All Forum Posts by: John Semanchuk

I had something like this happen about a year ago.  My tenants were out of town for the weekend and when they came back the lights throughout the house were dimming and brightening on their own, the dryer, the hvac, two bathroom fans and the tenant's stereo system weren't working.  When the power co came out to fix it, they reported it as a "bad neutral" line on their side.  The power company reimbursed me for all of it... about $1,300 if I remember right.  The power co would have probably replaced the tenant's stereo system if they had applied for it but they never did. 

I had an invoice for the hvac, an estimate for the dryer and I just showed told them which bath fans I owned. 

Like many investors I'm playing the insurance shuffle as companies "reduce hurricane exposure" or simply go out of business.  Who are you using for insurance on your rentals?  This would be for single family on James Island.

@Darin Gordon I just listed/sold a quadplex that would have been great and I'm talking to someone considering selling another one.  I don't have an agreement signed yet but send my your contact info and I'll let you know when I do.  And yes, welcome to Charleston!  Where are you from in PA?  I grew up in Springfield, outside Philly.

Try Maven Realty. Troy is often on this forum and may see your post. 

https://www.mavenrealtysc.com/

@Rick McGuinness I don't put as much stock in a credit rating as some landlords do.  I have a tenant now with low income and no established credit but her parents (high income, SOB) cosigned and she's been a great tenant for two years.  I always require 1st month, last month and security deposit (3x the rent total) and that weeds out a lot of the undesirable tenants.  I've not had a serious tenant problem since I started collecting last month's rent up front.  That said, I also make sure I meet the tenant in person and watch for red flags in behavior/answers.

I'm about to list a James Island (City of Charleston, SC) quadplex with 4 individual TMS numbers.  It's in turnkey condition with many newer features.  It's 4 miles from MUSC, 6 miles to Folly Beach and in an X flood zone.  These units would make fantastic furnished mid-term rentals.  They're all 2 bdrm, 1.5 ba with large kitchens, living spaces and separate laundry rooms.  Cute private fenced back courtyards and even a fenced front yard.  Exterior is brick and hardiplank, windows are 2019 and hvac units are 2022 (2) and 2018 (2).  All units have new flooring.  It doesn't get much better.  It will list at $1.4mil.
I'm a licensed Realtor in Charleston, SC.

Quote from @Troy Gandee:

@John Semanchuk My understanding of that situation would be that they'll only allow the permit on 1 TMS and that unit must be owner-occupied. I would think they wouldn't allow the others to be rented short term given that they're all separate and distinct properties. They're pretty helpful down on George St, so they'll give you the right answer. The exception could be if it's unincorporated, but that's pretty rare these days. Even then, the County has some pretty restrictive rules. Even Town of James Island has the same owner-occupancy restriction as City of Charleston, I believe.

In case anyone is following and wants to know the answer, I just talked to the city and because it is 4 individual TMS numbers, an owner could only STR the unit they were also living in at the time. If it was 4 units all under one TMS, then they would allow an owner to live in one and STR one other but not all 3 of the others. I'm thinking that if an owner was to go through zoning to combine the 4 TMS numbers into 2 (basically, 2 duplexes) then 2 of the units could be STR as long as the separate owners lived in the other side of the parcel.

If that's not complicated enough, all of this would be subject to parking requirements.  I think the way to maximize the value of this property would be to do 30+ day furnished rentals.

Quote from @Troy Gandee:

@John Semanchuk My understanding of that situation would be that they'll only allow the permit on 1 TMS and that unit must be owner-occupied. I would think they wouldn't allow the others to be rented short term given that they're all separate and distinct properties. They're pretty helpful down on George St, so they'll give you the right answer. The exception could be if it's unincorporated, but that's pretty rare these days. Even then, the County has some pretty restrictive rules. Even Town of James Island has the same owner-occupancy restriction as City of Charleston, I believe.

 Thanks, I'm guessing that's going to be the answer too. It's 8am... I'll call them.

Quote from @Troy Gandee:

Thanks @Lindsey Johnson!

@Will Gaston I can take a run at it. Essentially, it has to be your primary residence anywhere in the City of Charleston. Even the STR overlay only allows non-owner occupied full time STRS in properties that are commercially zoned or have commercial applications. Depending on where he lives or what his plan for the property would be, it could be a challenge downtown. There are some exceptions, but it takes quite a bit of finesse with the City/County if it's an outlier.

Hey Troy, I have a question for you: I'm soon to list a quadplex on James Island that is one building but 4 individual TMS numbers.  Do you know if someone could live in one unit and STR the other three?   I have a call in to the city but still working out who I should be talking to there and if they have a direct number...

Quote from @Ben Richey:

Thanks to all who helped out. In the end I chose to walk away, as sad as it was I couldn't risk my first property being a money pit. One crazy thought.. Is there anything I can do with this pricy inspection report? I'd imagine a buyer might like to buy it and save a few bucks, but not sure if that is a thing or how to go about it.  

 Probably the last thing that seller wants is an inspection report that documents all of the issues with his house.  If you know the other buyer who was interested, yes they might want the report but they'll probably just follow your lead and walk away.  As Charlie said above, tuition.