All Forum Posts by: Vikas Ahuja

Thanks @Robbie Reutzel. I had tried this in the past and did so again after your recommendation. There isn't too much that I can find on loopnet - my search (with a generous criteria) returns 3-4 results. I am not sure if everything that is out there on the market gets posted on loopnet, or if my basic membership is limiting the results. 

Vikas

Hi there, 

I am starting to look for 10-20 unit apartment buildings (maybe mix use) in Worcester, MA. Any advice on how to go about looking for the agents? Most of the agents I've worked in the past deal with residential properties only. I tried looking online but cannot find many options. I am hoping that community here can help provide some guidance, or maybe there are some folks from the Worcester, MA area who may be able to recommend.

thanks. Vikas

Hi BP friends, 

Having bought couple of multi's and one condo in the last couple of years, I want to start investing in small apartment complexes (less than 20 units). Given that I don't have a huge portfolio to convince a community bank into lending me money and that putting in 25% down by myself is going to be challenging, I am looking for some advice on the possible options to get the financing lined up. 

I have heard on several BP podcasts about how others in similar shoes as mine have managed to get financing by presenting the local banks with the data from their existing properties, future goals etc. - I'll appreciate if someone can share some more details on what kind of data banks are interested in. Is it the income statement from the current investments, my W-2 income etc. or more? 

Also, any suggestions on how do I go about finding these small apartment complexes? So far, I have been using Zillow for initial triaging, and MLS to get additional details but that wouldn't work for commercial properties.

TIA, Vikas

thanks @Richard C. , @Elizabeth Colegrove - it does look like I'll have to eat this one up.

hi folks,

Need some advise. I had new tenants who had moved in 3 weeks ago. They called me last night and said that the water pipes used for oil heating had burst. My handyman thinks that this is because the heat was not turned on. The tenants obviously disagree but there is no way to find out if they did actually had the heat turned on. 

My lease says that they should maintain the temperature at a minimum of 55 degrees, last night when I went there, the thermostat was set to 47 degrees.

Fixing this is going to cost me $1100. So my question is who should bear the cost of fixing this problem. Do I offer the tenants to pay half of the costs or just suck it up myself. 

Any advise will be very much appreciated.

thanks. Vikas

@Jesse T. - my existing triplex was financed very similar to what I mentioned for my potentially upcoming purchase - 20% on HELOC, 80% conventional loan.

I bought my first triplex in April last year. The last 9 months have been quite interesting - had to get the property deleaded, couple of break-ins, an eviction, and bunch of other new landlord stuff - it's been a good learning experience. In terms of returns, I didn't make a single dime in these 9 months (given all things above) but didn't loose any either. 

Now, I am at a point when I need to decide if I should buy another property or not. Is it too soon for someone like me, who has a full time job, does not have much experience in landlording and real-estate in general, and the only place where buying makes sense is an hour away from where I live. If I decide to get another property, the 20% down payment will be funded by a HELOC against my primary residence, and rest 80% will be a new loan.

Looking forward to any advise I can get. 

thanks. Vicky

I had a similar experience couple of months ago. I got 2 separate potential tenants who wanted to move in right away. They were all excited about the apartment 2 minutes after seeing it for the first time. I went to the housing courts website and looked them up and found that they were undergoing an eviction.   I also have several Yes/No questions on my application form as @Aly W. mentioned above, and they just selected No to everything. When I asked them about the housing court documents, they acted surprised as they had no idea about what was going on.  I also found out that they gave wrong names and phone number of the previous landlords - a quick validation about the previous landlord that I now use is that I ask the previous landlord some random but simple questions about their property (like the cross street, stores close to their address etc.). This quickly validates if the listed old landlord actually lives at the address mentioned in the application form. 

To sum up, my suggestion would be not to waste your time and stay away from such potential tenants. 

thanks @Jeremy Tillotson 

@Leslie A. - thanks, I'll certainly check it out.

Good for you! I just hope someday I can do what you did today!