All Forum Posts by: Lisa Gorman

Thanks again all - I have taken the above suggestions and have told them I will let them out of the lease.  Unfortunately, they will not respond to the offer (offered it in person and in writing with an agreement of release)  and just keep piling on the complaints - multiple times a day :).  

This is all a big learning experience!   Next lease for this apartment will be a month to month.

Lisa

Thanks all - the main reason they want to withhold rent is that there are two young children upstairs that they say are running around and ROLLERBLADING and making too much noise to "all hours of the night".  I have met with the upstairs tenants in their apartment and quite honestly they have so much furniture crammed in the apartment, there is no way the kids could be running around or rollerblading.  The parents upstairs said they have no idea what would be causing the noise.  

I first asked the downstairs tenants to let the upstairs tenants know when there was disruptive noise - they refused to talk to them.  I therefore asked them to let me know WHEN so I could work with the upstairs neighbors - all the complaint emails continue -  they won't give any specifics - just keep telling me generally - "the noise continues".  Lastly, they have admitted that "all hours of the night" is before 10 pm - legally quiet time in the town is 11PM to 7am.

Again - I too want them out - but want to protect myself.

I have a tenant who is threatening to withhold next month's rent.  I won't go into the specific reasons as I believe they are unjustified.  The tenants are on a 1 year lease which started May 1, 2016.  

If they broke the lease/abandoned the property, I would be able to sue them for rent for the remaining lease term for the period I couldn't find replacement tenants (MA requirement that a landlord mitigate). 

If they withhold the rent, I will likely start the eviction process immediately.  

If I evict them, can I recover the unpaid rent for the month(s) they withheld AND the unpaid rent for any period the unit remained un-rented while I find new tenants?  I am nervous about evicting if I can't recoup at least some of the rent for the period the unit may remain un-rented.

Thank you.

Hi Donald - thanks for your input.  My next step is exactly as you pointed out - bring in a contractor.  I am not sure what you mean by "bringing a client through".  Do you mean a renter?  

I am definitely also looking at the towns you highlighted - would LOVE to find something there - I haven't seen anything yet w/i that seems to work from a numbers standpoint.  I have family in a town near this property - so that is a plus for location for me.

Welcome Mark! I am also new to BP, from MA, work in Boston and am looking to get out of corporate America in the near future. I have found this site/ recommendations/podcasts/etc. extremely helpful. Perhaps we will run into each other at a local REIA soon.

Good luck! 

Thank you all for your feedback - truly helpful!

I am new to the site and have been looking around at small multi-families to rent out in locations within an hour drive from Boston (I will not be living in any of the units).  I looked at a 3 unit property today; units are as follows:

• 1st is a 2 story small house (3BR/1BA) (I might post some specific questions related to this one in a separate post)
• 2 others are attached to the house and are each small 1 BR/1BA - layout reminds me a little of an old school motel)
• all need various levels of work 
• It is a good neighborhood with strong rentals so I am interested in pursuing this one a little more and see if the numbers will work

I am working through the numbers now but am not sure how to estimate/approach the two 1 BRs because neither of them have "traditional heat".  Apparently they are both heated via large gas stoves in the kitchen (i.e. the stoves are old fashioned and are supposed to be used for cooking and heating).  One stove/oven looks like it might work; the other looks like it might need to be replaced.  So, questions are:

• Does anyone have experience with this type of heating in a rental unit? Any issues/concerns?
• Would it be wise to replace these ovens with "regular" ovens and find a different way to heat the units?
• This is a  free-standing unvented gas stove.  From personal experience, when I tried to replace my free-standing stove, Lowes said it was going to be a problem because there was no way to vent it (similar to these units, the stove is not on an exterior wall).  Anyone have any experience/recommendations on venting?

The purpose of these questions is to be able to estimate how much $$$ I am going to need to put into these units prior to them being rental ready to understand if the numbers would work/what offer I would have to make.  Any sort of cost estimates would be greatly appreciated (I fully understand it depends on contractors, etc.  - I just need to know what ballpark I would be playing in).

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Lisa

Hi all - I live in Roslindale, MA and am just starting my path to rat race freedom (i.e. out of the corporate world and into real estate investing)!  At this point, I am mainly interested in rentals (both single and multi family) and potentially flips, but am really open to learning about all the options.  I am very excited about starting this adventure and am really hoping to find some local connections who are willing to provide some much needed advice!