All Forum Posts by: Ian M.

In invest in Pittsburgh and for the past 1.5-2 years i have had a horrendous track record of NON Paying tenants.  They either aren't paying on time, don't pay or just leave.  That is the one thing I didn't factor in.  I just got hit with a few maintenance issues and even a recent fine, but I factored things like that into my calculations.  What i hadn't figured in was the high amount of NON Paying tenants or ones that just leave mid-lease because i thought the PM screening would factor most (not all) of these tenants out.  I use a PM and I'm wondering if they aren't being diligent enough about following up with tenants as they should be and its costing me big time.   I invest in B/C areas as well.  Any thoughts on what I might be missing?  Or do most of you have similar issues with your properties?  I will say I have another rental in Cleveland that I have VERY few problems with in that same regard.  

@Aaron Corleone I currently utilize a Property Management company in Pittsburgh and have previously fired another. PM for details if you are interested. I actually just PM'ed with another BP'er about the exact same thing a few days ago.

@Brian Gibbons - absolutely AWESOME Credo. Thanks a ton for posting that. I too am going to save that in my iNotes and look at it regularly. Thanks again.

@David Sugg I would do a search on the site. Pretty sure I've seen that discussion numerous times here.

@Frank M. sure it can work both ways, but guess how willing the municipality is to AUTOMATICALLY drop your taxes based on that sale. In other words, you will have to contest the taxes to get them lowered, they won't do it automatically...like they will if you purchase it for a HIGHER price. Just how it goes. You will have to get comps and explain why you should have a lower tax bill, but if you have a good case, you may be able to get them lowered. Just be aware with the economy the way its been lately, most municipalities are doing everything they can to keep as much as they can, so you will need to come very prepared (or hire it out). They are especially tough on investors as opposed to owner occupieds that are contesting.

@Rebecca Jeffers just know that tax rates will change after you purchase. Usually they calculate it based on the most recent sales price. So if you purchase it for more than they are currently assessing it for, you may/will likely get hit with a higher tax bill. I learned that the hard way. Good luck.

I've never used any of them, but I was looking at a purchase up there but before I did I was doing some due diligence on management companies so I asked another investor I know as he invests there. He's never used them either so neither one of us can vouch for them necessarily, but hopefully this will help you guys at least a little. At the moment, I'm still sticking to the Pittsburgh area so sorry I can't be of more help, my apologies.

Response from February 2012:

Ed Cline’s Premier Property Management is in the area, but I have gotten widely varying opinions on them. Ed is an appraiser and investor, and they manage his own properties. Most of my clients in the area manage their own. Coldwell Banker’s property management division is generally good, but Beaver Falls may be far for them. Bovard Anderson does a good job in Ambridge and Beaver.

@Iyan Tan I think you answered your own questions. Get rid of the headache and take a small loss/break even or spend the time, headache and money to fix it up and wait for it to sell to hopefully get a better price. It really just depends on where you are right now in your thought process. If you are looking to offload quickly and if the numbers make sense, I may be interested in purchasing it from you. If so, shoot me a PM with the details. If not, no worries. I do hope it works out for you.

@Steve Salvatore see Steve, you're already competing with me!

@Steve Smithy if you decide to sell your Pittsburgh property I too would be interested as that is my area as well, particularly Multis.

That said if you decide to hold PM me and I can send you my PRop mgr. they have been decent though not perfect. I also agree with the others about investing in notes. Not really hands on at all (especially if you have a servicer) and backed by a solid product. Much better than the stock market in my opinion.

Either way - good luck with your decision and weigh all the options carefully as REI can be one of the most profitable investments over time, if you are OK with dealing with some headaches.

@Steve Salvatore and @Michael D. i just refinanced out of a property i bought in the Pittsburgh area for $32k in December (based on 75% of cash purchase price + 75% of repairs, up to appraisal) with a local bank/portfolio lender for a commercial loan (in my LP) like @Dawn Anastasi and others mention above. If you want, PM me and i will email you the guys info directly. you can't compete with me though! :) I kid, I kid.