All Forum Posts by: Rob L.

@Alex T. 

We have had similar issues and also tenants questions if it was there responsiblity to bring their trash bin to the curb for pick up. Since then we have added this into our lease, 

1. Lessee(s) Responsibility for TRASH: All trash must be bagged, kept in tightly sealed containers, and placed outside for pick-up no sooner than 12 hours before the assigned pick-up day. If a dumpster is provided, trash must be placed inside the dumpster. Trash is to be properly placed by the street for pick-up on the appropriate day of the week, or inside dumpsters provided on the property, whichever is applicable. Tenant is responsible for knowing the correct trash pick-up day.

a. Tenant agrees to follow municipal recycling ordinances with regards to recyclable materials.

c. Tenant agrees to pay any fines assessed for violation of municipal trash codes in regards to improperly placed trash.

d. Tenant is not permitted to place trash or personal belongings in any common areas, basements, or attics. Landlord is not responsible for Tenant belongings kept outside the confines of the leased premises. Landlord cannot and does not guarantee dryness in any basement.

@Robert AndradeIf you don't have a lot of money but you want to get into real estate then house hacking is your best bet. Especially in Massachusetts its hard to come up with the 20-25% down payment as a non-owner occupied buyer. 

Pros- Rents are paid directly into your bank account every-month. 

Cons- Working with the government  & having to jump through all the hoops they require....inspections, paperwork etc. 

I have found in our area that the tenants that have the program don't want to lose it, so they pay on time. Of course, as others have mentioned you still need to conduct a background/credit check but we have some units where Housing pays 100% of the rent. 

Hey @Account Closed, welcome to BP. You have definitely come to the best place to learn thats for sure. 

Hi Devlin,

There's a lot of different ways to acquire additional properties. You can partner with other investors or friends and family to raise capital. That's what I did, once you get some experience its great to share with friends what your doing and see if there interested in making $$. 

This site is a great place to learn about owner financing, subject to, etc. All of these are different ways to purchase additional properties. 

Massachusetts certainly doesn't make it easy for us with the cost of real estate around here but it can be done. 

Good luck, Rob. 

A lot of good comments so far but here’s my take,

Increase vacancies to 8%

Up Insurance to $2,200 to be safe

Up Maintenance to 10% (Housing stock in Mass is old, higher expenses)

Water?? Typically one of the largest expenses. Is that what your including in Utilities? If so I would split them out.

Add Snow Removal & Lawn care (1k to 1.5K)

Other than that looks good. 

It certainly can be done. We added 2 properties to our portfolio last year. Both were value add plays. It was a lot easier to find deals 2-3 years ago but there still out there. You just need to be willing to put in the work. 

Hey @Joe Rinella We have used Eastern Insurance Group, they have insured multiple properties of ours that are held in LLCS. I know when your in a pinch Liberty mutual will typically insure LLC's without an issue too but there rates tend to be pretty high.

https://www.easterninsurance.com/

@Tony Santos I think your best bet would be to call a couple local banks or credit unions in your town. We just did something similar to what your trying to do with 2 of our properties and it was a local community bank that had the most flexibility. 

I don't like it. Maybe it could be used as a quick way to get a ball park number but so much more goes into analyzing a deal. Your probably better off sticking with cap rates, ROI, or cash on cash as real indicators of a deal.