All Forum Posts by: Jen Harwood

Hi @Brandon Pelfrey, sewer is $48 every three months, trash is $37 every two months. For water, one of our properties is in a private water district so that bill is fixed at $13/month in the winter and $30/month in the summer, but our other property averages $50-60/month ($20/mo. in the winter and $100/mo. in the summer). We haven't asked our tenants to cover these utilities in the past because sewer and trash are relatively cheap and for water, we wanted them to maintain the yard in the summer and not just let it die to keep the bills low. I'd be interested to hear what other Boise investors do - this is just the approach we've always taken.

Hi @Joshua Zapin, I just used Carl from Indy Pro Inspection and he was great, as was Staci, who did the scheduling and follow-up - highly recommend!

Thank you so much @Mathew Wray, I really appreciate it!

Hi all, I have some good friends that are planning to do a for sale by owner in Portland, OR. Would anybody out there be willing to provide them with a few sales comps? I would really appreciate it! Thanks so much.

Thanks @Todd Gabianelli! I will add him to my list for next time. 

Thank you @Cory Gardner and @Patrick B.! Inspection is ready to go. Appreciate your help!

Hi all, I would really appreciate your recommendations for a great inspection company in Indianapolis. Thank you!

Ugh, that is frustrating for your tenant, but my first instinct is that it has to at least start as her responsibility to talk to the neighbor about it. For one thing, since it is a condo building, the neighbor may very well own their unit, so there's little you can do aside from asking them nicely to tread more quietly (good luck with that if they have a baby!) - and I think that request will resonate more strongly coming from the person having to actually live with the noise. I also think it starts the conversation off on a more negative foot if the neighbor hears that the tenant was essentially "tattling" on them. 

When it comes to neighbor issues I like to let the people involved handle it unless it is going in the reverse direction (a neighbor having an issue with one of my tenants). Unless you are willing to invest money in soundproofing between the floors (and you can bet the neighbor won't have a strong desire to share this cost with you), I would at the very least ask the tenant to start with speaking with the neighbor directly.

I agree with the points that have been said - definitely put an expiration of 24-48 hours on every offer, or risk the other agent shopping your offer in the hopes someone else will submit a better one. 

I understand your concern about the seller finally deciding to review offers after you retract it, but I would be very surprised if the seller hadn't seen your offer already. If the seller and agent are serious about selling the house, waiting for a better offer seems like the only reason (aside from some other unforeseen family circumstances) that they would delay responding. 

Since you submitted your offer, every buyer's agent that has called on the house has heard, "Well we have an offer on the property, so any offers need to be best and final." Luckily for you, it sounds like nobody has submitted a better one yet, so draw a hard line and move on if you need to! If it doesn't work out now, it may come back to you later, and your negotiating position will be even better.

I'm interested in learning more about this property. Can you please send details to:

[email protected]

Thank you!