All Forum Posts by: Paul Neubecker

Hi Mark,

I am a CPA that operates in Buffalo, NY. I recently left PricewaterhouseCoopers where I worked in the Banking & Capital Markets group, specializing on Broker Dealers. 

I wouldn't say that I specialize in real estate now, as you desired, but as a fellow RE Investor, I do manage my own real estate investment company (Nickel City Ventures LLC) and have a handful of other real estate investors (mixture of flippers and Schedule E rentals) that are among my clients now.

I'd be happy to talk further if there is some kind of specific issue you are looking for guidance on. 

Ramon, 

I also own some properties in the university area. I currently use Regan Landscaping for lawn care and they do a good job. I know they plow, but I haven't finalized anything with them yet regarding that. I will keep you posted if I find someone else and wind up going with them. 

Do you mind if I ask on what street you are purchasing?

Absolutely, and will do. Thanks for the pointers. 

My properties are in University Heights neighborhood, around UB South. Mostly between Main St. and Kenmore Ave. 

I've got a couple rental properties in the City of Buffalo. 

I am leaning towards hiring professional snow removal for the rental properties.

Does anyone know: 

(1) The local laws regarding liability/responsibility for shoveling say your sidewalk? Is the responsibility on the Property owner / tenant / depends on the lease? 

(2) Does anyone have any recommendations for a snow removal service? I currently have Regan Landscaping doing the lawn cutting and I know they plow, but I kind of want to get a couple other bids to make sure I'm generally in the right price range. They do a fine job with the cutting, but they do seem a little pricey. 

(3) Is there a reason to hire someone to plow if the driveway is probably going to be occupied by the tenants' vehicles? Could I hire someone just the shovel the walk way to and from the house along with the sidewalk? I'm a bit confused about how the logistics of the snow removal will even work. 

Any advice from experienced landlords that deal with winter welcome!

I'm acquiring a couple of rental properties and it appears that they will need to have the chimney's re-pointed, probably before this winter. 

Would anyone happen to know what approximately this should cost and would anyone local to Buffalo be able to recommend someone? I have a handy man I generally use for repair work, but I'm a bit dubious about his insurance situation and am hesitant to have him on any roofs. I might prefer to outsource this work. 

Thanks for any tips in advance!

Thanks Lynn! That was our first reaction as well, but both being newer landlords, we wanted to make sure we were holding up our end of the bargain. 

Hi,

I have a friend who is a newer landlord such as myself, and he has run into a situation that I thought would be good to pose to the BP community to try and find the right solution. 

He recently acquired a SFH that he is using as a rental. The first set of tenants that he chose to rent to happened to be dog owners, but my friend decided to try to turn this to his advantage by allowing dogs, but with an additional monthly charge for the pet. As a result, he winds up doing quite well on the rent he collects from the tenants.

However, a couple months ago he got a call from the neighbor stating that they had found dog poop in their yard and they believed it belonged to the tenants dog. My friend apologized, insisted we would talk with the tenant about having the dog leashed at all times when outside so that he could't wander into the neighbors yard to relieve itself.

My friend had the conversation with the tenant and that was that for a couple months as it appeared the problem was solved. However recently, he has been getting multiple calls again from the neighbor, again saying that they found poop in their yard and they believe its from the tenants dog. What is my friend obligated to do as the landlord? And further, what should he do as the landlord? 

Is this an issue between the tenant and the neighbor or does he have a role in this and further if he has given explicit instructions to the tenant that isn't being followed, what are his options? 

Hoping someone has dealt with this issue before and may be able to offer some wisdom on the subject. 

Thanks!

Correction, the small payer safe harbor is what I was thinking of. Unfortunately this building doesn't have enough basis to really make this useful to me either.

http://www.inman.com/2013/09/30/good-news-for-owners-of-smaller-residential-rental-properties/

Thanks Brandon, that is exactly what I was thinking of. 

The property is in Buffalo, NY so maybe the argument could be made. In my opinion, I'd put the average roof life around here closer to 10-12 years, however, I recognize this is probably aggressive and there isn't much benefit to it so I'll stick with the 27.5 years, but wanted to make sure me or my accountant weren't forgetting any options. 

Much appreciated.

Hi,

I purchased a SFH for rental purposes that needed a new roof. I spent $10k putting the new roof on and have been discussing its treatment with my accountant. Seems like he is of the opinion it should be added to the basis of the property and depreciated over 27.5 years along with the rest of the building.

That seems like too long of a period of time since the roof will likely need to be replaced before then. I thought I had read somewhere a while back safe harbors for small taxpayers allowing maintenance expense under $10k to be taken immediately but I can't seem to find that with a quick google search, but at the very least shouldn't there be a way to depreciate the roof portion any quicker? Something like 10-15 years?  

Looking for any advice from someone who has already dealt with this issue.

Thanks!