All Forum Posts by: Arnie Guida

1000.00 to upgrade a 4 family from 60 amp/fuses to 100 amp/circuit breakers and a permit?

Ummmmm, OK then....

How could there not be?
A very revealing statement.

Your prices do not reflect my quotes from licensed electricians.

The permit isn't what's stopping us.

Our 4 family is haunted.

Every time we change tenants and that unit sits vacant for any amount of time, the bathroom, kitchen and bedrooms lose electricity, only the living room has power. It's 60 amp service with screw in fuses. Down in the basement I go, armed with bee randy new fuses, I pull the mains, move the cigar fuses a little to break any corrosion, screw in the bee randy new fuses, and voila, problem solved.

What kills me is that the old fuses look and test fine.

This has happened damn near every time.

Had to do it again today.

Cue Rod Serling and the Twilight Zone music...

(Yes, we should change to 100 amp service and circuit breakers, we're too cheap...)

I'm buying a nice place in a nice part of town.

So when you buy a new building with existing tenants, if the seller has sketchy info on the existing tenants, you have them submit their pertinent info, right? SSN, Drivers License, etc...just like they were applying for the first time...I dunno, if they're long term...

What do you do when buying a new building with existing tenants?

Hardball, protect yourself at all times I guess.

If you weren't happy with the results, would you terminate? I guess it depends on their history at the building. I think most would leave things be.

?

That is incorrect.

My SFH tenant pays with PP, free to me and them as long as the payment is funded with a bank account or funds already in their PP account.

If paying with a credit card, there is a fee. I've made it clear they will pay the fee if done that way.

Paypal is great. Wish I'd have done it sooner.

What a day, my head is spinning.

Nice building, clean. Hasn't been painted in a while.

We're close on price. It's a big step for me.

Sleep won't come easy tonight.

Like I said. the numbers are good, not great, but good. The NOI is more than half of the gross. With debt service, the cap rate is over 10...a "base hit", not a double, triple or home run.

Like the stock market, there are conservative plays and aggressive plays in RE, which you choose depends on your risk tolerance. To me, this is a base hit. I don't have the stomach for the home runs.

As for loving it, that's what I'm trying to guard against...

If we can arrive on a fair price for both of us, I will buy it.

The building sits on a moderately busy street. There are two ways to access the building, a side drive off of the street and two alleys on either side. Our big airport is nearby. Behind the building are owner occupied SFH's, on one side is an owner occupied SFH, on the other, two story condo looking rentals. Across the street is a multi-complex, a couple two story buildings.

This 8 looks like a typical Mom and Pop building to me. I think with proper maintenance and some pride of ownership, this could be a building that prospective tenants would think, "Hey, nice place, well taken care of, too".

I dunno, the numbers are good, not great but good. I love the area, lived there for 10 years, still own my first house I bought and lived in and now is a rental, a few blocks away...I'm trying not to fall in love with it and have an investor mentality, but...

It passes my two tests, in order.

1. Does it make money?
2. Would I live there?

Yes on both counts.

I have a vision for this place.

The realtor is showing it to me today.

It's just that everything else being equal, I'd rather live in a 4 than an 8.