All Forum Posts by: Jamil Barton

Thank you all - these are all great, and very helpful replies. Cheers!

I'm in the Buffalo, NY area and interested in a tri- or quad-plex which I will purchase as a owner-occupied home. I'm looking to identify a lender that will finance for less than 20% down payment. 

My current home (three unit property; a duplex with carriage home) was purchased in 2020 with Hunt Mortgage, who financed with less than 20% down payment. They now require a 25% down payment for properties over two-units. 

Wondering if anyone has identified local lenders accepting less than 20% down payment for 3-4 plex properties that will be owner occupied.

Thanks in advance!

I own a 3-unit property: a duplex and a carriage house. In the signed leases, I included a pet policy for the carriage house and the upstairs unit in the duplex. The final unit to sign - the lower apartment in the duplex - had a no-pet policy, which the tenant signed. 

Since signing the leases, the downstairs tenant has expressed several times that she would like to get a dog, which I have denied per her lease. However, she has since learned that the lease in the upstairs unit is allowed to a pet, and has stated that this is unfair and likely violates Fair Housing protected classes. In my area, that includes the following:

• Race, Color, Religion, Sex, Familial Status, National Origin, Disability, Military Status, Sexual Orientation, Age, Creed, Marital Status, Gender Identity, Source of Income, Immigration and Citizenship Status

Being 19 y/o, the tenant is feels that this is unfair treatment based on age. I'm not worried about being charged with a violation, but I would like to manage things consistent with FH protections.

As such, I decided to modify things so that none of the tenants get a pet. However, yesterday, I learned that the upstairs tenant has already put a deposit down on a dog. Learning this, I was inclined to allow all tenants to have a dog, but this upset the tenants in the rear/carriage house, who are convinced (based on previous experience) that the lower tenants will not take responsibility for the pet, affecting quality of life on the property (dog poop in the shared yard, etc.).

So, I've recognized that by having inconsistent rules I've gotten myself into a situation where I can't make all three units happy. Either the upper tenant loses their dog, the lower unit tenant can't have a dog at all, or the rear/carriage tenants are affected by the pets on the property.

My questions are:

1) Can I stand by original lease arrangements, where the upper and rear tenants are allowed a pet, but the lower tenant cannot?

2) If the answer to 1 is no, I think I have to stick with a no-pet policy. In which case, how best to handle things with the tenant who has already paid a downpayment on a dog, and who signed her original lease giving her permission to have a dog?

Thank you!!! and Please help!

I purchased my first property in December, a 3-unit property - one duplex and a carriage house on the same low. The inspection suggested waterproofing in the carriage house, and 1-2 pilasters/I-beams in the duplex. 

After closing, I've head different contractors come in and give me very different assessments of what is needed. 

Contractor A recommends:

• Carriage House: Waterproofing and no pilasters/I-beams
• Duplex: 2 pilasters/I-beams
• Total Price: 11K
• Note:Despite bowing along the BACK walls in the carriage house, his assessment is that this happened a while ago and I probably don't have to worry more about it. He seemed the overlook the observations of contractors B and C.

Contractor B recommends:

• Carriage House: Waterproofing and two pilasters/I-beams along the LEFT wall.
• Duplex: 5 pilasters/I-beams along one wall.
• Total Price: 45K
• Note: This contractor is prohibitively expensive, but was very detailed and felt more professional than contractor A. 

Contractor C recommends:

• Carriage House: Waterproofing and 13 pilasters (5 on the BACK wall, 4 on the LEFT wall and 4 on the FRONT wall)
• Duplex: 5 pilasters/I-beams and a buttress wall.
• Total Price: 23K
• Note: Contractors C and B shared several of the same observations overlooked by A. And, somehow, contractor C is about half the price of Contractor B, despite recommending more work.

Because this is my first property, and I have not worked with contractors before, I'm at a bit of a loss. Looking at the walls, they are arriving at very different conclusions of how much work needs to be done to ensure no further movement in the basement walls against the soil pressure. I also can't tell if Contractors B and C are just trying to sell as much work as possible, or if Contractor A really overlooked needed work.

My best guess for approaching this is hiring a structural engineer to give me an assessment, on the assumption that they would not have a monetary incentive to try and upsell the work. I could also have more contractors come out, but with a full time job - time is short, and I have some other issues to tackle to make the place tenant ready. Recommendations welcomed.

Thank you!

Next week, I am closing on my first property. I will be house hacking, living in one unit and renting out the other two. The structure will need some initial work, between some repairs and some improvements, which will likely happen after the tenants move in. I understand that this will have tax implications. 

I also want to be careful about tracking the property and my personal accounts separately. Finally, given that a portion of my income is from work overseas, I'm a bit edgy how all these numbers are reported at tax time. 

On the one hand, given than I'm single without any dependents, owning one property seems sufficiently simple that I should be able to sort it out myself. Is looking for a CPA an unnecessary expense at this point? Not sure if I am being dramatic here or sure if my situation warrants it hiring outside counsel.