All Forum Posts by: Kenny Lincoln

Thanks Dennis, I'm fearful of that as well. It seems like you have a story or two about offering all utilities included.

Looking for some advice about offering all utilities included at my rental property. I'm trying to find alternative ways to increase monthly rent and had the following idea. Please keep in mind that I have 2 years of historical data/cost for each respective utility service.

I want to look at the historical data for the past two years and come up with monthly averages for each utility service (water, electricity, gas). I would then add all the numbers up and add margin to the final amount. For example ... suppose the average over the last 2 years (water, electricity, gas) has been $230/month. I would then add 15% margin to that amount and come up with the following ... $230/.85 = $270/month. This $270 would then be added to the base rental amount.

1. Is 15% margin a solid number for this or should I be asking for more? The past two years of data was for a 2 person household when I lived in the home with my wife. I could limit the property to 5 people (3bed/2.5 bath) max occupancy but I want to make certain I'm capturing enough margin to cover for the potential of additional people (2 people data vs. 5 people max). I also want to capture enough margin to cover for people running up the respective utility bills because they aren't paying for it.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

1. West Hyattsville

1a. Congress Heights - If this is for an investment property I would buy as close as possible to Congress Heights metro due to the development plan for St. Elizabeth's east. Development has barely started on St. Elizabeth's East. Once everything is really up and running property values should take off. I have been paying close attention to property in Congress Heights and there has been some movement already but the area still has a long way to go. If you get in now you will have the advantage of watching the area develop around you.

I would prefer getting fixed price bids from contractors because this will make evaluating profitability easier/faster. The contractor that I've worked with on projects around my personal home has ALWAYS quoted his labor only. I then have to add the materials to get a good estimate of the job. This is all fine and dandy on projects around my personal home but would make evaluating a flip more challenging. I live in a very hot market (Washington DC area) and you need to make quick decisions to win listings. I'm not comfortable or experienced enough to complete the material take offs myself and add those costs to the labor being quoted ... plus it would take too long and you lose the job

1. Do general contractors typically provide a fixed price or labor only bid with flips?

2. Shouldn't the contractor include a contingency amount within his/her fixed price quote?

3. When dealing with a fixed price quote, how do you handle issues when the contractor comes back and asks for more money?

4. If the contractor is unfamiliar or uncomfortable providing you with a fixed price quote ... should this be a big red flag about the contractor?

Thanks for any help or feedback you can provide.