All Forum Posts by: Ryan Rubel

 Brandon, 

Thanks for the info! It would be great to connect.  I didnt realize there were so many restrictions in Oceanside/Carlsbad.  Maybe there are other areas (San Diego) that would be better for these plans.
How can we connect for a chat?

My wife and I live in Chicago and vacation in San Diego every year.  We get a condo rental in Oceanside typically, and stay for 2 weeks. 

I'm considering purchasing a condo or a small SFH in the Oceanside/Carlsbad area as an investment property and renting it out on a short term rental site like AirBNB. We like the short-term rental idea because we could stay at the property ourselves when we want - summer break, spring/winter breaks, etc.

Our budget will be right around $1M or less ideally, and we would like a short distance to the ocean.

How likely is it that we could find a property as described above and have it cover or come close to covering the mortgage? 

Any advice or tips would be appreciated.

After running the numbers I decided I'll be selling my rental property once my current tenant moves out April 1st.  This is a property in a suburb of Chicago.

Our Property Manger called saying they need to send a plumber to look at a toilet that's leaking from the seal to the floor, likely a wax ring needing replacement. Plumber said the wax ring was fine, but that he needs to bring in the longer auger to see where there's a clog in the drain. The plumber explained that it's likely that paper or other items lodged in the drain (from the house to the street sewer) and said he would put a camera in there the next day upon his return. The tenant got upset (and loud/swearing) that the plumber had to come back the next day, and said "don't come back. I'll hire my own plumber and send the Property Manager the bill". Then he hired his own plumber, who still couldn't come until the next day.

The new plumber brought a very long auger and camera and discovered that there's lots of gravel inside the drain pipe (under my front yard) and explained that this is common in my area when the pipes crack from tree roots, etc. He's correct about the area, so I took his recommendation to excavate the front yard to dig up the pipe and replace the broken section. The cost would be $3300, so I had the city come verify that this was the issue (they agreed after seeing all the gravel in the drain pipe).

This morning they dug up the front yard and drain pipe and discovered that the pipe was not broken at all. There was AQUARIUM GRAVEL inside the drain pipe! Roughly 40 lbs of it! Clearly this is the tenants fault for flushing so much gravel. I'm a bit confused about how it was even POSSIBLE to flush that much, but the plumber explained that it could have accumulated over the past year if the tenant cleaned out a fish tank w/ a bucket and dumped it into the toilet without removing pebbles.

This gravel was removed by using another machine to blast 400psi of water through the drain pipes. All together I'm looking at a $4,000 bill. The tenant was fighting what he thought was a $300 plumbing bill originally, so I'm positive he'll fight paying $4,000. My property manager said we can take his security deposit, but that's only $1,700. Also if he knows we're taking his security deposit he won't pay his rent the last month, I imagine.

I'm posting here because I'd like to know if there's a good strategy for handling this. The plumber clearly documented everything (video, pictures, and his own opinion on how the damage got there). I'm sure I can take the tenant to small claims court, but that's a pain I'm sure.. especially since I live in California and the house is in Chicago.

Likely SOL? I'm still selling the house in April regardless of what happens.

@Amit M. We're looking at SFH in the Bay Area but outside of SF itself. In the $3000 range there are literally hundreds of homes to pick from. I agree that they're small/modest places though.

Thanks everyone for the responses

After reading these forums for a while and learning about the 2% rule, I'm a bit confused as to why someone would buy a house and rent it out in very HCOL areas like San Francisco. I live in Melbourne Australia and our current SFH that we rent is worth $1.2M but we pay $3100/mth for this property. This just seems like a bad investment for the owner, correct?

We're moving to San Francisco very soon and have started looking at properties to rent.. same thing!  $1.1M homes being rented out for $3,000/mth.  What gives?  I see several houses that have been rehabbed and turned into rentals.  One actual example:  Very poor condition home sells for $900k and need major rehab - someone bought the home, rehabbed it, and now is renting it out for $2900/mth.  Why?

Thanks for any insight

My rental SFH is going to need the carpet replaced after the current tenants leave April 1st. This is a 1250 sqft. SFH in the Schaumburg area near Chicago with a slab. What's the best looking, durable, affordable, and available flooring?

I've seen in other posts that people use laminate from Home Depot - is this recommended?  

Other questions:

1) What do I need to be aware of when putting laminate on slab?

2) There will be about 1000sqft required.. is it reasonable to think a contractor can do this in a week, including carpet removal/disposal?

3) How much should I expect to pay for labor?

Thanks,

Ryan

Keywords: Chicago, Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Palatine, Hanover Park, Elgin, Streamwood Bartlett Cook County

@Scott Weaner I think @Mark Ainley's suggestion above is correct about me needing clarification from the inspector himself.  The list above is what my PM gave me based on what the inspector "said".  Once I speak to the inspector I think some of this will be resolved easily.. or I hope so at least!

@Mark Ainley Thanks for the advice.  The inspection was Friday and the PM dealt with the inspector (I'm in Australia currently).  Once the official report comes at the end of this week I will have the inspector's own notes and can review everything w/ him over the phone.  

Hopefully I can talk him down on some of the items, especially putting additional outlets in the kitchen!  I lived in the house for 5 years with no need for more outlets haha.

-Ryan

 Marci, the inspectors full report will come next week (likely more issues than what my PM wrote down in my list above) and I'll have 30 days to have all of the repairs completed.

This is in Schaumburg.  I lived in the house for 5 years so I'm familiar with some of the things they're talking about.  It just feels excessive to me.  For example, rather than just checking if the furnace/AC works they're requiring that I get a certified HVAC contractor to test them and certify them.  They work.. just flip a switch and see.