All Forum Posts by: Matt Nolan

I was doing some reorganizing of the basement in my primary home when I noticed just the smallest amount of water on the concrete floor. Turns out, the entire cast iron drain was rotted out beneath my garage. My brother and I went to Home Depot to rent a jack hammer and got right to work. 

Hole is dug, old pipe removed, and now we’re laying some new PVC. 

I’m in the process of a refinance of a non-owner occupied duplex at 4.75%.

Better rates are definitely out there, so why settle for 5.5%? 

I own a boxing club, and one of my favorite quotes is on the wall of the gym:

“A champion is someone that gets up when he can’t.”

-  Jack Dempsey 

I just imagine how many situations that quote applies to, and how important that type of thinking is in terms of success. 

Let me start by saying that I hate ceiling fans.  So much so, that I actually have in written in my lease that if a fan is to be repaired/replaced, it's replaced with a light fixture.  Ceiling fans love to break, and I have no desire to fix them.  The only fans you'll find in my properties are ones that have been inherited and have yet to be replaced with a light fixture.

With that out of the way...

If you're interested in having fans in your unit, it should be you purchasing them and you (or really your electrician) doing the install.  You don't need your tenant purchasing cheap or ugly fans, and you definitely don't need his family member doing the work.  That's a fantastic headache waiting to happen.

As for a discount in rent: Why would that even be up for consideration?  He's the one that would like the fan.  Is it really worth knocking money off the rent for such a mundane improvement?

An additional pro is the idea that the taxes can be (essentially) indefinitely deferred through 1031 exchanges. 

I own a duplex in Brighton that has baseboard electric heaters and is currently fully rented. The tenants have never complained of heating cost, and I’m getting top dollar for the units ($2,500 and $2,300. Both are 2 bedroom). 

When I initially purchased the home, I was planning on going with ductless mini-splits. Given how fast I filled the units, and the fact that I haven’t had any complaints about the cost, I decided to save the money and spend the cash elsewhere. 

Do all of your neighbors have oil?  Do any have electric heat?  Might be worth asking them what they do for heat, and see if it’s worth the effort of converting to electric. 

Like everything else in real estate, the process is taking a little longer than I had hoped. With that said, we’re making some headway. 

My friend walked the property and is optimistic that a variance is possible. He’s writing up plans for another job, and he should be done with that within the week or so. From there, he’s going to write up and submit plans for my property. 

I’ll update the thread once the variance is approved or denied, and reasons as to why it was approved/denied. If the variance is denied, I’ll make the space an additional bedroom and turn the half bath into a full bathroom. 

I’ll be adding some serious equity (and cashflow) either way, but the third unit would certainly be the preferred next step. 

I often refer to myself as “the homeowner” instead of landlord. 

When I meet a new prospective tenant, I found that saying “Hello, I’m Matt, the homeowner” sounds less harsh than calling myself the landlord. 

With that said, you can call me whatever you want as long as you follow the lease and pay me on the first of the month. 

 PM sent. 

I closed on a duplex in February with 20%. It’s a residential mortgage at 5.25% and the home is not owner occupied. I would think you could do the same. 

Most of the lenders I approached were looking for 25% down, but I was able to negotiate down to 20% with one lender.  The numbers were good and I was persistent. Totally worth the hassle.