All Forum Posts by: Jason A.

Depends on the two bedroom and the location. For example, I recently sold an older two bedroom, one bath ranch with a full walk-out basement. When I hauled away all the junk in the basement, painted its walls, and had the floor professionally scrubbed, lo and behold, the effective doubling of the house's useable square footage and the potential to create additional living space down there (maybe even a separate living area) became a nice selling feature to prospective buyers. On deposit about two weeks after listing.

So sometimes it might make sense, especially on a limited budget, to check these out. 

Welcome. Christopher!

I grew up in NJ (Morris County) and had relatives from Freehold. Freehold's come a long way since I was a kid. There used to be mostly a lot of farmland there, much of which over the years got sold off to big developers (Toll Brothers, etc.) who built and sold a lot of expensive homes there.

You have the right idea to plan carefully for your first investment, especially in the case of a multifamily. If you plan to have tenants, it really helps to get an understanding of the business you are buying into. You'll see what I mean as you look into it. I think you'll find biggerpockets to be of tremendous value in this regard.

Best of luck to you!

Hi Brandon,

That did happen to me -- twice. In both cases, someone from the family stepped forward to handle affairs. So, you definitely should contact the daughter immediately and have a talk with her. Even from a distance, nowadays it would not be that difficult for her to coordinate resources to get just about anything done (as long she is willing to spend a little $). If you are friendly with the family, you could offer to help in this regard.

You'll probably want to know who her heirs are and who is specified as the executor of her estate because you probably will have to go after the estate for the unpaid rent balance and any other costs (assuming you don't have a deposit from her). Don't assume she is destitute. You would be surprised at the number of people who live in apparent poverty who have (or at death leave behind) substantial assets. Depending on the state, there is usually a time limit to make a claim against an estate. The probate court may also have a special form for this purpose.  Even if she is destitute, someone in the family will usually take some responsibility and/or try to work out some kind of agreement with you.

Just some thoughts. Most of my elderly tenants were among my very best tenants and I hated to lose them. Of course, there were exceptions -- stories best left for another day.

Hi Mary,

Assume nothing is what it seems.

Well, you wanted short.

Hi Christopher,

Greetings from Hopkinton! I just sold a house in Framingham last month.

Anyway, you mentioned: "They are extremely needy and sometimes pushy tenants, and we don't want to renew their lease when it ends." Sounds like they gotta go.

How much longer does the lease have to run? When I was a landlord, I would religiously put tenants in under a written Tenancy At Will for slightly easier handling of situations just like this one. You might consider doing that next time around.

Anyhow, it seems that there is a lease violation. If you did not agree in writing to a modification, it seems like you'd want to serve them with notice that they are in violation, and that you wish to terminate the tenancy. In Massachusetts, eviction is a nightmarish, Kafkaesque labyrinth for the landlord. So before proceeding one step further, I would strongly suggest contacting an attorney who specializes in landlord-tenant law for advice and to help you avoid costly and time-consuming pitfalls. 

On the plus side, Middlesex County now has two specialized Housing Courts (so you don't have to go through the District Court system anymore). The one in Marlboro is probably the applicable one for you. 

A good thing to consider is whether or not you and your prospective wife are on the same page risk-wise. If she is a (financially) low-risk personality, she might feel uncomfortable with the thought that your deals might affect your joint financial future (and the lifestyle to which she is accustomed) because of the risk.

Here's an idea: you mentioned that a wedding might be 2 years or so away. That seems like plenty of time for you to find a deal, do your thing with it, and then cash out. After you have succeeded (and you will, of course :-) ), show her the numbers, what you did and how you're pretty sure you'll be able to do lots more of the same in the future. She might have a completely different outlook when she sees the actual results of what you've been able to do.

Let me tell you a story about a collector friend of mine. His passion is rare books. His wife could not care less about rare books. But periodically, he sells his cheap finds at auctions for remarkable amounts of money. His shows his wife the receipts. She smiles. She still has zero interest in rare books, but supports his avocation 100% because she sees he knows what he's doing and has a track record of very profitable results.

Perhaps this approach might work here as well?

He made some good points. I can't argue with success, but his (over)use of foul language is a little much for my taste. However, thanks very much for bringing him to your podcast series.

Check out "You Can Negotiate Anything" by Herb Cohen. Very readable and entertaining with lots of practical examples.

Regarding the post-dated checks. Chances are pretty good that the funds are not in the account and so the bank can't/won't give you the cash. This happened to me more than once when I was a landlord. I thought I would just be able to drop by the bank associated with the check and pick up my cash. Silly me. If there is not at least the amount the check is written for in the account, old Mr. Landlord is out of luck. And I was.

In MA, late fees are very difficult (for the landlord, of course). A rent payment has to be at least 30 days overdue for any fee to be charged. And, if in the past you have set a pattern of repeatedly accepting late payments, the tenant may assert in court that this practice effectively established an agreement to a new, later, due date than whatever it may say on the lease or written Tenancy At Will. 

One good rule to observe is to serve the tenant with a notice to quit at the earliest possible time following a non-payment of rent. If you have to evict the tenant for non-payment in the future, this will establish a track record. It sounds like you were trying to be a "good guy" by giving them a break for non-payment in the past. Landlording's a tough business and good guy landlords frequently get chewed up and spit out, especially by the characters I was dealing with.

Or maybe some impending or ongoing legal or personal issue(s) with one or more of the tenants. Get as much information as you can about the tenants before going forward with the deal. You'll be glad you did.