All Forum Posts by: Sean Maginess

@Theresa Harris

Unfortunately, we’re not in a specific lock down state (CT), so I don’t have that to back me up. I will work on some wording and send it out to both and see where that gets me.

Thank you!

We have a two family- upstairs/ downstairs layout. Downstairs tenants are still having people over despite requests for social distancing. Upstairs tenants are complaining. Upstairs tenants admit they aren’t “parties,” but sounds like they don’t want any visitors at all at the house.

There are shared spaces- front and rear entries and laundry facilities in the basement. Upstairs tenants primarily work from home already and downstairs tenants are in the Navy, so still required to report to work.

Thoughts on how to handle this?

@Julie Marquez sorry, the tag didn't go through in my previous response.

@Julie Marquez We ended up getting one credit card for llc/ business expenses.  Some retailers recognize it as a business card and will ask us if we want to enter a memo at the store, which is helpful as a reminder for which property to bill.  It is a little tedious to keep track of charges at the end of the month, but easier than paying half a dozen credit cards.

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll offer to cover it with some paint as a compromise.

I just finished rehabbing a two bedroom apartment in Worcester, Mass. We put in a brand new kitchen with appliances, redid the bathroom, and replaced flooring throughout.  The unit has a popcorn ceiling.  At some point, there must have been a minor leak from the apartment above (that we don't own) because there is a small stain on the ceiling. It's totally dry with no signs of mold and when we were doing the other work we decided to let it be instead of having to redo the entire ceiling in the living room/ kitchen. Any repair just to the small, affected area would have been noticeable and worse than the small stain.  We rented the space for Feb 15 and the tenant is requesting that we cover up or fix the area because it is unsightly.  This is by no means a luxury apartment, but we used quality materials and products that would last.

What is the best way to tell the tenant that we aren't repairing it?   

Hi @Dan Barli 

We're worried about doing anything that would make it seem like we were "piercing the veil".  It sounds like as long as we had a credit card that was used solely for business expenses that we would be okay?

Thanks so much for your advice.

We are using a 1031 exchange to sell a property and purchase 3 new properties. Each new property will go into a separate LLC, but the single member of each LLC will be the same realty trust.

Do we need to get different business credit cards for each LLC if the single member is the same? Or is it possible to get a credit card in the name of the trust and just identify which transactions go to each property?

Thanks!

Hey @John Burton ,

We purchased a duplex near the Coast Guard/ Conn College in New London in May and will be closing on a duplex in Groton in the next couple weeks.  We had a lot of interest in the first property and have had some bites on the second even before listing it.  Pros to the area are the Coast Guard/ Navy populations and the EB/ Pfizer workforce.  Cons are the high taxes and trying to find reasonable deals.  I've seen properties go very quickly if they are a good deal and others that just sit because they are priced too high.  

You might want to post in the Connecticut forums as well.

@Joel Owens the tenants are already occupying the property, so no need to modify anything. Any changes they make are at their own expense.

@Dave Foster thanks so much for the insight! I finally connected with my CPA and he suggested something along those lines as well. When would you suggest adding the option to purchase? Is that something that can be written into their lease now, or would it need to wait until a year or so down the road? I imagine they'd want to lease in the 5-10 year range and then complete the sale.