All Forum Posts by: Larissa Phillips

We have a triplex with three small units (~500, 500, and 800sq ft), with a shared fenced-in yard and three sheds, one across from each unit. My husband and I use one shed to store extra supplies, the shed across from the bigger unit was purchased by our tenant before we bought the property, and one small unit (and shed) are recently vacant. 

Should we offer the shed as an optional add-on for additional income, or increase what we're asking for monthly rent and include it in the price? For either option, how much would you charge? It's an 8x10' shed, purchased last year. 

Not too far from our property is a series of small apartments/cabins similar to ours, with no additional storage option for renters. They have higher turnover and charge more for rent, but have no problem finding tenants. 

Our renters in the smaller units stay an average of 3 years, with or without a shed. 

I recently bought a triplex (my first ever purchase) but based on the terms of my mortgage, I need to move in. One unit has a woman on disability for osteoarthritis who has been there for 10 years, the second unit is her 30 yr old daughter, also on disability for MS, and the third unit is occupied by an older woman who is rumored to have an interest in moving out. The lease for the 30 yr old is up at the end of July, but I would like to keep her if I can. The older woman's lease ends at the end of Aug, so if she wants to move out anyway that makes the most sense. It isn't technically an eviction because we're waiting for her lease to end, right? Do I still need to write an eviction letter, or is there something else like an end-of-lease move out letter? I couldn't find any sample eviction letters online where the reason for eviction was owner occupancy. Any advice? 

Hello all! I'm new as of today, and have just started researching multi-family property rentals as an investment option. I read through a lot of the step-by-step blogs, but I'm having trouble figuring out what specifically to look for or what I should ask a real estate agent to help me look for. 

How do you guys feel about:

*duplex vs triplex vs four-plex

*house w/ a carriage house or granny flat

*house that can be split into vertical apartment levels w/ outside stairs (I lived in a 3 story house in college. The landlord had the main floor, another guy had the 2nd, and I had the 3rd floor/attic. Each was a separate housing unit with outside stairs for access, a shared backyard, and shared pay laundry services in the sunroom on the main floor)

*land that I could build a couple carriage houses on and rent out

*one large house where I would live with the tenants

Any advice would be appreciated. Again, I am very new to this and still a bit nervous about taking suck a big step.

Larissa