All Forum Posts by: PJ M.

You've also got the commercial fee for trash hauling at $300 per year.

https://www.philadelphiastreets.com/refuse-collection-fees/

A LOT of people use Cozy and highly recommend it.  I've never been comfortable with 3rd party payment processors that allow credit cards/debit cards.  They're not banks so there is little regulation to protect anyone when it comes to actual monetary transactions.  3rd party processors are at the mercy of the actual banks, who usually are there to protect their customers (the person paying).  Money will be pulled back from these processors quickly and these processors will pull it back from you.  Then you are in a world of trouble.  I prefer a ACH from their bank, check, money order, or cash...in that order.

There was a recent blog post with a real world experience on what happened with a 3rd party processor that allowed credit cards to be used.  It was specifically about Cozy, but it can really happen with any 3rd party processor.  

https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/11939/84519-cozy-avoid-at-all-costs

as your listing agent if they recommend a locksmith.  They may have a professional contact that will go in and get everything done quickly for you meeting your agent there.

@Joe Splitrock  I'd disagree.  Any item should be based on replacement cost and condition.  Taking an arbitrary number for the "life expectancy" then assuming the value of an item is 0 because it is beyond that is really meaningless.  The average life of a car is 11 years.  Does that mean someone with a 12 year old car should get $0 if they get into an accident?  Of course not.  You take a look at the car itself, judge it based on it's condition, and payout as needed.  Something isn't worth nothing because it is old.  Heck, if we looked only at useful life a tenant could burn down my one rental home that is 75 years old.  It's long beyond its "useful life".  If the house had a 15 year old stove, 8 year old microwave, 8 year old refrigerator, and 12 year old washing machine I wouldn't get anything for those either no matter their condition.  Those are all average useful life of the items.  Too many people take the stand of looking at depreciation schedules and think "eh it was time for a replacement" without bothering to look at the actual item to say "well that still had a lot of useful life left in it".

I've got a separate account for each properties security deposits.  I have 3 other accounts for my properties.  1 account accepts the ACH payments from the tenants.  That then transfers to the operating checking account, at another bank, which I use for the business expenses.  The 3rd account, a savings, gets excess funds moved to just to take advantage of a higher interest rate than the checking account.  However, I only move money there occasionally.

Just like the others for my SFH the tenant is responsible for grounds maintenance. cleanup, grass cutting and snow removal. I have a clause in my lease that if the property is fined for not following local ordinances on the exterior grounds keeping that the fine is added as additional rent and the tenant is responsible for payment.

Here's a good start, right on this site:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/2015/12/09/class-a-b-c-d-real-estate/

@Pesi S.

Are the structure, framework, and siding common elements? Check your bylaws to see what is considered common. It sounds like they are covering items which could cause water intrusion. All the items to keep rain out of the property (shingles, gutters, downspouts) they maintain. Is that what the bylaws state are common elements? If so, it's not the standard walls-in that a normal HOA covers, but my experience is in multi-unit buildings that have HOAs. I'm not very familiar with townhome associations what they generally identify as common elements. The bylaws should definitely identify who is responsible for what.

Get one from a local realtor or from a local real estate investing group.  Landlord/Tenant laws are very local and local resources will know the ins and outs of your market.

There is definitely a learning curve with paint sprayers.  There's also a lot of prep work because paint....gets....everywhere.  Seriously everywhere.  If you are inside you will have a mist of paint all through the room.  Make sure you have a proper respirator that can filter the particulates for your sprayer.

I have a Graco model and I use it for exterior painting, interior trim, and for priming the walls.  For a ceiling or wall finish I use a roller.  You can spray them but you're supposed to backroll the walls to get proper texture and adhesion.  For ceilings and walls I think you get a better product with a standard roller than a spray and a backroll.  For trim work I think nothing looks better than what you get with a gloss paint and a sprayer.  YMMV

@Alex Nelson