All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Holmes

@Amber Gonion I'm assuming you meant that for the OP but I'm in agreement with your assessment.

@Lori Evans Traditionally if you are buying and owner occupant multifamily you can request future rents be added to your income. I believe they will determine a market rent and then add 75% to your income. So on a duplex that rents for a thousand a side they with credit you seven fifty a month. I am skeptical that they would allow this for a single family home that you plan to partition.

@Loren Whitney Assuming you own the dishwasher and provided it they likely have a right to enjoy it without being disgusted by doing so. The only line I would draw is if they are habitual complainers but I still wouldn't draw it at a stinky dishwasher. I always try to be a good landlord. In my opinion, a good landlord would fix this. Dishwashers often have a filter to catch larger food items and can be clogged which stinks. Often this can be sorted out with a screw driver. There should be a cover to remove. A cleaning additive won't clear this. With a little poking around you may figure it out. The next thing I'd look at is the drain line I've seen them build up with crud that doesn't actually block the line. Lastly, if you can't figure it out I installed a basic dishwasher for a total of around 250 dollars.

I wouldn't allow an adult to live at the property not on the lease. Effectively this allows them to establish residency under the law without being bound to any of the lease terms. Depending on your state this could be an issue. For instance let's say the half of this relationship who is named on the lease gets sick of the situation and leaves. now you can legally persue that person for damages but as we all know beyond the security deposit this is difficult to collect on. However, you're then left with a second issue of having a tenant who has all the protections your state grants and no lease to protect yourself or enfore your rules. You may have to evict them and deal with that headache. I highly recommend all tenants who are over 18 be on the lease even in the case of adult children. It is undoubtedly common for landlords to allow a tenant who is not on the lease to live in the property. Is also common for landlords to lose money. If I were in your shoes I would send a notification that all adult tenants must be on the lease per the lease. You likely don't have that clause so you can't make that requirement. Other than that I would tell tenant I don't mediate personal relationship desputes. tl/dr It's none of your business don't worry about it or get involved.

One problem with Redfin and Zillow comps are they can be hugely old. Your comps should be less than six months and in some markets even that is to old on the far end. Without knowing your market in the slightest I suspect this is not a deal. Also if you buy using a low down owner occupant loan your payment will be that much higher and it will be even harder to cash flow.

How much more rent will you get for having a pool? Is a pool standard in the area? If the answer to the first question is enough to cover the cost of the pool, the headache of it, and make a profit then go ahead. If the answer to the second is yes, then you probably want one too. In my area it would be a hard no.

At a residential facility I work at clients often try to vape in their rooms. The oils are messy if spilt but the major issue is it will set of smoke detectors. I would assume if yours are hard wired they will be going off often and if battery the batteries will be removed the first day. Whether you care about that is up to you.

You need to look into how to estimate expenses. Your cash flow is basically rent minus mortgage P&I, property taxes, insurance, income taxes, local fees, utilities (if you pay any), repairs, management, vacancy, evictions and capex items. If the total rent is 1100 or 550 a unit on an average condition property for 45k you may cash flow. The utilities situation will be a big factor. BUT you need to run all your numbers with local estimates.

You need to know three things:

1) What the market rent is

2) What amenities the average unit has at that average rent

3) What is your tolerance for an empty unit

If your rent is average and they just want a discount stay the course you may get a call back once they've shopped around. If your rent is a hundred dollars higher than average, in most markets, that is with in what is tolerable if you have a reason for it. Is the average unit 3 beds one bath and you have a 3/2? Does the average unit have street parking and you have a driveway and garage? That worth a hundred dollars easy to the right person.

However, if you just have an average unit, haven't had much interest and you rent is a hundred dollars more than the market then you will need to drop the price to be competitive. Even if you feel your unit is nicer do the math. I once calculated that it was better for me to rent a unit at a discount if it enabled me to rent in immediately than wait. This was during winter months when there isn't a whole lot of interest to move. I found when I listed it at the higher price that I still had enough interest I decided to hold off and wait for the right tenant but by the time I found a qualified tenant, a month had gone by, and that's money I'll never see again.

Depends on who you're targeting. Are you mailing other investors? owner occupants? People with equity? Tax delinquency? All of these groups will have different motivations. A tax delinquent property owner may be more interested in cash and a quick close. A long time investor with a paid off unit is going to need something more personal to get their attention or maybe you pulled them their name off of a list of recent evictions in which case a "tired of having the head ache of being a landlord? Sell your property to me for its cash value and never deal with it again!" might work. Owner occupants will also need a more personal touch this isn't some house its their home so a gentler hand is wise

You have to know who you're targeting and then try to guess what their motivation might be. A generic letter will get a certain percentage of response still but to push those numbers up you have to work harder and get more precise. I tend to focus on smaller more focused lists but to be honest it hasn't really paid off yet. So you may what to just go generic and go big.