All Forum Posts by: Lisa Kattenhorn

Thanks for the replies!

@David M. They don't charge by the hour for managing complaints and taking phone calls, collecting rent, etc.  Just for maintenance if they have to send a plumber or carpenter or something like that.  They have their own folks who go for repairs and that's the price they charge for that.  I think that is standard, but I'm not sure.  I don't want to make it sound like I hate owning properties.  I like renting to folks and it's really hard to beat real estate as an investment.  We do have other investments, like syndications, REITs and stocks, but the return on investment for a multi-family you own is also pretty hard to beat.  It's just this particular phase in my life is quite busy and I am investing in another state (3 hour drive), so it's a cost/benefit kind of thing.  I haven't bothered to interview some of the smaller "property managers" for the exact reason you mentioned...I don't want to have to manage the manager.  If that's how it ends up, I will manage it myself.  Hoping to hear from folks who have had good experiences with property managers, but maybe there aren't any!

I am under contract on a 4 unit and I think I got a pretty good deal.  It's not my first property.  I had a three unit that I managed myself and did quite well on.  We sold it for a really nice profit because we were moving our focus to a new area.  I also have two other units as part of a larger vacation property of ours that I manage myself because the units are low maintenance and we are there often.  This new house is going to be higher maintenance, with some tenants on section 8, and landscaping, plowing, etc that will need to be kept up with.  I spoke to a property management company that sounded great and has a great reputation.  They are maybe a little bit expensive, however - 10% of rents for management, $45/hour for maintenance or painting requests, 50% rent fee for renting out a unit.  But, they sound like they really care about their properties and their tenants.  We won't be making a ton of cash flow the first few years using them, but we can be completely hands off.  Can someone talk some sense into me and tell me to just pay the money to have the property properly managed?  I am so cheap, but then I end up spending tons of my own time managing and dealing with stuff that stresses me out and makes me not want to be in real estate anymore!  (Reminds me of Brandon talking about carrying a toilet full of poop himself because he didn't want to pay a plumber).   I think I could potentially also learn a lot from a good property management company that would help me expand down the road....right?  Advice, anyone?   I don't think it's feasible for us to really scale without this sort of thing in place considering I have a full time job and two little kids.

Just curious if you plan to FHA it. I was told recently by multiple mortgage folks in RI that unless you go with an FHA loan, they are not accepting less than 25% down on a multi, even if owner occupied. I think this is totally nuts but they said it was becoming pretty universal. Have you found a lender doing less without an FHA? In terms of the deal, the rents sound reasonable. Even the less desirable areas of RI have gotten pretty pricey over the last year.

@Larry Turowski Yeah that is kind of how I look at it.  I really don't need to sell it immediately.  The tenants are nice and it is cash flowing.  I was just hoping to sell it before it starts snowing because plowing can be a pain and fewer people come out to look at houses in crappy weather...and who knows where the market is going right now.   The convenience of having it be done with, at my asking price, is pretty nice.

I would love some advice from some more experienced folks on the following situation: I have an off-market offer for a multifamily that I would like to sell. It's at what would be my asking price if I listed it, but it's an FHA loan. I would love to not have to list the property and put the tenants through showings, etc...especially with covid still being an issue. The property is in decent shape but it is a somewhat older property. How big of a pain is the FHA loan process in terms of inspections, things you have to fix prior to closing, etc. vs a conventional loan? Thanks in advance!

We recently purchased a vacation home that has a mother in law suite with a full time tenant paying rent. We share some utility bills and maintenance costs (plowing, yard work) with the rental unit. How will deductions work for those expenses? Should it be divided 50:50? Is the split based on square footage? Is there any consideration for the fact that we will be using a smaller percentage of those services since we will only be staying at the property sporadically vs full time like the tenant? We are definitely looking for a tax person to "officially" handle these issues come tax time but I was curious how you guys/gals would handle it.

@Megan Shamash Sure!  Sent you a PM.

@Keiron O Brien  Hi Keiron!  I own multiple units in Woonsocket.  I am happy to answer any questions you might have.  There are definitely cash flowing properties there, but, as Anthony said, thorough tenant screening is definitely key.  Some areas are nicer than others, as well.  

@Sohaib Mannan  Hi Sohaib!  I know that Woonsocket gets a lot of flack on here (and other places) but I have had a good experience investing there and will continue to invest there.  Just to be upfront, I really don't spend a lot of time analyzing different markets and comparing statistics, etc.  I just keep an eye on housing prices and rents.  My goal was cash flow and I definitely have that.  I was not expecting much in terms of appreciation, but I actually have gotten a really nice return on my investments on that front too.  You can get way more house for your $ then in any of the more upscale markets.  I will say that there is a very high eviction rate in the Woonsocket area, and definitely some rougher characters, so you need to be very careful and thorough when screening your tenants.  That being said, in RI it is relatively straightforward to evict someone vs MA.  When we had to evict a tenant that came with one of our units, we were able to do that without too much of a struggle.   (I have a great lawyer who listens to Bigger Pockets, if you need one.)  The tenants we have now are really wonderful and there are a lot of jobs down there, even though people sometimes act like it's a ghost town.  All of that being said, if I was house hacking and didn't have to put 25% down, I might pick a slightly nicer surrounding area to live in since you could potentially get a pricier place with little money down.  In terms of neighborhoods in Woonsocket, the Globe District is nice and the part that borders MA is a nice area.  You can view the crime heat maps online and that will give you a good idea of where to buy/live.  I know a great agent who knows that area well and specializes in multis.  Happy to put you in touch.  Let me know if I can help in any other way.  Good Luck!

Hi everyone.  Hoping someone can give me some tips.  I am having trouble comparing the financial details of passive opportunities (investing in a syndication or real estate fund) with more active opportunities (buying and managing a multi family).  Should I only be considering the potential cash on cash return for the multi family vs the % being offered by the fund?  How do you factor in potential appreciation of the property or the holding time of the fund, etc.  I am seeing a lot of percentages but not totally sure how to compare them all.  Thank you in advance!