All Forum Posts by: Eric Hathway

All good points. Thank you everyone.

Thanks for the information!

So would the landlord pay a monthly lease payment on the panels and the difference, if any, in used electricity from what was brought in through solar energy? And the idea is that those payments would still be less that a regular electric bill? 

I'm not in a position to purchase the panels up front. 

I am just being a supportive husband for my wife who has recently been sworn in as an Attorney in MA and is job searching. Her and I have built a pretty good size real estate portfolio so she has some good first hand knowledge. She also speaks three languages so she can be an asset to any firm.

Thanks!!

With spring right around the corner, I would like to lower my electricity bills by adding solar. Can anyone inform me on what I can expect? How does the billing work? What are people's general opinions on this? I have a couple of 10+ unit buildings in New Hampshire if that's important.

Thank you!!!

I'm happy to try to help. I did have prop management and I also consulted 2 local attorneys. All of them came to the same determination that I should just not charge rent for the time the unit was not habitable. Basically, don't take money for any time I could not hold up my end of the lease agreement. I was NOT legally responsible for placing her in a hotel. This, however, did not go over well with the tenant who didn't have money for a hotel nor any local family. This created a lot of hostility and she threatened to bring a lawsuit against me - granted it was unsubstantiated, but nobody wanted to defend themselves and pay legal fees. It is important for the tenant to understand this isn't the landlords fault and that it is a bad situation for both landlord and tenant. My tenant felt i was responsible solely because I owned the property. 

I ended up letting her out of her lease and she moved into another place. I did give her her security deposit back before she moved out for her to be able to put up the money for another lease.

Insurance covered the repairs and lost rent.

I'm looking for people's experiences with property managers in Manchester, NH. I'm specifically interested in Peloquin, Elm Grove, and Total Solutions. Any rate info you can provide for managing 15-20 residential units is also helpful.

Thank you in advance.

Yes, my question is the legality. At some point, you have to be licensed to perform it on a house you don't live in. I'm just wondering where that line is. Thanks, David Painter, I will ask a local electrician about local regulations.

Can untrained landlords change light fixtures and outlets? I am not a licensed electrician, but I am more than capable of changing out light fixtures and replacing outlets and switches as an upgrade. Obviously, if something was blown, I would defer to professionals to find a bigger issue, but any problem with swapping out an old ceiling light?

It sounds like late payments cause extra work for the PM making phone calls, typing letters, delivering them, making additional runs to the bank for late deposits, etc. It seems reasonable that they get an extra $20-$50 for example. 

However, If you are paying the PM 10% or higher I could see a good argument that that should be included.

I guess it is similar if the PM coordinates outside repairmen (roofer, plumber, etc) and then charges 10% over their invoice. My PM doesn't do that because he said it's his job to coordinate those jobs.

My conclusion is it needs to be looked at in the big picture. My PM may keep late fees, but he charges me a low rent %, 1/2 month's rent to fill a vacancy, and doesn't add onto repair invoices. 

If our other terms were more in his favor than I may gripe about the late fees, but I'm content with how we have it.

Thanks guys, I'll rest better knowing I'm not getting taken advantage of.