All Forum Posts by: Kyle Galloway

My partner and I are finishing up a duplex. It has one furnace and one thermostat in the down unit that controls the temperature for the entire house-both units. My plan is to get a lock box installed around the thermostat so the tenants cannot adjust it once we agree on a temp so only I have access. My question-how do I navigate the billing and rents? The bill for the furnace will likely end up on the gas bill for the lower 2 bdr unit. This will give a huge discount for the 1 bdr upper unit and obviously a huge liability to the downstairs. I have looked in to installing an upstairs furnace and separating but it is not economical. My thoughts:

Communicate and be transparent with the tenants for both units and explain the situation-I.E. the downstairs tenant is essentially paying for the heat of the upstairs. I would then give a "discount" of say $75/month for the downstairs unit-the unit paying for the heat-and an offsetting "charge" of $75 to the upper unit. This $ amount can be adjusted when I do the research with the utility company on historical costs-assuming I can-but that is the concept. Also the lockbox so the downstairs tenant cannot alter the temp for the upper unit. I control it all and list the temp in the lease potentially. Does 69 degrees sound reasonable? That is what I keep my own house. 

Do you guys think this is fair? Do you believe the tenants will think this is fair? Thoughts or ideas?

This is good info. I am usually able to find a "set" of fridge and stove for around $500 that are well kept and fully functional. I think we will err on the side of being "nice" and include them. Thank you for the feedback everyone!

@Charles Carillo I have not. I suppose I am lazy!

Hello friends,

I am preparing a duplex and hope to get tenants signed in a bout a month. The kitchen appliances left over are bad and are being removed. In the past I have NOT included appliances with the lease. This means that if supplied with the house(which sometimes they are) and they go bad-it is the tenant's responsibility to replace them. They then own them. That removes me from having to purchase them and maintain them. Many times new tenants already have appliances and it makes this transition smooth as well. I also never include clothes dryers or washers even if I have the hookups. 

Is this common practice? Or do most people buy and maintain appliances at their units? I am not renting premium units-but they are not slums either. We are strictly speaking of Stove/Oven, Fridge, and Microwave. None of my units have dishwashers.

I've been using excel for the better part of a year to keep financial statements and log journal entries but it is becoming cumbersome the more active we (my partner and I) become. I am considering investing in Quickbooks or something similar to track everything. Because what I am doing is fairly basic I def don't want to burn a bunch of cash on it. What is everyone using and what does it cost? I plan on having 10 doors by the end of 2020.

I have the same problems-hard to find contractors. 

I would LOVE to get something down in MC by the arts district. I am jealous!

@David Ocampo born and raised. Have property in LaPorte and MC.

@David Ocampo I linked up with Property Boss recently out of Lake county. They are one of, if not the largest, in the area. I sat down with the owner for lunch. We will hire them once renovations are complete on our duplex.

Hope that helps a little.

@Nathaniel Gotshall do you mind sharing the specifics on your flip? Why have you decided to rent/AirBnb vs flipping and sell? Did it not meet the 70% rule? Even more specific-What did you pay, what do you budget on putting in to it, and what do you expect the ARV to be?

Hey Nathaniel,

Welcome to BP-but more importantly welcome to Michigan City! I was born and raised here and am a "newer" investor myself. I have two single family homes in MC, one in LaPorte, and currently working on two projects in LaPorte-a flip and a duplex we intend to hold.

Let me know how your AirBnB goes-I have been mildly interested in that for time time but have not ran the numbers or done much of any research. I assume that your home is located towards the lake. Sounds like a project.