All Forum Posts by: Jesi Young

Hi Chantel,

It is great that you are making all of these updates before renting the entire townhome out! It's much more efficient to take your property to market in great condition, rather than orchestrating renovations with new tenants in there. You may command higher rents in the initial offering, too, rather than waiting for lease renewals to up your rents.

I would check with other rentals in your townhouse community to see if the shower upgrade will increase the rents that much. Have other owners done this? What is the price difference in rents? That should give you a better figure for if that addition seems "worth it." 

It sounds like you are on the right track! Good luck :)

@Tim Swierczek Thanks for the information, I will check it out.

 Thank you. And I am so happy you got to visit! Especially during whale season :)

@Tiffany Palaskas Wow, what a whirlwind with your tenants trying to break the lease after you are already questioning on selling!

I agree with the others when they say to hire a PM; a property manager will have access to better screening and fraud detection - and hopefully can add some protections in the legal arena too. Some of our clients in MN have several properties and live in another country, so it is possible.

On the investment side, the deferred maintenance (roof, flooring) will eat away at your equity/appreciation; but, you have a property that cash flows. The other benefits I see are debt paydown (done by tenants) and tax deductions. May be worth it to check with a cost segregation company (depreciation) and start scouting property management companies.

Someone smarter than me could probably tell you about taking a HELOC out to fund the next investment property in TN. I am always interested in how people use the BRRRR method in these cases. Good luck!!!

Aloha! After being displaced by the Maui wildfire in Lahaina Town, I began a new journey in the Midwest. Having held a Real Estate license in Hawaii, I completed coursework and exams for Minnesota and Wisconsin to become a realtor in both states. I worked exclusively in STVR property management on the island and currently work in long-term property management servicing the West Metro (Minneapolis).

I've owned different residential homes in California, both sold off market and for over asking. If you want to talk condo law in Hawaii, I can tell you the aftermath of the Lahaina fire makes me hesitant to have an HOA ever again, but we will save that for the blog!

My goals are to start building an investment portfolio of professionally managed (I could tell you all the reasons I will not do it myself) multi-family properties and, in time, develop a property in the Northwoods (Wisconsin/UP). I am looking forward to connecting with people in the area and sharing wisdom along the way!