All Forum Posts by: Kevin Kovalsky

@Annie Gillespie

Hi Annie,

Regarding tenant screening, BP has great guide that is located at: http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/01/27/tenant-screening/

This guide also includes a rental application. I use http://www.landlordconnection.com/ for credit and background checks. There is a subscription fee but it has saved me on more than one occasion.

Regarding leases, your realtor (if you are using one), may have access to lease template via the New Hampshire Association of Realtors. You can also search on BP or Google for lease examples, just make sure the leases are NH specific.

Good Luck!

Hi Annie,

Congrats on taking action getting this one under contract. I have a few observations regarding your numbers.

• Full disclosure: I own three rentals in Manchester but never owner occupied before

You are calculating your ROI based on all units being rented. However, you will be occupying one of units. I think this is giving you a false ROI. I would try running the numbers again with only including income for two units. You still might cover your expenses and then some but your ROI will be much lower. How long do you intend on living at this property?

• I’ve never been through this particular situation before (give notice for expiring lease), but any “eviction” is not always as easy (or done quickly) as it appears. I don’t know if you already has conversations with the tenant. Here are some links regarding the NH eviction process

• http://www.landlordguidance.com/eviction-notice-forms/new-hampshire-eviction/
• http://doj.nh.gov/consumer/sourcebook/renting.htm
• http://www.nhlegalaid.org/self-help-guides/housing-foreclosure/evictions/questionanswer-walk-through-eviction-process

       http://www.courts.state.nh.us/district/landlord.htm

• It appears, since you will be owner occupying, that you will be the property manager. Regardless, I still enter a PM fee in my numbers to take into consideration a possible PM in the future
• Your taxes, insurance, and vacancy numbers look right on. However, my last quarterly sewer and water bill was closer to $500. Note: I have a big 3 family with big families in each unit

Good Luck!

@Account Closed described as a MLS Fact Sheet) for each property.

I also check out Vision Appraisal (http://www.vgsi.com/vision/Applications/ParcelData/NH/Home.aspx). This site provides some additional high-level info (i.e. current owner, assessed value, square footage, etc.).

Being a new investor, I have only attended a few NH REIA meetings to-date, but have already learned quite a bit and will continue to attend future meetings.

@Zech Ehnert  Hi Zech…Great question. My wife and I own three three-family units in a lower income area. We also inherited tenants in two of the buildings with one being habitually late from day one. I allowed this tenant to catch up rent and I stopped moving forward with an eviction. As soon as they were caught up on rent, they were late once again with a multitude of excuses. Based on this experience, these are my suggestions:

• Be fair, but firm – For my tenants, payment is due on the 1st of the month. After the 5th day (per my lease), I can charge a late fee ($25). Are your tenants in leases? Is there a late fee?  
• Be wary of the “professional tenant” – After a two-month appeal eviction process, I just received notification from the supreme court of my state that the tenant’s appeal was denied and I can move forward with the eviction
• Be as compassionate as possible, but understand this is not a “personal situation” rather a business transaction
• One strike policy – I’m a big believer in second chances….but not third chances
• State Laws - Make sure you understand the eviction laws and procedures in your state
• Follow your gut – I didn’t have a good feeling about the tenant I discussed above but didn’t listen to my gut

I haven't given much thought regarding incentive for early payment. However, I did consider maybe offering an incentive if the tenants pays on-time, let’s say, for 6 months in a row.

Good Luck!

@Roy N. Great points.  The building has 2 - 4 bdrm units and 1 - 3 bdrm unit.  I'm not sure of the quality of the school or tenants, but the building is a lower income urban area.  The building has been on the market since Aug 2014 so I'm thinking there is something wrong with building/location or else it would have been scooped up by now.  Thanks for your input.

We looked at a 3 family building yesterday. The building itself is in decent condition, two of the units are already rented, and numbers (i.e. cash ROI) are pretty good. The one potential drawback of the building is that it is directly across the street from an elementary school and next the school's playground. Would this limit the tenant pool? I imagine the surrounding area could get quite congested at the start and end of the school day. Does have anyone have any positive or negatives experiences with an investment property near a school? We @Monica Kovalsky appreciate your feedback....Thanks!

@Paul Timmins  Thanks for reaching out.  The keyword alerts definitely help target those who are local.

Hello All,

My name is Kevin. I was born and raised in the Detroit suburbs but currently reside in Amherst, NH. I currently work full-time as an IT Project Manager in the healthcare industry. I’m a newer member to Bigger Pockets and even though my wife and I own two multi-family units (and a 3rd to close at month’s end), I still consider myself a beginner in real estate investing. I hoping to gain more knowledge about real estate investing via the BP forum, blogs, and podcasts (30 down so far). Our goal is grow our investment portfolio to a point where at least one of us can leave our day jobs.

Some short-term actions we want to achieve:

• Further develop our business plan
• Determine if we should create a LLC
• Further define our exit strategies

Looking forward to future discussions on the forum!