All Forum Posts by: Oscar Beteta

@Daniel Suarez

Hi Daniel! I am having this same issue with a fourplex that I rent out in Philadelphia. It is part of a twin structure meaning that there is an identical mirror copy house attached to my house. The neighbors who are not my tenants smoke weed and the smells makes it's way to 3 of my 4 apartments. My tenants are not complaining loudly but they have brought it up to me.

Any tips on how you managed this situation?

Hi everyone, I'm asking myself the same question. I'm surprised no one has responded yet. I'm researching...

Hi everyone!

I have a house in Mt. Airy (Philadelphia) with an existing driveway that can fit about 3 cars in line. My front yard is adjacent to the driveway. since the front yard is pretty big, I'm considering enlarging my driveway by removing some adjacent grass and replacing it loose gravel. This will allow me to fit 3 cars in a more effective way so that they are not blocking each other when parked. 

What do you guys think? Do I need to contact the city to get a permit for this work?

Note that the previous owner had already used the grass area to park on so the only difference here is that I would be replacing some grass area with loose gravel to make it easier to park when it rains (cars can get stuck in the mud).

Thanks! 

Thanks all! I'll keep researching and asking around. I'll provide some updates and maybe pictures here with what I end up doing in case it's helpful for others.

Hi everyone!

I recently bough a old house in the West mount Airy part of Philadelphia. The house is presumably 100 to 150 years old. It has stucco siding that looks very weathered with some hairline cracks is different spots. The stucco itself is not falling off and seems to be in decent mechanical shape with quite a bit of chalking.

I would like to coat this old stucco so that it spruces you the look of the siding and adds a water resistant but breathable layer.

I’m considering either painting it with a masonry paint like what Home Depot sells (Behr brand) or applying an acrylic stucco finish. I’m quite intrigued by the acrylic stucco option as this sounds like a very robust coating that will last a long time.

What do you guys think? What would you do in my case?

@Rachel Toubin

Hi Rachel! I’m also quite new to the investing world. Last year I started my house hacking journey in Mount Airy and it’s been awesome! I’d be happy to share what I’ve learned : )

@Angel R.

Also if you add property management (~10%) that might lower your cash flow even further.

@Angel R.

Hi Angel,

Can you be more specific about how you are running the numbers that lead your sister to be making $900 per month on the duplex?

I assume this is taking the gross rent and then subtracting PITI as well as "other expenses." I'm curious what you are assuming as "other expenses".

I’m also new to all of this but I’m learning quite fast. I find that their is a huge ambiguity when people talk about “cash flow” as different people calculate these “other expenses” differently and also everyone finances a different percentage of the acquisition costs.

@Andrea Cocolin

Sounds great! Let’s message outside the forum to coordinate a meet up.

@Ashley Crump

I really took a lot out of this book when I first got started a couple of years ago. I have the same strategy as you to start with small multifamily properties. I bought my first quad in Mount Airy last May. Would be happy to share my experiences : )

Just keep in mind that this book was written before the 2008 recession so the focus on appreciation is a little overdone but I think the point is just to get you to think.

Investing in Duplexes, Triplexes, and Quads: The Fastest and Safest Way to Real Estate Wealth

Book by Larry B. Loftis