All Forum Posts by: LeeAnn Owens

Thank you both! 

@Gino Barbaro if you have a banker in that area you can recommend, I’ll absolutely reach out!

Hi @Robert Rixer,

Good question, nothing existing on the market in the area that matches what we are interested in. Additionally, I think a new build would attract higher quality renters. We're young, so I wants something that we can hold in a rental portfolio for the long term. In 40 years I don't want 100 year old properties in my portfolio. 

 Great point!! 

Hi @Owen Madigan,

Good idea, but from experience I would tell you this is not the way you want to go. You'd be banking on 1) your business partnership to work out, and 2) living together to work out. Friends don't usually make the best roommates or business partners. 

I would look for a less expensive area with lower barriers of entry to start out in. For your first property you can put down as little as 3.5% and a lot of areas also have grants for first time homebuyers that you could look into. You probably don't need a partner on your first buy if you play your cards right. 

You should both consider buying your own properties and lean on one another for support in the wonderful world of landlording. Maybe consider a partnership down the road when you both have some experience under your belt. 

Good luck!

-LeeAnn

Hi @Kevin Duong,

I have not used demountable walls before, but I would say to be very careful to make sure that the units are still meeting the legal standards to be considered a bedroom. If you are splitting rooms you still need to make sure that each room as a window, a closet, and a 2nd egress. 

DC is also one of the most "renter friendly" places in the country, so really make sure you do your homework and consult an attorney when writing up your lease to make sure that your property and your lease is in compliance with rental law. 

Good luck!

-LeeAnn

All advice welcome! 

My fiancé and I are looking to build a 3-4 unit townhome style multifamily in the Knoxville area. This would be our primary residence. We currently live in Maryland and have $135-140k in equity in our primary residence. We own a triplex in NY with $200-240k in equity. We will keep our home in MD as a rental, for which we will net $700-900 additional monthly income once rented. We are limited on cash. 

I'm looking for advice on where to start. I want to speak with a lender to see if we could borrow against our existing properties to put less money down, but I have no idea what the cost would be of 1) the land, 2) improvements on the land, and 3) construction of the home. The goal is for the rental income from the units to cover all of or most of the mortgage, multifamily house hacking, if you will. 

Do I find a builder to talk to first? If so, does anyone have recommendations on a builder? Will a builder even talk to me if I'm not approved for a loan yet? 

Thank you in advance! 

-LeeAnn

Hi @Matthew Wright,

You will probably attract more families / long term renters with duplexes than with one 12 unit building. What is more in demand in your area? If you have a lot of young professionals, the 12 unit might be the way to go. If you have more working class families in your area, then I would personally lean toward the duplexes. 

The duplex route would be more maintenance, 6 roofs vs 1, etc. It all depends what works best for you personally and what your long term goals are for the portfolio. 

Good luck!

-LeeAnn

Hi @Hoai Nguyen,

Congrats on the quadplex!

Make it extremely clear which spaces are shared spaces and which spaces are specific to each unit. If there is a shared space make sure it is clear who is responsible for maintaining it. For example, one of our tenants gets discounted rent from April-October for managing the landscaping. If there is limited parking, make it clear how many spaces each unit has, and where they are able to park. When we acquired out triplex we added quiet hours into the lease which has been helpful. 

Good luck!

-LeeAnn

Hi @Janelle Niles,

I have not used these services before, but these companies seem to have received good reviews. 

https://www.corporatehousingbyowner.com/ 

https://www.altovita.com/blog/corporate-housing-companies

Hi @Mary Enciso, 

That's an awesome idea! I would reach out to the assisted living houses already in your neighborhood and see if they are looking for any additional properties to lease. I live in Glen Burnie, and Providence Center has a house in my neighborhood. Bello Machre could be another good one to reach out to. 

They would need to make "improvements" to the property, wheel chair ramp, handicap accessible showers, etc. Under MD law they would be responsible for the costs of those improvements and would be responsible for restoring it to the original condition at the end of their lease. I would also see if you would have to have a different type of insurance to rent to an assisted living / group home. 

Good luck!

-LeeAnn