Definitely not ideal, however they’ve stayed here before with no issues. The husband lost his job and starts a new one next week so hopefully this gets resolved quickly.

@Corby Goade Thanks for your thoughts. This seems most reasonable to me. I understand everyone's reasoning for saying I should deny them/have a shorter allowable period for guests, etc., but this lease was already in place when I bought the house. I wasn't thrilled with the terms, but was willing to take my chances. The current lease ends in April 2021. Living next door to them and my son being friends with the kids of the visiting family makes things a little more delicate. But I like your approach. Being a rookie at this and having never drawn up a lease yet, are there customizable templates you recommend?

I'm househacking my first duplex right now and my tenant informed me today that his daughter, son-in-law, and their five kids were just evicted and are coming to stay for a while. He doesn't want them staying long and neither do I. The lease only allows for guests up to 30 days. Anything longer than that needs my permission. This family has stayed here before and hasn't caused any issues, but I want to know if it's okay to raise the rent if they end up staying longer than the 30 days. My tenant is 7 months in on his 2 year lease. He's paying at least $200 below market anyway, but it's a tenant and lease that I inherited when I bought the place. I'm thinking if the family stays longer than 30 days, raise rent by $200 per month that they are there. What problems might I encounter with this plan?

I recently bought my first duplex (3/2.5 per side) and am househacking it with my family in one side, and an inherited tenant plus roommate on the other side. So far, my tenant has been a delight, always paying rent on time and keeping his place clean. Last month, his daughter, son-in-law, and their five kids aged approx. 12-1 yr old moved in from out of state temporarily while they look for a more permanent place.

The lease prohibits guests for more than 30 days without my permission. He has kept me updated on their house hunt and I haven't objected to them continuing to stay there as they have been respectful guests, the kids seem well-behaved, and they have been actively looking for another place. But we're approaching 30 days and they're still there.

Because it is a 3/2.5, it's definitely crowded in there. My tenant has the master to himself, his roommate has his own room, which leaves one bedroom for all 5 kids, and the parents to sleep on the couches in the living room. I want to be flexible and understanding, but still protect my investment and enforce the lease.

My question is whether I would be legally allowed to raise the rent at least for as long as the guests are there, or if my not expressly objecting equates to granting permission. Anyone who knows or has been through something like this, I would love your input!

Downtown has definitely seen a lot of development/redevelopment in the last several years. One project that I haven't seen mentioned yet is the medical school/culinary school project by Sudha Tokala. She bought four big buildings downtown including the Finney State Office Building and the Broadway Plaza in hopes of creating these schools along with housing for the students and some sort of permanent farmer's market. Even for how much progress downtown has made, it seems on the surface a bit overly optimistic to me, but there seems to be a lot of support for the idea. I'd love to see it work.

 I just bought my first househack in the Fairmount neighborhood and had similar thoughts on the area. However, at least for the street I'm on, I've felt quite safe with my family and have met some great neighbors and overall felt a positive vibe, although the neighborhood could certainly use some work. It's another area I feel like is on the rise, especially with the innovation campus going up.

Congrats. I'm optimistic about Delano's future and the city seems to be as well with their plan they put out last year. Lots going on there already in the last couple years.