All Forum Posts by: Ian Maxwell

Hey all, great conversation at the meet up last night. As new investors in the area, @Jennifer Gillis and I got a lot out of it! I hope these continue in the future. 

Best,
Ian

Hi DJ, I will see you there! 

Ian

Hi All, 

I recently closed my first deal and will be house hacking a two family in Quincy. We took possession of one of the units on 9/1, and found that the previous tenants left several large pieces of furniture behind - a huge three person sofa, love seat and queen box spring. I emailed them and they agreed that we would charge their security deposit the cost of the removing the items. Due to the holiday and college move-ins, we couldn't find pro movers/junk haulers that could help for several days. Since the items were preventing us from moving in our own items, we decided to deal with it ourselves. The house has narrow staircases and it all had to be demolished to get out. (I later learned that they had hoisted the items over the back deck when they moved in five years ago, but I wasn't confident enough in the current condition of the deck to go that route.) Ultimately, it took three of us three hours to demo and move the items out. On top of all that, the unit needed about 10 solid hours of cleaning (by us) to get it up to living condition. 

Now I'm wondering if I can charge the security deposit for our own labor since there are no receipts, and if there is precedent for how much we should charge. Their security deposit was $1750. 

Thanks all for any insight!

Ian

Thanks, @Taylor Adams! I'd be happy to connect and swap ideas. I'll shoot you a message

@John Menton Incredible insight in that podcast. Thanks for the recommendation.

@Charlie MacPherson Those are great points, and many things I wouldn't have considered. I grew up in a 200 year old farm house, and took more than a few falls down ladder-like staircases as a child, so I relate to your point there. If you were to do a showing or open house at an antique home, what would you look for? What would scare you away? 

@Dan Weber Great tips, thanks! I'm working with an agent in the Boston area, but agree that someone with more local knowledge would be more helpful finding a deal that makes sense. Do you still have any connections to realtors in the area that you would recommend? Also, I grew up in Wells and my family still lives there - what a coincidence. 

@Lien Vuong I'm not completely resigned to Salem, and am still considering all options. I've never spent much time in Beverly, but sounds like it is worth looking into for all the reasons mentioned. Thanks for the suggestion!

@Colleen F. Good to hear that the rental market in the area is healthy. That's one of the other things about Salem that I liked - there a several sources of potential tenants. Commuters, students, etc. 

Awesome, thanks for the tip John!

Hi all, I'm fairly new to the forum and have never formally introduced myself. I'm Ian and I have spent the last six months or so educating myself on REI and reading through the forums. I have started to form my "team" and I'm ready to take action.

I'm currently living in the Boston suburbs and looking for a 2 or 3 family BRRRR/house hack within the 495 belt, preferably something close to the commuter rail. One area I'm particularly interested in is Salem. It's a lively place with some charm and a good location for me - close to the commuter rail and a good midpoint point between work and family in Maine.

I've heard the drawbacks - traffic, "one way in / one way out", public schools aren't great, Halloween is crazy, etc. I'm wondering if anyone here has lived and/or invested in Salem, and would be willing to share their thoughts on the town and/or the market.

I'm also curious if anyone has invested in a historic home that required reno, either in Salem or elsewhere. Does that significantly complicate renovation work? Any insight on what to expect from that process would be great. 

Thanks for reading and for your insight!

Ian

How are you finding the rental market in Springfield? Any difficulties filling vacancies? I am in Boston and looking to invest in multi-families elsewhere in the state.