All Forum Posts by: Jacob Gelinas

Hi all,

I just recently bought my first three family rental property and I inherited my tenants with the house. So far (knock on wood) my tenants have been fantastic which, from what I’ve heard, is not always the case with inherited tenants. That being said, the rents are WELL below market and I’d really like to bump them up. One of the leases will be up in a few months and I’d really like to get that unit up to market value. I’ve been thinking about renovating the unit to justify the significant increase in price but I’m also a little afraid that that might push the tenant out. If I renovate the unit I know I can get it rented pretty easily because of the location but I’d honestly love to keep the tenant I have if possible. Does anyone have any advice? Also, when I have the renovations done, if the tenant decides they do not want to stay, can I have them done while they are still in the unit or do I have to wait until they are gone? Thank you for any help!

A colleague of mine at work introduced me to a really cool company that makes what are essentially giant legos. The company is called Everblock. I’m wondering if anyone has used these yet. Also, I’m buying a house with all one bedroom apartments but two of the three units have been converted from 2 bed 1 bath units to 1 bed 1 bath. Eventually I’d like to convert them back to 2 bed 1 bath and instead of using conventional building materials, I was wondering if these would be a possible alternative. I would just have to build a wall to divide the one large bedroom into two bedrooms and these would be easy to install and offer tenants the option of a one bed one bath or a two bed one bath. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks

Wow, I’m not even sure where to begin! Thank you all so much for the great advice! Based on many of the factors mentioned here in the comments I couldn’t justify making an offer on this house. As @Jim K. and @Brian Ellis mentioned, although the brick appeared to be in decent shape, it may end up costing me in the long run since it takes a lot of skill to do this type of work. 

@Anthony Thompson @Colleen F. and @Robert Chen you all mentioned basing my analysis on current rents and it would not make a good deal at current rents or current price. And as @Anthony Thompson and @Derrick Gordon mentioned, I can’t justify the numbers on this one so I think I’m going to have to let it be. I think I was too fixated on the idea of having sturdy building materials but in today’s day and age they may come at more of a cost that it’s worth. Especially since this house is over 100 years old. Just have to keep on searching for a real deal! Again, thank you all so much for the help!

@Brandon Ingegneri Thanks for the heads up, I didn't know about the trash removal fee! As far as managing the property goes I'm hoping that what I've read so far in books and on the BP forums will help me out but, just as most other experiences in life, I won't really know until I'm actually a landlord. I know there will be headaches with any property but I hope to start establishing a system with whatever house becomes my first property to avoid the future headaches.

@Colleen F. Like you said, I don't know that tenants would ultimately pay any more for a brick apartment than another type but I liked the fact that it seems to be a very sturdy building material. Also, while I could be wrong as far as the rents go, all of the units are quite large (over 1,200 sq ft) 3 bed 1 bath units and they are all renting for less than $1,000/month. I looked at the house today and the neighborhood seemed nice and quiet. Do you think that $1,000/month is high for Woonsocket?

Thanks for the reply @Brandon Ingegneri! When you say it depends on the process and ability to service the property and tenants, what do you mean exactly? I've never been a landlord before and certainly need as much advice as possible on how to develop good systems for property management. 

Also, I didn't know about a 5th quarter for taxes. I know the tax rate in Woonsocket is something like $29-$31. If I am factoring in the yearly taxes into my analysis and lets say the taxes listed on the MLS for a property are $4,500/ year, does this account for that 5th quarter? Or is there an additional expense there?

Thank you very much @Brandon Ingegneri!

@Nancy DeSocio, I have not been to the RIEREIG meetings but I'll have to look into those. Thank you for letting me know about them! Also, congratulations on your close next month!

@Marlon Fong Thank you very much! I have been listening to the podcast for a while now and reading through the forums more recently. I have already learned a lot but I've got a long way to go!

Hi everyone,

My name is Jake and I'm currently on the market for my first multi family. I started out investing in stocks not having a clue about what I was doing. After finding out quickly how volatile the markets can be I decided I wanted to learn how to actually evaluate an investment. I began reading books and listening to podcasts on investing. This lead me to discover the concept of investing in real estate. I really like the idea of being able to generate passive income from something that is tangible. My girlfriend and I decided that we want to buy a multi family for our first home and house hack it. We have been looking for a few months now and are still trying to find our first deal. Wish us luck!

Best regards,

Jake  

Hi everyone,

My girlfriend and I are first time home buyers in the Rhode Island area and we are looking to owner occupy a multi family as our first home. We recently found a three unit in the city of Woonsocket that looks appealing. The units are large and I think the rents could be increased by quite a bit. The downfall is that the price is quite high and it looks like the current owner has paid more than the listing price of the house according to the tax assessor's database. However, I believe there are a few advantages at play with this house.

The house seems to have less competition due to the high price for the area. We've looked at several other houses in the area and have been beaten out on a few offers, one which was over the asking price. The house is also built out of brick which to me means less maintenance than most homes. No repainting or replacing of siding to worry about. It may need re-pointing at some point but I think that's something I could do myself. The house also has a slate roof which seems like it may be one of the better roofing options out there. As far as I've read it seems I may never have to replace the roof, though if I did it would obviously be at a much higher cost than normal. 

My questions are, does the lack of big ticket items (siding, painting, roof) make the case for paying a higher premium up front? Are brick multis attractive to tenants? Does anyone have experience renting in Woonsocket, and has it been good or bad? Am I wrong about brick and slate being less work than other materials? 

Please take it easy on me as I am new to this.

Thank you very much,

Jake