All Forum Posts by: Scott Painter

I have an application in front of me now where a prior landlord gave her a bad report because the vertical blinds were missing and an "excessive carpet cleaning" charge on move out. Blinds are $5 at Lowes, the carpet did get cleaned - this landlord just seemed to hold a grudge. I can make a 3 hour clean out look like $1000 with the right wording too.

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Chandler.

Purchase price: $115,000
Cash invested: $23,000

4 unit bought site unseen when my wife had a job transfer. 3 of the 4 units were occupied when purchased and we lived in the 4th while remodeling our foreclosure home. I've had 35 days of unpaid vacancy in the last 3.5 years.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

House hacking and needed a place to live while doing the foreclosure.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

MLS the buyers agents husband had been a commercial broker for years and REALLY went to bat for us after the inspection.

How did you finance this deal?

Owner occupied at 3.5% 30 year

How did you add value to the deal?

Didn't have to.

What is it going to take to get my bill correctly done going forward to reflect the per meter charge of the town ordinance and to get my $2453.15 overbilled amount credited back?

I have owned a 4 unit apartment building since June 2015 and have 1 water meter that I am responsible for. Last month my water bill went up by 50% so I called town hall. They did an audit and found out I had a 1 inch meter instead of a 3/4 inch meter which requires a higher base charge per meter. (A building with a 3/4 meter would allow enough water pressure for 2 showers at the same time.) The issue is the department was charging me a base per UNIT not per METER. My base went from $115.60 a month to 234.20 a month when it should have been $58.55 a month. I have talked to a secretary at the water treatment department who pulled up the town ordinances, emailed me a copy, and says this months bill should have been $150 instead of $326. (My 4 unit 8 miles away in another town was $158 last month.) Ordinances do not mention a unit charge. They charge a base rate plus a gallons used rate.  A 3/4 meter is $28.90 base, 1 inch is $58.55 base, 2 inch is $206,  3 inch is $463. So, in theory, the owner of a 100 unit complex (which doesn't exist in this town of 3500 people) would have a base water bill of $46,300 a month if they made this same error. Nobody would let that erroneous of a miscalculation go through. I have asked the secretaries in the billing department why my bill seems high to me, and the response has always been, "It is what it is." Nobody has ever explained how the billing works. 

 Do I start with the local utility, state utility regulation board or elected official?

A tenant informed me on Sept 15 she was moving out Sept 30. There are 6 months left on her lease. A new tenant will move in on October 7. Her rent is $550 or prorated $18 a day. She did an ok job of cleaning. I paid a background screening service $25 to check the new tenant. Her deposit is $300. Am I allowed to keep an early termination administrative fee for 10 hours spent finding a new tenant. How much. As a landlord am I allowed to deduct for the $10 cost of a new door knob or the labor it would have cost had I hired a handy man for $15 for a total of $25. 

If they are not a hassle tennant, slow pay is easier and cheaper to deal with than turnover.

I bought a 4plex and inherited a "weekly" payer. Some weeks $200 some zero. Never the whole $500 at once. There was no late fee in their lease which had 8 months left when I purchased. They lived there 15 months like that until he had a heart attack and his kids paid the rears of $600 in full with life insurance money. In that time I never was in his apartment for a service call, noise complaint or anything. 

Thanks guys, 

I wondered as Mike said wether or not the tenant could make the eviction null. I believe I'll be looking to move forward with the eviction.

I closed on a 4plex 6 days ago. At closing I learn one of the tenants is 2 months behind and "playing games" with his rent. Today the former owner took him to landlord court to get him evicted and get a judgement to collect back rent. Per the court, on Monday he will have 72 hours to be out. 

Should I let the old owner kick him out. Is this judgement able to stand as he doesn't own it any more. Should I offer the tenant a second chance if he can come up with $900 (first month and security) in 72 hours and write a new lease with me. Should I evict even if he does have the ability to come up with funds.

I have a 4 plex that should close in June. The inspector came today and found small issues like not enough insulation on AC lines, not enough smoke alarms etc.  Furnaces were about 12 years old which we knew when we wrote a full price offer.

Big issues - 

1 Electric main too low to ground for code (over 10 feet clearance needed). 

2 Broken pipe and pooled water with fungal growth in crawl pace.  

3 Floor footings in crawl space on screw jacks is not proper. Slight floor bow.   

Who is responsible for major repairs or how should I proceed. 

Rents are $550 a month, building is full, and the building is $115K. School district is awesome. Homes stay on market less than a month.

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/600-W-Washington-St_Chandler_IN_47610_M34910-59136?row=7