All Forum Posts by: Jinhee Park

In a rental property, if you need to replace the water heater, which is better: gas operated vs. electricity operated? Why?

I recently hired a new property manager for my two rentals, one is a single family home and the other is a fourplex in Tucson AZ.  I travel out of state for my work so I hired a reputable property manager based on a referral.  She was at first very responsive to all my phone calls and emails but in the past 8days all of a sudden has become unresponsive.  We had to evict a nonpaying tenant that I inherited from the previous owner of the fourplex last week and I asked her to have the unit cleaned up and rehabbed by cleaners and contractors which she agreed to work on.  I’m wondering if she is getting this all coordinated and getting another new tenant in soon but I’m getting concerned that the property manager is not answering my phone calls nor calling me back to at least check in about the progress.  

I’m wondering how to handle this situation.  I would appreciate any feedback. 

@Thomas S.  thank you for your concern.  I’m renovating my 4-plex into a medical AirBnB home so I will no longer have longterm lease tenants.  That tenant i asked to move out was accepted by the previous owner of the property who didn’t do proper due diligence in screening the tenant before accepting them.  So I’m doing my best to minimize the business expenses to achieve my business goals.  Whoever takes that person as a tenant in their property will need to do a thorough screening before they decide on accepting them.  It’s my property manager’s job to handle any references if they ask for any.  

Thank you @Wesley W. and @Marcia Maynard!  That was very helpful!

I inherited some problem tenants who couldn’t pay rent for months and were hostile in my recently purchased fourplex. I had dreaded having to undergo a lengthy and costly eviction process. But I offered $200 cash for keys and they are voluntarily gone leaving the property in a clean condition today. I’m so relieved.

As a landlord, it’s better to swallow your pride and settle for a small loss than try to go through an ugly eviction process for weeks or months and end up losing thousands of dollars on legal fees, lost rent and rehab fees.

I have taken over a property where the previous tenant was a smoker and smoked cigarettes inside the property. Luckily the property does not have carpet in it. It only has tiled flooring. What’s the most cost-effective way to completely remove the cigarette odor from the property?

@Pablo Ottenwalder Jr. You need to have at least 580 credit score and a steady source of income. I've been working as an independent contractor physician since Nov 2015 and had two years of income tax returns and had to submit recent pay stubs and bank account statements to qualify for the FHA loan. Good luck!

@Franklin Curry Jr If you know your “why” you can figure out how to make things work even if it takes some time.  I’m planning on becoming financially free by next year so I did everything I could to make the deal work. 

yes, I believe so.  I worked with Guild Mortgage company in Tucson Arizona.  Google their info. 

I just closed on a 4-plex purchase with an FHA loan in Tucson Arizona. After 6months of jumping through hoops of securing financing as a self-employed person, searching for the right property, getting the offer accepted, negotiating roof repairs with the seller to meet the FHA guidelines, I finally got it closed.

purchase price:  $243,000

I got the seller to pay $5000 to cover part of my closing cost.  

I got a FHA loan 30-year fixed interest rate at 4%.

The 4-plex has two 1bedroom 1bathroom units and two 2bedroom 2bathroom units.  Fair market rents are $650 for the 1/1 unit and $750 for the 2/2 unit.

Monthly PITI payment is $1634.

I’m going to occupy one of the 1/1 units.  The other three units are rented out to tenants already. 

So with the total rental income from the other three units are $750 + $750 + $650 = $2150 per month, which more than covers my PITI payments.

I get to live in this property as a primary residence for free and have some extra cash flow every month.  I’m very happy with this purchase.