All Forum Posts by: Jeremy Mattson

Hi All, 

I am looking to get your opinion as to what you would do if you were in my situation.. and what I potentially can do.

Situation:

I have some not so ideal inherited tenants that I have been living next door with for the last 8 months. I have issued numerous notices included notices to pay, notices to pay (utilities), notices for violating their lease (smoking.. not shoveling).. the list really could go on.

A week or two ago I needed to completely replace the furnace of the unit. The unit was old, but also overworked as my tenant continues to leave their windows wide open in the middle of a Wisconsin winter. I assume the windows are open because they are smoking or some other activity.. The place is a complete mess and I know she has a $600+ water bill that hasn’t been paid and will eventually hit my taxes if she doesn’t pay it off. For the last several months I have worked with her to pay me back on a bi-weekly basis to pay off her $1k+ 2018 water bill (Literally just finished these payments).

Her lease is up at the end of June

So here is where I need you advise.. Would you

1. Stick it out and suck it up till the end of June to avoid the cost of an eviction (assuming you can get her to pay her utilities and rent).. The place is trashed and will need a full renovation, so at least this option would give me additional time to save up for the renovation.

2. Give her a 5 day notice to pay (utilities) or vacate? She is month to month and will not be able to afford another $600 payment. If she doesn’t pay issue a 14 day notice to vacate

3. Inspect the property and give her some sort of notice for the damages she is causing (I feel as though this is the most difficult route).

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated! 

Hi @Travis Schreiber

I grew up in the Green Bay area (now living down in Appleton). As several of the members have said, I'd either put in an offer that makes cashflowing sense... Or wait and keep looking.  I closed this year on my first Duplex for 155k (2 Bed, 1.5 Bath) down in Appleton. Current Rents are @ 775$ (So right at the 1% rule). I’m house hacking while I renovate the one unit, plan to increase rents, and it should be cashflowing once I’m gone.

Knowing the Howard area, I’m surprised rents are that low. Have you checked comparable rent rates? It may be a combination of overpriced market prices and underpriced rents. 

My personal Goals for 2019 are:

1. Finish renovating the current unit I am living in.

2. Flip sides of my duplex and continue the renovation process while AirBnB-ing my current unit. By doing so, I hope to increase cashflow and leverage the benefit/convenience of living next door to the STR.

3. Purchase an additional 2-4 Unit Property

4. Improve my networking by making more connections with fellow Bigger Pockets members, Real Estate Investors and contractors. 

100% with you there @Kyle J. . It's difficult to find time to sit down and read books. So the fact that all the information can be jam-packed into Podcasts and audio books makes it so much easier to learn. The podcasts are playing non-stop while I renovate my first property.  

Sooo I'm one who hates sitting around wasting time.. But I love hunting! This weekend I sat in my tree stand for 5+ hours listening to Bigger Pockets Podcasts. Productivity at its finest.

This begs the questions... Where is the craziest/weirdest place you've listened to a podcast? 

@Jeff Berg Yes, The missing window is located in a bedroom of the neighboring unit. I have no Idea why it was not constructed symmetrically back in the day... 

I debate whether or not busting a hole in the wall and adding a window would increase the value of the property. I will ask to get a quote from the window guys when they are replacing my units windows next week. I would estimate it will cost upwards of $1k. 

@Jeff Berg I couldnt agree more and appreciate the help!!! 

I was planning to remove the storm doors and the lack of window on the 2nd floor of the left unit drives my OCD up a wall!! haha. I can't wait to show the progress made on the unit. 

PS: New windows, including the bay window are being installed tomororw. Its going to make a big difference :)

Thanks again for the help !

Thanks everyone for your input! 

@Jeff Berg attaced is a picture of my unit (not the greatest... and I literally just took the photo from google maps for the sake of sending something). Obviously its not a high end unit. I was thinking of buying or painting the front door a  dark navy blue. Thoughts?

@Shawn Ward  Thanks for the advise. Your place looks great!

Pretty simple questions here...

Should I paint my existing front door? Or would you recommend replacing the entire front door?  This is for a duplex that I am house hacking/renovating. 

Current front door is a steel 6 panel door with no window. Option to replace it would run me about 300$ to replace with a nice, pre-finished steel door that I think would add a bit to the look of the place.

What have you had the most success with? Is a new door worth the cost? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

Hi All,

So I wanted to bounce my newest idea out there to get any comments/thoughts/tips from the BP community.

Current Situation: I purchased my first duplex back in June and have lived in it the last several months while I am giving the place a complete update (new flooring, paint, windows.. etc.). I have long term (inherited....) tenants that currently live in my other unit with their lease set to expire in June of 2019. I will not be renewing their lease and will need to completly update their unit as well (its a little rough).

The Plan: Once my tenants lease expires, I will Airbnb the unit I am currently living in and swap sides to renovate it. I would expect to be able to get 8-900$ a month from a long term tenant with my renovated unit. Whereas I believe I could get between $100-125 per night for the place during the off season and potentially more during peak periods doing short-term Airbnb rentals.

I believe that I’ll be able to leverage numerous advantages since I will be living next-door such as lawncare (I already do it..), Wi-Fi, and obviously convince if I need to clean or fix anything in the unit. I estimate as long as I have an occupancy rate of around 35-40%, I should at lease meet the same returns as the long term tenant. Plus, If its vacant for any decent period of time I will be able to hop sides and live in the nicely renovated unit instead..

Thoughts? Has anyone else tried something similar to this?