All Forum Posts by: Ross Leavitt

In our student rentals, probably 30% of the bedroom or bathroom doors and jambs have been damaged by tenants using towel/coat hangers that hook over the top of the doors. The hooks gouge the jambs and leave marks on the doors. Have other landlords had this problem? 

These are newer properties, and the doors and jambs are painted. We always repair the damage during turnover, but I'd like to figure out a way to stop it. Our student tenants don't always follow instructions. 

I'm thinking about permanently installing hooks on every bedroom and bathroom door, so the ones who want hooks won't have to use their own. Has anyone done this? Can you recommend a quality hook to use? If I installed one on every the bedroom and bathroom door, I would be installing about 400 hooks, so I don't want to use junk!

@Lauren Simmers find your local landlord association. Just google it. Then tell them you’re getting started as a landlord and would like to come to their next meeting. They will be very helpful with all your questions! Many of the things you’re asking about really depend on local customs, so as much as we’d like to answer them, local help would be better on these issues.

@Tim Johnson, does your cost breakdown specify details like paint product, alignment of bath mirrors/lights/faucets, and style of baseboard corners? It seems like the cost breakdown would get cluttered if there was more than one or two details specified per line.

@Greg Dickerson that sounds like exactly the way we'd like to do it. Thanks so much for the offer. PM is on its way.

@Lee Bell thanks for sharing. We haven't worked with an architect, so I think the process is a little different.

@Jay Hinrichs I'm looking at details like paint product, whether bath mirrors/lights are aligned to the cabinet or the faucet, and style of baseboard corners, whether there are stair skirts, minimum open space for the washer and dryer, how strong half-walls need to be, etc. These are some of the issues that have come up during our walkthroughs. 

I work with my dad developing a few new houses for our portfolio each year. The pace has been picking up lately, and especially since we're considering another GC, we're realizing we need to be more organized about all the details that need to be communicated to our builder. I've heard that on government jobs, the spec book is several inches thick. Obviously that's an extreme example, but that tells me there is a more methodical way to do this.

This year we did our biggest project yet, 12 townhouses. Because of the scale, there have been a lot of minor things that he did that are not bad, but aren't what we would have wanted. Somehow, these details were easier to manage when we were just building two identical houses at a time!

So, developers out there (especially @Jay Hinrichs) what does your sheet/book of specifications look like? How is it formatted? Were you methodical about building it, or did you just add items as you thought of them? Would you be willing to share yours with me to point me in the right direction?

Thanks so much!

We were accidentally involved in something like what you describe:

Because of our other properties in the neighborhood, we were approached by Investor X who offered to sell us a property that he bought through the foreclosure auction (or so we assumed). It met our criteria perfectly, so we bought it, tore the house down, and started redevelopment. 

Fast forward to Thanksgiving that year. I was talking with my uncle, who is also a RE investor in the same town, and I mentioned our new project. Turns out, HE bought that property at the auction, but after the auction, Investor X went to the former owner and bought the redemption rights. Investor X showed up on my uncle's doorstep and introduced himself as the new owner of the property my uncle thought was his. Then, of course, he sold it to us. We all had a laugh, and fortunately there were no hard feelings. 

Moral of the story is, if you buy a property at auction, make sure you also buy the redemption rights!

We just bought a duplex near Corvallis, Oregon that we are remodeling to rent out. Both sides have baseboard heaters (as far as I can tell, they are original from the 50s), and they need to go. What would you all put in their place? Each side is 3 bed, 1 bath.

My initial choice is cadet heaters. My electrician said they would be about $400 each, installed, and I will need six per side. For that price, each unit will simply have a dial on the unit rather than a separately-wired thermostat. 

It seems like a lot of money to spend on a low-end heating system, but the other options don't sound good either. Ductless is more expensive but much more desirable, but I'm concerned that the tenants won't be diligent about cleaning the filter and it won't last as long as it should. What has your experience been with ductless units in rentals? Also, I think for a 3-bedroom I will need some cadets anyway to supplement the heating.

Are there any other options I should consider? Thanks so much for your advice!

Your other option is to purchase it through the Realtor at a price that will allow the seller to net the low price she quoted you. I assume it would still be a deal at that point, since she's offering it to you for half price.

The seller can request the Realtor to void the contract, but she simply can't do it unilaterally. You've dealt with contracts before, and a contract is a contract.

We have rentals in the Corvallis area, so we're feeling the effects of the statewide regulation that's coming in. Fortunately most of what we have is student-oriented, so we have a high rate of voluntary turnover anyway.

For our non-campus properties, we raise the rent each year to keep it at market, and keep the properties in very good condition (we remodeled them when we bought them). Keeping rent at market will keep us from being bitten by the rent-control that's coming in. One other result is that we tend to get young professionals who only stay for a couple years, rather than long-term tenants.

We are doubling down on this strategy, since due to the new laws we want to avoid long-term tenants.

The other issue is that with property values so strong, it might make sense to sell your SFRs to homeowners. They're worth more to a homeowner than a tenant. For your multi's, have you explored condo conversion? We're splitting some duplexes into tandem units, and will likely be selling them.

@Lance Riggen the best Eugene meetup is the Oregon REIA. Here's their website: https://www.orreia.net

That is a neighborhood where you need to watch your back, as I'm sure you knew at the outset. Of course, often that's where you can find the best deals, and in our tight market, first-time buyers are less picky. Good luck with your sale!

@Amy Engelhard, it sounds like you're doing great with this 4-plex! I am a property manager in Corvallis, but since the cost of entry out here is so high, I'd like to look at other areas for my own projects. I'm intrigued by what you did!

So, how did you pick the area you invested in? Did you buy it through a turnkey company? 

Thanks for the input!