All Forum Posts by: Satya Nagarajan

I can talk to them, but many of these issues are related to their lack of thoroughness or simply not following up on issues very aggressively, e.g., unpaid utility bills from tenant. They tend to react to problems instead of being proactive.

Hey everyone, I currently own 6 units in two different cities.  Even with only 6 units, I am having to do quite a lot of "managing the manager". Of course, I don't mind communicating with the manager on major items, but I wish I didn't have to be so hands on with the relatively minor issues. I have goals of scaling up to 20 or 30 units over the next few years, but I don't see how that's realistic with this amount of direct involvement with the PM. This seems to be the case with any PM I have worked with. I don't plan on being a full time investor any time soon. Has anyone had a similar experience? I'm wondering if this is related to the quality of PM or if this is just the nature of the beast as my portfolio gets bigger.

Thanks Jody! i'll have to consider both options.

Hey everyone, I was hoping I could get some input on this. I'm considering refinancing a 4-plex. I bought the property for $120K in 2016. The property is probably worth $190K now. Here are the details.

Current

Purchase price - $120K (2016)

Monthly payment: $449.36

Interest rate: 4.375%

Remaining loan balance: $83940.28

Rental Income: $2540

After Refinancing

Loan amount: $130K (conventional 30-year fixed)

Interest rate: 3.875% (1.875 points)

Monthly payment: $611.31

The difference between the current loan balance and the new mortgage is ~$46K (minus a few thousand in closing costs). The difference in total interest I pay over the lifetime of the mortgage is $18303, and I have paid $14613 so far with my current mortgage over the past 4 years, both of which add up to $32916. I was planning on buying another rental property if I do a cash out refi. Does this sound like a good deal? Are there any pitfalls or "gotchas" that I should watch out for? I'm pretty new to this, so any advice would be appreciated.   

@Michael Craig, we were pretty thorough with the up front screening, expectations, etc. They have both lived there for several months with no issues. This has only become a problem recently.

Hey all, I wanted to see if anyone can help me determine whether this is normal for a 4-unit in a B/B- neighborhood. Things have been MUCH better in 2018 than in 2017. The rent has been getting collected with no major issues. Here are the problems so far that I've faced this year.

1) February 2018, a tenant wanted to move out early (after 6 months) due to "personal reasons". She moved out with no major issues, and we kept her deposit. 

2) October 2018, one other tenant got a dog saying it was a therapy dog. We normally don't allow pets, but he provided sufficient documentation that it was a service animal, so he was allowed to keep it. This went on for a few months, but around September, the downstairs neighbor was complaining that the dog was being too loud. He was notified, but he took no major action. He had one month left in his lease and was not allowed to renew. He didn't pay the last month of rent, and we evicted him. 
3) November 2018, another tenant is now complaining that his downstairs neighbor is harassing them for being too loud. He states that she is getting confrontational and hitting her ceiling with a pole when she hears noise from their apartment. She is also threatening to lock their access to the basement if they don't stop - not sure how she can do this. She has called the police on him. The police came by, and didn't find anything of major concern, apologized to the tenant and left. This tenant appears to be pretty shaken up by her actions. This issues is ongoing, and my manager should be dealing with it soon.

This property is professionally managed, and I frequently communicate with my property manager. My question to all the experienced investors is, is this normal? If I should expect this sort of thing, I should probably learn to accept that this is how it's going to be. However, the uncertainty in what lies ahead in this type of situation is what really stresses me out. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Satya

@Account Closed The rent ready units are in great condition. It is painted, cleaned, etc. The feedback they have generally been getting from prospective renters has been positive. No complaints about the quality of the unit or the price. The property is being marketed on Craigslist, Zillow, and some others like Apartment Finder and Realtor.com.

@Michael Boyer There have been a handful of calls and showings. Also, I don't see anything in the area that could be an eyesore for potential tenants. It's a predominantly blue collar neighborhood (more renters), and this street is fairly quiet. The property is also just across from a school. I can't think of any major shortcomings of the area. When I analyzed the property, I read that the area has an average 3-5% vacancy rate, but I'm already incurring much more than that. However, this part of the neighborhood has a higher rate of home ownership, so the 3-5% may not reflect this part of the neighborhood. A nearby property just got rented for the same price, and it's not as nice as mine.  It had a fairly long period of vacancy as well though. It's probably a combination of the part of the neighborhood I'm in (larger rates of home ownership) and seasonal weaknesses. 

@Thomas S. I do have a good amount of reserve cash for various expenses. With my limited experience owning a rental, I just find it stressful to have 2 vacant units and having no idea when they'll get rented. The advertised rent is fair for the market, though.

I bought a quad 3 months ago in a B/B- neighborhood for $120,000. We took over from a previous owner that was managing the property poorly and 3 out of the 4 tenants had moved out from the time we went into contract to the time we closed. We upgraded 2 of the units and advertised higher rents (from $500/mo to $600/mo). My manager is doing a great job of keeping the property in good repair, but it's been very stressful dealing with the vacancy of the 2 rent ready units. It's been almost 2 months and no applications yet. We are offering a special now with a free month if they sign a 13 month lease. The last unit isn't rent ready and needs some work. We'll start on that once these 2 are rented. I have my fingers crossed that I'll get two good tenants soon. Has anybody been in a similar situation? This is a new experience for me, and the first few months have been rather stressful.