All Forum Posts by: James Vermillion

Aaron, I just answered our other question and wanted to show you a possible link between these two questions. One way to ease the pain of raising rent on tenants (if you plan to keep them) is to show that you are going to take care of the property better than the past owner, so they see their rents will go back into making the property better. You need to understand the rules about raising rents and know the current lease situation with the tenants.

Aaron, there is not enough info to post a great response, but here are my initial thoughts.

Always fix critical items first and cosmetic items last...anything that can cause additional damage and expenses needs to be adressed first. To me, that means the roof. You say it needs a new roof (or you can repair it for $4K)...what kind of repair, how long will it last, is there a good chance other repairs will be needed in the near future? If this is a temp fix and you are still going to need to replace the roof soon, why not go ahead and save the $4k and have the roof replaced.

From your post it looks like this is a 4-plex building. You mentioned the laundry area not having a washer...is it in the lease that the landlord will provide laundry equipment? If so, then you need to do so. If not, do you even need the laundry area? Are these coin machines that bring income?

After critical items and items that you might be contractually obligated to fix are adressed you can look at the other items, but putting things on the backburner might not be the best idea anyways, as how you treat the property and the tenants from the beginning will dictate the future of this property.

Sure @Shawn S.! Just kidding.

Your best bet is to speak with a real estate attorney. They have lease agreements pre-made that they can customize for you. This way you know all of the legal requirements will be covered. It may cost you a bit up front, but it could save you a lot of money (and hassle) in the end.

It's a small world! Dave and I went to boot camp together and he was in my sister flight. We did not really know each other too well, but we saw each other around quite a bit. Welcome to BP Dave, you will learn a ton here, especially if you stay active on the forums. I look forward to catching up with you!

Good luck and let me know if there is something I can help with!

I fixed the thread title @Elizabeth S.

Our tenants are responsible for lawn maintenance. They can either buy and maintain a mower or pay someone else to care for the lawn...up to them. If we have to get someone to take care of the yard, the cost is the tenants to absorb.

The title of this thread reminded me of Tom Sawyer and the whitewashing of the fence...I thought J was going to have 30 BP members over painting his house this weekend.

Welcome to BP Charlie!

Welcome to BP Hannah...great choice for your first forum!