All Forum Posts by: Melissa Hartvigsen

Hello!

I am also local to Beaverton and have units in Beaverton, Hillsboro, and Gresham. I posted a listing in the beginning of October in Hillsboro and had several leads.  I had several tours that same weekend and signed a lease right away. 

In addition to the tips mentioned above about price and photos, I would add the following:

1. Timing is key. Most renters look at the beginning of the month when they pay rent so there will be more activity at that time.

2. Response time is critical. How quickly does your PM call/text/email prospects?

3. Price is always a consideration, if you missed the good rental window for a larger house it will take longer to rent in the fall/winter.  Letting it sit for more than a month tells me that you and your PM are not aggressive enough with their price changes.  I usually list my rental, and if I don't have at least 10 leads a day, then I lower my price until I get the lead flow at that pace.

4. In addition to the suggestion for photos, get a professional floor plan and or a Zillow 3d tour. On Zillow they will boost your listing's SEO rankings if you use their floor plan and their tour. Local pro-photographers offer these packages along with photos and it is worth the money. As a realtor I typically pay $350 to $400 for 25 professional photos, the floor plan and the 3d-tour. 

If you would like more specific feedback, please share a link to the advertisement for your SFR.

Cheers,

Melissa

Hello @Adam Pervez,

If you’re looking for the most durable and easy to maintain I recommend purchasing the brand “Speed Queen”.  Back in my property management days, we had on-site laundry rooms for the tenants.

At a 120 unit complex we 7 washers and 7 dryers for all of the tenants to share. As you can imagine they got a lot of use.  We had a couple of other brands, but they didn’t hold up as well as the Speed Queens.  The analog dials and buttons are great. When the parts break, they are cheaper to repair and replace than a motherboard would be for a washer with digital programming buttons (appx $50 for parts vs $900).

Cheers,

Melissa 

Hello @Account Closed,

If you are using financing to get the house, you will sign a note (promise to pay the loan back) asserting that the residence will be your primary home for the first 12 months.  The lender has the right to call the loan due if you are not living there as stated on your loan application. The "hack" here is that owner occupiers have lower down payment requirements and lower interest rates than investors do.

During your first 12 months of living in the house, you can rent out a room (to a roommate or on Airbnb).  After the first 12 months, you can move out without any penalty and rent out the house as a short-term rental (assuming your local municipality doesn't prohibit this), mid-term, or long term.  When you move to your next property, you get to keep the owner occupied interest rate.

If you are renting out a portion of your home, then you should be able to write off some of your expenses. I rent out part of my home on Airbnb, and write off a percentage of the utility bills. (The % is equal to the square footage of the rental space in my house).  For things that are 100% attributed to the Airbnb, such as furniture and supplies that I provide to guests like shampoo and coffee, I write these off in full.  Please check with your CPA, they may advise you differently.

Best wishes,

Melissa

Hello @James Robert Alexander,

I sold properties where the current owner kept extremely poor records.  The rental agreements were incomplete, they didn't document the condition of the move in, they kept poor accounting records, etc. This has always lead to problems for the new owner.

If you can find a multi-family home without existing tenants, I recommend this. That puts you in control of screening the tenants, setting market rent, and having a good rental agreement.

The downside to buying a multifamily unit where the units are vacant at closing is that you don't have immediate cash flow.  Budget extra to cover your mortgage for a month or two after closing so you can be in control of the tenant placement.

Good luck with your investment!
Melissa

Hello @Mike Gasper,

I suggest Kwikset Smart locks. They can be easily re-keyed in seconds, eliminating the need to hire a lock smith to change your locks. If you want to take an extra layer and have a "Master" for all of your units, this model from Home Depot, has the easy re-key feature along with a master key.

Kwikset Smart Key Deadbolt with "master key"

When I managed 300 doors, I switched to these and didn't look back.  For my personal rentals I use the regular smart key option:

Smart Key Kwikset Deadbolt

Good luck,

Melissa

Hello @Hong Yang,

I am a realtor, and I would never advise my client to buy a house (or duplex) with a leaky basement without doing further investigation.  Without knowing the source of water, no one can ball park the cost for you. During your due diligence period for home inspections, you should have professionals come out and give you estimates and base your decision off of that.

If the contractors who do this type of work in your area are not available during the existing inspection period, your should instruct your agent to negotiate with the seller to allow you more time for due diligence. Once you have estimates, your agent should help you either negotiate a lower price to offset the cost of the repairs; or have the seller complete the repairs (using a mutually agreed upon contractor) prior to closing, and allow you to re-inspect to make sure it has been done correctly.

If the seller is unwilling to give the extra time for you to gather bids, then personally I would walk away.

Melissa

Hello @Nick Riddle,

I see a few options for you. 
1. Talk with a CPA and change your write offs to show more income, and do this for a couple of years. Then make your purchase with a conventional or FHA loan.

2. Is there a close friend or family member with excellent credit and a traditional w-2 job that can co-sign so you can buy now with a conventional or FHA loan?

3. Go "non-QM" or seek Private Money. Some lenders will use these terms interchangeably. These loans are great for self-employed folks because they can use your bank statement deposits instead of tax returns, and may count rental income for you to qualify. Be aware, they charge more on the interest rate (it will likely be 9% to 10%).

The benefit to option 1 and 2 is that interest rates are more attractive. The benefit of option 3 is that you can get this done on your own and as soon as you find the right property.

If you have not met a lender that you can talk to about non-QM options, use the BP directory for lenders. You can also make a post for your market asking for recommendations for lenders from the BP community there.

Best wishes,
Melissa

Hello @Justin Denfeld,

I don't know of any property managers that do room-by-room, but I do have a couple of short-term/mid-term property managers for you. The going rate for this type of management is 20-25% in the Portland Metro.

https://stayawhilepdx.com/about-us

https://www.stayinmydistrict.com/

I hope this helps!
Melissa

Hi @Roman Randall,

Yes, you should be doing interior and exterior inspections at minimum once per year.

You can save yourself thousands of dollars by checking on your investment. At best,
tenants with great payment history can miss items that need maintenance:  for example a small leak under a kitchen sink that goes un-noticed that gets to the point of mold growing and cabinets that need to be replaced.

Many of investors that have horror stories after a tenant moves out with costly repairs had tenants that paid on time.  In fact, I just did a consultation for someone who only inspected during the first six months of a tenancy that lasted three years.  They never went back because it was clean at the six month mark and rent was always paid.  The tenant just moved out: the yard is overgrown (past my knees for about 70% of the yard and taller than me in some places), they left a truckload of junk behind, the carpet that was brand new at move in is stained, and about a third of the house needs to be repainted after all of the necessary drywall repairs.

Your local landlord association or REÍA should have a checklist template for rental inspections that you can use as a template.  

Melissa

Hi @Jeff S.,

I am in Beaverton and will send you a PM with some local window contractors.  Several of my clients have used them.

Cheers,

Melissa