All Forum Posts by: Jennifer Rysdam

I have used SmartMove since I bought my 8-plex a year and a half ago. It works great for me. The only caution I would add is that you have to decide for yourself if people meet your criteria or not. I use the reports, but not their recommendations. 
My best advice is to follow your gut. I haven't in the past and wish I had. People are smooth talkers and have explanations for EVERYTHING! The numbers don't lie - unless of course someone just recently lost their job and their credit report says they still have it. Be sure to verify that because it makes a big difference. I had a couple that made $80,000 per year between the 2 of them. So why were they applying for my $500 per month apartment??? He had lost his $50,000 per year job and their debt was huge for what their real current income was, but SmartMove said they were great because it still said he had the job. Do the leg work. It will pay off for you in the end.

Good luck!

Let them use the yard. Don't let them smoke. They can go outside. Don't let them have access to the basement or the attic. (My luck they'd fill it up and leave.) DON'T MAKE FRIENDS with them. That is the biggest mistake I made. I own an 8-plex and I spent a lot of time during the summer of 2017 remodeling 2 units. One tenant was really nice and brought me baked goods and stopped in to visit. We got along great. NOW she's 6 months behind in rent because she lost her job and I felt sorry for her. She's getting caught up, but still! Keep it all business.

Good luck!

Great rehab! You definitely need to edit them. Even just opening them up in your computer and clicking the autofix would brighten them up a bit. Can you open the blinds a little to add brightness? I just looks so dark, like there isn't enough natural lighting. Be sure to turn lights on. Rooms without windows are sometimes better to photograph in the evening when the direct lighting will brighten them up.

I have similar cabinets in my apartment building. I have refaced some of the into white shaker style and they look awesome! How is your hood vent? In the picture it looks a little rough. I know that can make the kitchen appear dirty or old. Those things can get really gross. Maybe switch that out.
As far as the cabinets, you can take the doors off, add a shaker front, prime with oil based, paint with cabinet paint, and seal with poly. I also added nice knobs. I painted the boxes but not the inside. Here are during and after pics of mine.

Congratulations on your purchase! I've been doing this for about a year and a half, and I have an 8-plex. Here is what I have learned:

Communication: I have a Google Voice number that is directed into my cell number. I have it go straight to voicemail. If tenants or other call they will hear: "Thanks for calling Hardwick Place. We currently are full, but please lease a message if you have any questions. Thank you!" It works great, especially since most of the calls are telemarketers. Tenants usually correspond with me through texting, which is great because it makes a record. You can use Google Voice on your computer to make texting faster too. They send notifications to my email when I have a voicemail or text.

Payments: I have a drop slot in a door under the stairs. They can also pay through my Quickbooks via ACH, or just deposit it straight into my bank.

Addendums: I have found a lot of great paperwork right here on BP and have modified it to suit my needs and my laws.

Relationships: Like you said, treat it like a business! Be nice and friendly, but don't make friends. Don't stand around and chat a lot. I made that mistake and am paying for it. I spent a lot of time in the summer of 2017 remodeling 2 units in my building. One of the neighbor ladies across the hall would come a chat or bring me her baked goods. We got to be friends. A year ago she lost her job, and her husband can't work, so she got behind because I couldn't make myself evict her. Now she's slowly paying my back extra every month. It really affects my financials though. When someone doesn't pay rent it looks like I have an empty unit. That affects my property and resale value.
Don't be someone's bank! if they lose their job and can't pay their rent, that's their problem to solve. They can borrow from friends, relatives, the bank, etc.  It's not your job to "borrow" them money by not making them pay rent.

Good luck! :)

I would rent the whole thing out as one unit. If that needs to change in the future then you could do that then. My only reservation in doing this would be that when they decide to move on you are going to have a completely empty unit and no cash flow until you get it rented again.
Be sure to go with your gut though. If they seems shady and you think they will try to "remodel" or use it inappropriately then move on to the next.

I have some smokers that never smoke in their place, and I have others that do and claim it's in the vents from long ago and when the wind blows it comes back in, lol! I no longer rent to smokers. I have an 8-plex. Each side's bathroom vents go into a central outlet. If someone is smoking in their unit, the smell will go up the vents and into other apartments. 

I honestly think your biggest issue is that you are even considering renting to friends. DON'T DO IT MAN! I made the mistake of making friends with a tenant while I was there remodeling the unit across the hall. She's a sweet lady but then lost her job, got behind, had to catch up, had to get caught up on that car payment or she wouldn't have a car to get to work, lost another job, etc. You see how this goes. Now she owes me $3000 and is paying extra each month to pay me back, but what is that doing to my financials? The months she didn't pay rent were just like having an empty unit. I have learned the hard way to put business first. 

Questions for you:

• Do you think I should feel bad about the situation? No. I would expect that their apartments were plenty clean when they moved in. They made that mess, not you.
• Have you ever been in this type of situation and felt the same way as I did? How did you maneuver through it and what did you end up doing? Mine isn't that bad, but what I do is keep the common/outside areas nice. That's what the public sees. That's what is on my hands. As long as they aren't ruining my building, they can live how they want.
• I know Section 8 has a bad rap, but have you ever had a positive experience? I bought my building just as it was coming out of section 8. Several had to be asked to leave because they had lost their subsidy and didn't want to pay rent.
• Do you own any places that you didn’t like/wouldn’t live in? I would never live in my building. First, the 7 of us wouldn't fit in a 2 bedroom, but also because that's just not our situation. We own a nice home and work hard for it.
• How do you or your property manager handle dirty tenants? I would do an inspection, make a list of what you want done, and let them know that you'll be back to inspect in 2 weeks. At that time you'll have to decide it you can live with it or not. My concern with the dirty tenants is whether or not if will become a health hazard to others. If they are getting mice or bugs, etc. 

Overall, just keep the outside and commons looking nice/decent. That way when people do move out you will have nice curb appeal and be able to get new tenants easily.

I have an 8-plex. I use Quickbooks for my bookkeeping and that allows payment via ACH through them. I also have a drop slot in my building. I stop by on the 6th and clean it out. Many of my tenants just choose to stop by my bank and deposit their rent. Many don't have checking accounts and like to pay cash. It's easier to just deposit it themselves instead of paying for a money order.
As far as work orders, you don't have that many units, so hopefully there won't be many repairs. I communicate with my tenants mostly through text. It gives me a record of it. I set up a Google Voice number (free) and have it forwarded to my regular cell number. They can cell or text with it. I put it on "straight to voicemail". On there I have a message that says, "Thanks for calling Hardwick Place apartments, right now we do not have any vacancies, but feel free to leave a message if you have any questions and I'll get back to you as soon as I can." This way everything goes to voicemail. I'm instantly alerted when I have a message, and I'm not constantly being interrupted by tenants/prospective tenants/telemarketers(most of the calls are telemarketers).

I made my cabinets into shaker style and painted them white. It makes a world of difference. I also painted the walls light gray and trim white. Many appreciate that because they are sick of the white in every unit they have lived in, plus it looks great. For C units I would make changes that would make my life easier. Vinyl plank is great and so is tile. Anything that limits your turnover work is helpful. Nice lighting and big mirrors in the bathroom are always appreciated too. I recently bought LED lights for my common areas. That's a big savings in the winter when they seem to be on all the time.