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All Forum Posts by: Jon Coleman

Jon Coleman has started 11 posts and replied 61 times.

Post: Milwaukee lawn and snow recommendations

Jon ColemanPosted
  • Milwaukee, WI
  • Posts 61
  • Votes 25

It is in the Enderis Park neighborhood.

Post: Milwaukee lawn and snow recommendations

Jon ColemanPosted
  • Milwaukee, WI
  • Posts 61
  • Votes 25

As an addendum, I'm curious if you all tend to have off-street parking plowed.  The only parking for this property is about 5 paved spaces off an alley so depending on if the tenants' cars are parked when the plow comes there may not be much that can be done.  This has led me to second-guess the value of paying for plow services as opposed to just having walkways/stoops/sidewalks shoveled and salted. 

I am in the process of purchasing a 4 unit property that currently has secure basement storage for tenants.  The storage spaces are no more than 5x5 but the basement itself is fairly spacious.  This has resulted in some tenants storing their items outside of their lockers and cluttering up the general area of the basement.  I can imagine the amount of items will only continue to grow unless something is done.  Their current rental agreements stipulate storage is only allowed in their designated storage units but that obviously hasn't been enforced.  My initial inclination was to just give notice that anything in the general area as of a certain day would be tossed/donated but I'm now thinking there might be a better way to address the issue.

I'm considering building additional and/or larger storage spaces and giving the tenants the opportunity to rent them for a monthly fee.  Given that they don't need to be pretty and can seemingly be built out of 2x4s I wouldn't expect the cost to be too bad but want to get a ballpark and use that to help determine if it is worth pursuing.  There is a Public Storage location near the property that charges $26/month for a 5x5 unit and $33/month for 5x10 so I at least have an idea of the maximum I'd consider charging if I built similarly sized secure storage spaces.  Building a couple larger storage spaces and renting them for just $20/month would generate nearly $500/year and so depending on cost to build and tenant usage they could seemingly pay for themselves in a couple years.

Have you ever built additional storage for your tenants?  If so, how much did you spend and how much did you charge?  Thanks!

Post: Home inspector referral

Jon ColemanPosted
  • Milwaukee, WI
  • Posts 61
  • Votes 25

I just had my first property inspected by Chris at Dwell MKE yesterday and he did a terrific job.  He is not only okay with you tagging along for the whole inspection but actively encourages it!  He talked me through potential issues throughout the inspection and also highlighted a number of the positive aspects of the property, such as the parts in particularly good condition or where it was clear that there had been regular maintenance.  

Post: Milwaukee lawn and snow recommendations

Jon ColemanPosted
  • Milwaukee, WI
  • Posts 61
  • Votes 25

I'm in the process of closing on my first property in a few weeks and would like to know who the community uses for lawncare and snow removal.  Additionally, I'm curious if you've found companies that offer a flat seasonal rate as opposed to charging per visit (particularly for snow).  Lastly, what have your costs typically worked out to annually for your properties for lawn/snow?  

The first lawn quote I got was $40-50/visit while the snow quote is a lot more complicated as it breaks down plowing, shoveling and salting as well as has tiered pricing based on snowfall.  The prices range from $65-165/visit depending on snowfall plus a separate cost of $25/lb for salting.  This seems very expensive to me, particularly given how frequently it can snow here in Wisconsin.

The property I'm purchasing is a 4 unit on a small lot with about 5 paved spaces off an alley for parking, two walkways on entrances and a short stretch of sidewalk.  It is a good 20 minutes from my home so I'd much prefer to hire for lawn/snow than have to make the trips to take care of it myself.

Thanks!

Post: Inherited tenants who smoke inside

Jon ColemanPosted
  • Milwaukee, WI
  • Posts 61
  • Votes 25

@Corina Eufinger Fair points!  While I generally want to keep the long-term tenants it seems that the one who smokes heavily indoors is also going to be the biggest handful overall and so it is a toss-up on how much I really want to keep her there.  Your bit about asking if I really want to evict over it will be good for me to chew on, though.  Thanks for the insight!

Post: Inherited tenants who smoke inside

Jon ColemanPosted
  • Milwaukee, WI
  • Posts 61
  • Votes 25

@Marcus Auerbach As always, I appreciate your insight and advice!  I should've specified that I'm not actually writing a lease from scratch but planned to add some language and build off an existing document.  Do you think it is a moot point putting it in the lease to have them smoke outside given that they've been able to smoke in the unit for the past decade?  It will certainly be hard to know if they're abiding by it given that some of the units will still smell strongly of smoke given the years of buildup.  I'd also wondered if there were any ramifications with homeowner's insurance based on smoking policies and wanted to limit liability there.  

It is funny you mentioned the pet component as my original intention was to not allow pets but the existing tenants have a curious exception in their rental agreements that allows for "up to two small birds".  Unsurprisingly, this is because one of the tenants has a small bird so I imagine they wrote the clause just for her.  The current property manager said the bird hasn't been a problem so I plan to continue the exception.

Post: Inherited tenants who smoke inside

Jon ColemanPosted
  • Milwaukee, WI
  • Posts 61
  • Votes 25

I'm purchasing my first property and am having a difficult time deciding how to craft the rental agreements for the inherited tenants. I am fortunate to have found a four unit in Milwaukee with three units occupied by long-term tenants (about ten years each) but some of them are smokers. One seems to be infrequent where is the other smokes in the unit so much that the residue is clearly visible on the walls and ceilings.  

I had originally planned to have strict no smoking policies written into the rental agreements to not only disallow smoking in the building but on the property altogether.  That being said, I very much want to keep these long-term tenants. I'm now struggling with how to reconcile the planned smoking policies with tenants who have been able to smoke in their homes for years.  My inclination is to not allow smoking in the building but to allow them to smoke on the deck / patio.  My hope is that since I will be fixing a number of items shortly after purchasing the property that their displeasure at the smoking policy will be partially offset by the improvements to their unit.  On a side note, I recognize the challenge in enforcing this, particularly when there unit will perpetually smell like smoke even if they stop smoking inside.

Have you encountered situations with inherited tenants who currently smoke in the unit? If not, what have your experiences been with smokers and what policies have you set?

Post: Purchasing a property with MTM rental agreements

Jon ColemanPosted
  • Milwaukee, WI
  • Posts 61
  • Votes 25

@Chris Davidson Good call!  I have the inspection and walkthrough coming up in a few days so I'm glad you mentioned seeing what items need to be fixed.  I wasn't sure how much to solicit for requests in case they are asking for things we can't/won't do but it sounds like better to ask and try to find ways to address concerns.

Post: Purchasing a property with MTM rental agreements

Jon ColemanPosted
  • Milwaukee, WI
  • Posts 61
  • Votes 25

I just got my first accepted offer on a rental property and am working to get as prepared as possible before closing in a few weeks.  

When purchasing a property with month-to-month rental agreements, how do you typically handle those?  Do you have the tenants sign a new lease or do you keep them on the previous agreement?  Three of the four tenants have been living at the property for nearly a decade so I'm not overly concerned about them moving anytime soon but I'd also prefer to get all of them on my own lease so my bases are covered.