All Forum Posts by: Lloyd Spencer

I pay 6% which is meant to include collecting rent, managing tenants and managing paperwork/financials.  Finding tenants or evictions are extra.  They are meant to manage accounting etc., but I do that myself because they aren't very good at that.  For example they let the insurance lapse for non-payment, which I discovered 6 months later (gulp)... In theory they should be the mailing address for anything relating to the property and they should present you with invoices for approval if you want to do it that way.  I don't feel comfortable giving someone else a checkbook, some people have them do everything.

Basically you are paying for project management.  They can meet contractors at the property, or find you 3 plumbers to quote on a project.  They will go on a Friday night to meet a plumber for an emergency, etc.

I interviewed 4 a year ago and ended up with someone who is ok but not what I would expect in a professional.  I sense the bar is pretty low in this field unfortunately.

If you find someone who truly represents your interests I think it is worth paying whatever they ask.  It's a low margin business where you only deal with complaints, and there's limited upside.

Good luck, and please post any progress.  

@Jason Lee Thanks! Had some good conversations so far with Maspeth.  Better product than a resi mortgage and hopefully better terms.  Fingers crossed!

Hi, buying 4th investment condo in same building in NYC. Lenders won't allow an additional conventional resi loan as I have too many with my home and another property.

Is it possible to get a portfolio loan if I own 4 out of approx 500 units of a condo project? Assume condo financials and my credit are excellent.

Any tips or ideas appreciated.

Thanks!

I have experimented with postcards in West New York.  I got 0 responses; I think it could work but you would need to commit to repeated mailings over an extended time period.  You may also want to consider whether to mail in Spanish as well as English.

I have the same problem.  It seems to be the pipes coming in from the street under the sidewalk, so it impacts the whole 2 family property.  

My question is, what are my obligations as a landlord.  I've offered to book them a room in a nearby hotel to shower, etc.

Clearly they would have a habitability defense in not paying rent.  

Thoughts?

Hi, I'm thinking of doing the same on a multifamily in NJ where I am responsible for a common area meter with a surprising amount of usage.  Can you offer any update on what happened?  Did you do it?  Were the projections accurate?  Thanks!

Vinnie at Central Insurance NJ for multifamily / commercial

Has anyone here tried insurent.com or other alternatives?  I've had some problems with the 1.5x rent deposit in NJ, and I'm looking for other alternatives to get more security.  All the applicants in my markets have terrible credit.

@linda, thanks for the suggestion.  I should have mentioned that I got 4 quotes.  I didn't go with the cheapest but they are all in the same range.

So you are suggesting it is reasonable for the tenant to negotiate a discount on the rent because of the inconvenience?  It feels like a shake down, and I'm concerned by the precedent it may set.

Upstairs tenant in my 2 family brought to my attention a problem with water coming into the property above their front door.  A $400 report says the problem is that the roofing wasn't finished properly plus the windows all need removal and reinstallation, a $20k job.  

I am trying to schedule the work, tenant is away in August, so I propose to do it then.  No, they want it done while they are there because they don't trust contractors.  Fair enough.  So I scramble to find someone in July who can start this week.

Now tenant is demanding to not pay rent during the time of the construction.  I agree it will be a major hassle, but what are the options?  I've already offered to do it when they aren't there.  Only other option is to do it a year from now when the tenant's lease expires.

I even offered the tenant to break the lease but they think I am being unreasonable.  Am I?  Is it reasonable for a tenant to demand to pay no rent during repairs?  (We have a standard NJ lease with a rider based on the The Book on Managing Rental Properties.)

Need to know where the market is on this situation...

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.