All Forum Posts by: Paul Brockmann

As a renter in the Boston area, I agree with those that say in-unit washer and dryer commands higher rent.  I haven't heard of someone with in-unit "pay-per-use" though.  Some mind find it cheap, but I would find it more difficult to argue higher rent.  

One thing I would find annoying is someone coming every 2 months to my house to take the quarters out of the machine.  Maybe you can install a pre-paid card system to avoid that.  Then you have one central card machine where tenants can put money on their card and then they can return to their homes to use their own washer and dryers.  

I'm on the lookout too.  Your profile says South Carolina, why Boston now?

I wouldn't charge them for that.  10 years of wear, carpet definitely shows its age.  You might get to charge for cleaning if there is a dog odor or hair everywhere still.    

Perhaps you should have charged a pet fee instead.  This way, you would have had the money for such "expected" damage without the need to justify.  

 Are you around Boston?  I'm on the new side of things but wouldn't mind meeting up?

As a mechanical engineer, I would think those floor plans are rather easy to make.  Does anyone know what software they use?  I know AutoCAD is used by architects a lot.  

What kind of strategies are you talking about?  The debt snowball?  The "bad" debt theory?

The one thing I can answer is you don't need a right to look at what you are buying, you just need a "yes."  Ask the seller if he would walk you through the building and apartments.  The other thing you could do is just knock on the doors and ask the tenants politely if you could just check out the unit.  Im sure some people would be fine with it, others wont be.  

I don't have any experience with such things, however, if I was a tenant and then the new landlord wanted a security deposit from me, I would probably find it difficult to get you the money.

First, I would screen the tenants yourself.  Legally, I don;t know what you can't or can do if they already live there, but it may be nice to know (if a tenant works at night and sleeps all day, for example).

Second, I would think of a creative way for them to get a security deposit.  My first thought would be a "forced" saving plan.  Something like, add $25/month to each rent check that would be added to their security deposit account.  Once you reach that amount, they can continue with the current amount.  Say, if they don't damage anything beyond a reasonable amount, they would get that lump sum back when they move out.  Obviously, put this in writing and make sure they understand it.  (While typing this, I was thinking about how you don't really know what damage they caused and the damage that was there before they moved in, so you might be out of luck for security deposits for these current tenants.)

Yes, but I would think a LLC might be the way to go incase the other partner gets sued or goes bankrupt for other reasons other than your partnership. With the LLC, it will be harder for their creditors to reach your co-investment. I would not want something to happen to my partner and have to give up the investment despite you doing anything wrong.

Ahhh, great find then!