All Forum Posts by: Hernan B.

@Robert Sepulveda, @Brie Schmidt I know this is an old thread but I was wondering if you still had the names of the lender and if you'd still recommend them. I have a four plex with a balloon loan that is soon to be due and I have the option to do another balloon loan but I am thinking about refinancing all of my properties together.

I am looking to get away from traditional personal mortgages (which my two duplexes are on) and also cash refi my SFH that is owned outright and get them under one loan under my LLC. My current bank is looking into doing an SBA loan (which admittedly I know very little about) but also wanted to see all of my options.

Thanks in advance!

Hello Everyone,

I have properties in C+ class neighborhoods and recently my turns have gotten pretty costly. I was wondering what everyone does to keep turn costs down. Are there areas that are worth to spend a little bit more and are there areas to limit costs? Thanks ahead of time for your input. 

Hello,

I am starting a partnership with a friend and I am starting to look at some different real estate/ business oriented lawyers to form the partnership and get advice. I would also need help drawing up contracts if necessary. 

It seems it's been a while since this has been a topic and I didn't see any names in the forums. Just wondering if anyone recommends any lawyers they use.

Thanks!

I have left a CPA in the Mequon area (near Milwaukee) for taking too long. This particular CPA did not respond to any form of communication as to how long my taxes would take to file. Its fine to be backed up, its another thing to ignore your clients. 

@Arlan Potter if your clients are owed money you would let the government keep the money as long as possible??? It IS late, I have better use for my money than the government. Life is not good, get a new CPA. 

Please let me know when you have details on the Milwaukee gathering, I would love to join!

Thanks to everyone for advice. I have since met with my property manager and talked about what I would like to see. The main thing I would like to see improved is the tenant quality, which i think will help reduce a lot of the expenses. I am now more involved in the selection process. 
As suggested I will be asking for more detailed receipts of any work and will try to review them thoroughly. Communication has always been good between us and I don't believe that to be a problem. My plan will be to keep this PM until the end of the year to see if things are turned around. Thanks again 

I believe the biggest issue is the tenants that the PM is putting in there (may or may not be bad luck). The 16k includes PM fees, and a couple of new (used) appliances. I have spoken to the PM and voiced my concern to have it a priority to seek out better tenants.  I have decided to continue for the remainder of 2015 unless improvement does not continue. So far there seems to be some improvement.  

it has not been vacant for too long, we just did an eviction. I'm trying to get better quality tenants in there in order to avoid evictions and costly turnovers. That is the difficult part (to get the better tenants). My other concern would be to pay the PM two rent-out fees in a short time span. 

Hello,

My property manager has received an application from tenant with an unconventional request. The applicant wants to use my rental as a way to proof residence for his child’s impending schooling. Per my landlord, the applicant wants to rent the apartment for 4-5 months (not live in it much) after which he will be relocating to Milwaukee permanently but to a different location. This is a particularly difficult unit for me to get good tenants and after the application process he seems to pass with flying colors. The only downsides I see are the difficulty in trying to rent it out in Septemper (but probably starting to look in August) and the possibility of a vacant unit attracting squatters (although this should be minimized since there are 4 units total and can also be reduced by semi frequent visits to the unit). Does this seem like a good idea and am I missing anything as far as risk? Is there anything special I should ask for such as a higher security deposit? Thanks for any feedback!

@Brie Schmidt

Great idea, I can try to dig up the numbers and present them to him. However, my vacancy rate was zero while I was doing everything my self. I ended up doing an eviction and soon after another tenant just up and left. I found it to difficult to show the units which is when i decided to hire a property manager.

@Steve Rozenberg  and @Jean Bolger 

My biggest issue is not the expense of the costs. I didn't think anything he has done was unnecessary or too expensive, he has always brought any repairs to my attention and has gotten my approval (no surprises). My biggest concern is tenant management aspect. Is he finding the right tenants (I assume good tenants will bring expenses down)? Is he finding them fast enough? etc. Is it realistic for me to expect good tenants in the lower income area that I'm in?

To my next question; at what point should I try a different property manager and how do I go about it? Do I switch both properties to a new PM (I also own a duplex) or do I just have a new PM manage the more difficult one and if I like them better switch them both?