All Forum Posts by: Jeff Lubeski

@Arthur Banks

I suspect I could have gotten it done for less if I had looked around. I think the cost for the repair was reasonable especially considering it was urgent and they fixed it that day.

As a follow-up to this topic. I charged the tenant a $50 fee only because in my contract I state they are responsible for the first $50 of a maintenance charge. This is actually the first time I have followed through on this with someone. I also have arranged with the gas company for me to take over paying and having the tank filled. I have an addendum now with the tenant that she will pay me.

This is a mid-priced rental. The tenant is good paying and makes decent money. She is young though and a single mom and there are things she just does not think of.

@Arthur Banks

There were 2 breaks in the pipe. It cost me $590 total to fix the 2 breaks and have the lines bled.

@Joel Owens

I read your post yesterday and have been thinking about it. Do you always use 60% costs for calculating NOI? Where you really got me thinking is that I'm not sure any of my current holdings would pass your criteria. Favorable market conditions have probably allowed me to get sloppy or perhaps bad news is lurking about the corner for me. Ultimately, it is making me think that I need to change some part of my strategy when it comes to finding properties if what I think are good deals are not really all that good.

@Chris Adams @Bill Jacobsen

Thank you for the replies. Although the numbers looked good to me, it is good that you have curbed my enthusiasm a bit so I don't walk into a deal that I will regret for years to come.

I am looking at buying a property. It has 3 units. Gross rents are $2400. The owner will sell under a land contract with 20% down and 6.5% interest. Selling price is $152,000. If I assume 8.3% vacancy and 15% maintenance, I would net around $500 / month. The issue is this is a non-conforming property. There are 2 buildings on one lot in a zoned SFH area. It does not look like the property could be split. I have talked to the local municipality and do not foresee any issues. The main issue is this property will always be non-conforming and if I wanted to sell, it would probably not be easy.

Thoughts?

Welcome Ian!

@Eric Belgau

Thank you. Some good thoughts. I will talk to the propane company first. The biggest problem is the tenant deals in cash only. She does not have a credit or debit card.

@Raymond B.

Thank you very much for teaching me this.

@Michelle L

I was also considering this. It may be a better option because it evens out the cost of the propane, which may be good considering how expensive propane can be.