All Forum Posts by: Sam G.

I love the wealth of knowledge from fellow BP members so thank you!  I think in my situation, the $20k will allow me to do a second house hack sooner than I would so in a sense I am also buying time. If you can give me a rough idea of how you would calculate how much would $X earn above it's cost that would really help. Would you calculate it's cost over the entire 30 years? I'm assuming you would compare cash flow if reinvesting it to the cost over 30 years?

I've gotten great advice here from both experienced and newbie investors so I'm once again turning to my favorite forum for advice.

Currently house hacking and one year later I am ready to pull out some cash for my next deal. Lender said I can pull out $20k at 3.875%. I have to keep it as an FHA because my DTI so the pesky PMI stays. Overall the property cash flows about $500 but I recently got the taxes appealed so it will cash flow another $150. If I cash out, I lose that newly "earned" $150 so basically everything will stay the same.

I don't know if I should be looking at in terms of whether I should pull out the $20k. I know over time it will end up costing me more with interest but since it's being paid off by the tenants, does it matter? 

Anything I should ask my lender or numbers to run before I pull the trigger that I may be missing? 

I plan to buy my second house hack in about 1.5-2 years with that money and keep some for any repairs. Is it smart to hold on to cash that's pulled out for future use since you pay interest from day one? 

You are completely right and that's the conclusion I came to. The tenant ended up renewing and I kept everything as is. In a year if the market changes and I need to find a new tenant I will do the necessary repairs that it would need since money is tight and I need to budget for other functional things in the property. I do have somewhat of a problem not concentrating on business first vs. providing something I'd want to live in, not that I believe in being a slumlord or anything like that. I feel some things we as property owners see and pay money to improve may not even be noticed by tenants and it becomes a waste. Sometimes a fresh coat of paint goes way further than anything else more involved. Thank you so much for replying!

I love the idea of painting the ductwork. It may even look intentional with a freshly painted white wall or even a neutral color. Is there special paint for that?

So far Im planning to:

1.Box in or spray paint ductwork

2. Paint fridge white to match

3. Current countertop is laminate and since I can't extend it I'm going to get a new countertop and add another floor cabinet to fill the space next to the stove

4. Paint cabinets white

5. Add new hardware

6. Add simple white subway tile backsplash in kitchen area

Depending on feedback from tenants, I'm considering investing the the Allure vinyl planks throughout the entire unit for a more cohesive look. I have uneven floors in the kitchen that slope down now, so still doing some research on whether that would be ok to put on top of the vinyl that's uneven. I'd read some contradicting info on that one.

Thanks guys!

I would say it is a rapidly appreciating C++ area? I'm going to check out the unit this week and see if I can squeeze another floor cabinet and counter space in there.  It only rents for $600.

I definitely think something like marble/granite will be too much. That's why i thought a laminate like this would be unexpected and affordable. It's something like $144 for 8ft. 

Sorry for the bad picture! I'll have some more pictures soon. 

So that window faces the neighbors brick exterior garage wall. Thinking of trying this and removing the blinds all together.

I've actually had surprising luck with painting fridge before. I'd hate to get rid of working appliances, especially if I'm trying to keep costs down. So i was initially thinking to just paint the fridge white. I think because it's a small space I'd like to keep it light and airy as much as possible. I def think same flooring throughout will do a lot for the space. The floor is not even going towards the cabinets. 

I'm guessing I have to rip out the current vinyl and level the floors with floor patch then float a new floor on top. 

Right, that's also on my list! I plan to box it in with drywall and paint the entire apt white. It's a challenging unit because the ceilings are low and it is pretty small. I figured I could offer some cosmetic upgrades to make up for it. Thanks for replying Ryan. 

Hi guys,

I have a small studio unit that is due for a turnover so I wanted to take the opportunity to do some updates to hopefully attract a better tenant. I'm listing is at market price so I'm not dependent on the unit commanding more rent because of the updates. I would like to be able to rent it out quicker and to have my pick of tenants because of a nicer unit. 

It's about 400 sq ft more of a linear shape. Vinyl stick on in the kitchen and some new laminate in other areas. I do plan to redo the entire bathroom with new  tiled shower/glass door, tile flooring, medicine cabinet. 

I was thinking of laying down this throughout the entire unit (not bathroom) for a more cohesive flow. Not sure if these are ok in the kitchen so I'l have to check on that. Especially because the floor is kind of sloping towards the kitchen cabinets in areas. 

I was thinking of throwing in some extra wow factor items such as:

-paint new HD unfinished cabinets white 

-modern kitchen hardware

-modern chandelier

-new laminate throughout

-small island

-new marble look countertops

-vessel sink

Any tricks from landlords that seem to get a great response from using certain materials, products to sell your units better? Take a look at the unit as is now and feel free to add input. I know there was a thread somewhere similar to this but I can't seem to find it, I'll keep looking.

I'll have to check out courses that take place in the summer but that sounds like a great resource. 

From what I understand most suburbs refer to or adapt Chicago ordinances so it would make sense to go by there rules? Maybe some suburban landlords can chime in on that. Thanks Linda

Thanks for the replies guys. It is under 6 units. I'll try and refer back to the RLTO and work that in the lease the best I can. Does anybody know how much a lawyer would take to look over a current lease and maybe give their input on anything I have missed or can't legally include?

I've had to deal with stress of working around whether a tenant allows my workers to come in for necessary repairs, and would like to not deal with anything like that in the future. I thought a good lease would be the answer to that. By inspections I mean just checking to make sure the tenant hasn't trashed the unit and any problems can be taken care of before they become bigger. Something like checking the place out every 3 months would be more than enough for that purpose.

Brie can you please give me some more info about the 35 page CAR lease? Dumb question sorry!