All Forum Posts by: Shirley R.

@Mo Farraj

It is all of the above. I don't have 1 tenant. And obviously it's not every single day. However, c or d class tenants require a lot of hand holding. Personally coming to pick up the rent in cash, cause they don't bank. The washer broke. The mice. The upstairs tenant annoyed the downstairs tenant. A couch left on the street. The toilet. The key broke. The tenant wants out middle of the lease, but doesn't realize they will have to pay rent till another tenant moves in. Showing vacant apartments, supervising contractors, section 8 inspection, section 8 tenant destruction, new section 8 tenant paperwork.

How much time you got?

Welcome.  As a relatively new investor in Hartford, I feel the need to caution people, but as long as you're aware that it is hands on, every day involved kind of investment you could be fine. If you're not planning to self manage you need to have a PM lined up first, because no one I know is willing to manage in Hartford 

GMOscape. 

You'll have to look up the number. Not cheap, not expensive, super reliable guy. 

Incredibly enough the same people with the 2am toilet excuse are willing to give their time (which they deem so precious) to someone else. They're willing to work for hours on end, take business travel, commute excessively, miss their kids' life, have set limited vacations, etc. I find it ironic. Oh, and they sit in those awful corporate like meetings, where nothing ever gets accomplished. I'd shoot myself...

I know someone who had a Brooklyn apartment and sold it 20 years ago cause they couldn't handle it. Imagine what a Brooklyn NY apt would have been worth now...

@Jason Powell

Here are a couple of listings I just ran into in Hartford. Assume $50k rehub work is needed without seeing it...

https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/ct/hartford/153-standish-st/pid_30684853/

https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/ct/hartford/71-new-britain-ave/pid_30684852/

@Damaso Bautista

Interestingly, my father was the same way, till it was time for me, his daughter, to move in with a man. The man, who is my husband now, offered to pay the rent in full, since I was moving for him to a far new place. Now my father had the wisdom to see the position that would put me in: dependent, needy and scared I wouldn't be able to take care of myself if needed. So he insisted that I pay half the rent and financially assisted me in doing so till I was established. And no, it's not the same. Accepting money from your parents isn't the same as depending on a man for your living situation, especially in a foreign country (which was my situation)

@Daniel Lynch

1. Sharing is caring

2. Before I got married I insisted on paying 1/2 the rent so I'm not in some kind of position where I owe something to someone or that there's an unbalanced power in the relationship. I'm not sure I'm wording it well, but any self respecting woman doesn't need a man's favors housing her.

15 years later, I can say that was one of my parents' best advise.

That, and to buy, never sell, real estate,

Are you looking for a single family or duplex?

Either way, honestly, at this price range it's going to be hard to find anything outside Hartford, maybe East-Hartford, which isn't a great town either.

Whether you'll do better in the surrounding towns, I'm sure of it, though I can't speak from personal experience. Manchester is a good middle class town. 

Welcome! Unfortunately there are NO good schools in the city of Hartford. But it is still rentable to families. Many kids go to magnet schools in the area. In Hartford you want to stay on the south and west ends as much as possible. You can find a duplex in that price range but you will need to put a lot of work into it. Many duplexes in Hartford have bonus rooms in the attic that connect to the second floor, making the 2nd fl unit a 4-5 bedroom. Some rent that third floor separately, but those would be illegal apartments. There's always West-Hartford, which is an entirely different municipality, pretty high-end with prices that reflect that. Best of luck!

Check Star Ace Hardware in Hartford (north end)