All Forum Posts by: Ray Reed

@Account Closed she has been there four years so she is the second most recent tenant.  The good news is i just found out from my attorney that i do not have to give everyone the same increase.

@Michael Robbins  I would not be looking to increase anyone's rent during this pandemic. I just threw August 1st out there hoping we should be out of the first wave of covid19.  it could be september or october. 

@Chad Hale , @Brett Lee i considered just making her pay her own heat. I was able to find a couple of programs she would benefit from that assist in her utilities. 

@Anthony Wick if i left the apartments the way they are and kept providing heat, comparable rents are $1350.  I am in the process of separating the heat so the comps will not be as high as $1350.  NJ is a tenant friendly state so you have to be cautious when raising rents. I asked my attorney both before the purchase and another attorney after the purchase about the rent increase. like i stated before, i knew the numbers going in. i just didn't know one of the residents was an 85 year old on a fixed income.  i have owned rentals for some time but never came across this scenario.

@Shannon Hutchinson she does have a few kids but she said they are all over. she said they have families and would rather not be an inconvenience on them. she stated although her children may welcome her, she is not sure if the spouses will be thrilled. she said if she were in their shoes she wouldn't be. I will be contacting some agencies today to see if i can give her options.

@Ibrahim Hughes long time.. how are things on your end?

@Brett Baginski $1050 is still cheap and that is why my attorney called the increase 'extremely reasonable'.  the prior owners had the house from 1972 and it is free and clear. a couple of the leases go back to 2006 with the same rent. 

Thank you for all the feedback and suggestions.  I will be contacting agencies, utility companies and possibly lower priced units so i can present her with options.

Sorry for the confusion but i am not proposing to increase from 800 to 1350.  My increase would be to 1050 for other comparable units in the house. The other change is that residents will be paying their own heat.  The units will not be worth 1350 once i separate the heat.

I did have a conversation with her Monday.  Based off what the prior owner told her, she expressed moving because of affordability.  I told her lets talk everything over in a couple of weeks.  right now the residents are trying to get a feel of what i will be increasing the rents to but i just tell them 'i don't know yet but a similar unit around the corner rents for X'.

@Chris De Celle i did not do a T12. I am very familiar with the area and the expenses. I have houses in the area. The house was operated inefficiently and being that it is not rent controlled, i knew i could turn a profit once the pandemic is over. the house is on a double lot. I also purchased with plans of future expansion. The income and expenses were not a surprise. The 85 year old lady on a fixed income was.

@Mark F.  the proposed increase is not 800 to $1350.  The increase would be from 800 to 1050.  the market rent currently to comparable units is $1350.  Sorry for the confusion.  I threw an arbitrary date of 8/1 hoping we will be past the first wave of this virus but my timeline of the increases to all the units are after the virus.