All Forum Posts by: Stephan Precourt

@Carl Millsap and @Scott M.Thank you so much for this advice-I offered her the option to terminate her lease at the start of the next month (due to the infestation/health concerns) and she declined, so I have that in writing that she chose to stay, given a choice. I'm continuing to document everything and recording all of my action steps with receipts and dates. I inherited this tenant when I bought the property, and there's no check-in form from the previous owner, so I have no information on the state of the unit when she moved in, but I have no complaints from her, or the other tenant, from Oct. 2020 till August 2021, so I have to assume the state of her unit has something to do with this problem. But it sounds she likely won't have a leg to stand on (I know no one is a lawyer, but hearing from other landlords is enough for me). Your advice and insight was incredibly reassuring. Thank you thank you thank you!

Hi all,

I bought an old (1900’s) 2 unit property exactly 1 year ago this month. The tenants have been okay, though kind of a pain getting them to pay rent on time. In early august, my tenant notified me about mice she’s found in her unit. Apparently it was pretty bad by that point. Within a month of her initial notification I started monthly exterminator service, had a cleaner there and went there myself to clear out all insulation in areas mice had been seen and put spray insulation in all holes I could find around the foundation. Now my tenant is very slow at paying rent because of her “health issues” which she’s blaming on the mice infestation. I’ll be the first to admit the infestation is pretty bad and it’s not how I want my tenants to live. I also know she’s just looking for reasons to not pay rent and is trying to play this up. What I care about is ACTUAL liability I may have in this scenario as there’s obviously valid health concerns around mice infestations. I’m tracking down all communications, service receipts, etc. to get my ducks an a row. Just wondering if anyone else has dealt with something like this and took a course of action or sought out legal advice that would be helpful here. Thanks in advance!

I have a two unit property with one electric meter (electric/utilities are not separated). Both tenants want the same internet provider, but the internet provider won't do two accounts to a property that has one electric meter. I called and asked why and they said its policy and that my tenants would need to combine services. I don't want to have to put the internet in my name and charge the tenants a fee (because every time there's an outage, I'd have to run interference) and I don't think I should connect the two tenants to work together to combine services and come up with a solution. One tenant has been there 5 years and doesn't feel comfortable combining services, I don't really blame her. Anyone ever experience this and/or have any suggestions? I don't understand the logistical purpose of the internet service provider's policy and I considered telling my tenants to tell the company the electric for the property is separated...not ideal but maybe it would solve the problem...Thanks in advance for your input!

Investment Info:

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

Purchase price: $318,000
Cash invested: $11,130

This is the second time we are house-hacking. We are using the FHA 203k loan.

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

Real estate in Dane County has high appreciation rates and this is a highly sought out area.

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

FSBO. Negotiated through my real estate agent.

How did you finance this deal?

HELOC from our first house hack.

How did you add value to the deal?

The property had some equity upon purchase, we are adding value by renovating one side to target an A-/B+ level renter.

What was the outcome?

In progress!

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Vet your contractors from multiple sources. Don't always go with the cheapest, experience matters! I wish I could turn back time and go with one of the other bids I received on the reno project. The contractor has been a NIGHTMARE to work with.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Yes! My lender is amazing, he answered a ton of questions I had about the FHA203k loan and has experience working with it so he knew how to handle everything. Josh Nelson from Supreme lending-I recommend him to everyone. I also worked with my real estate agent who was super helpful in the negotiations and dealing with the seller throughout the inspection process which was more complicated than usual due to the FHA 203k loan.

Hey James. I just started using Hemlane this month. I only have few units. So far, its fine, but I feel like I'm overpaying for pretty much the same features (or less features) than the cheaper ones like Cozy and Avail. I did like that I could invite my property manager (who has her own Hemlane account) to manage a couple of my units, and I can pay her directly through it as well. I'm disappointed there's no signature feature to have my tenants sign leases, etc. I'll now have to do that via a third party like Docusign. I'll be interested to see if anyone else chimes in on this thread with their experiences. Also curious to know your thoughts if you end up going with it or what you choose instead.

@Brian Hamel, @Kyle J., @Anna Sagatelova thank you for your inputs! I think I’m going to give her cash up front and contact info for a couple Airbnb’s that I’ve called ahead of time to verify they’d allow her and the animals. That way she can pocket the cash and stay at a friend’s if she truly does have a place to stay, or make arrangements without financial hardship. That’s probably above and beyond what’s necessary but she’s been a good renter. Thank you again, this was super helpful in calibrating my decision!!

Hi folks,

I'm wondering if people would be so kind as to share their opinion with how they would handle my current situation.

My homeowner's insurance (I'm house hacking) is requiring I fix the external walk-up stairs to my tenant's unit-located on the second floor of my 2 unit house. Its in rough shape (clearly something the previous owner tried to build themselves) and has been on the cap-ex list for awhile. So I'd like to bite the bullet, tear it down and replace it with a new set of stairs that I don't have to worry about falling apart. The company doing it estimates my tenant won't have stairs to her front door for 2-3 days if everything goes smoothly. There is no other access to the unit other than the fire escape balcony that doesn't have stairs going to it.

I asked tenant if she can find other housing for 2-3 days. no big right? she has two cats and a bunny and apparently no friends or family who will take her in for a couple of days(she cites the pandemic as an obstacle as well). Fair enough. Is it my job to call around and find housing for her and her animals? Do I tell her to figure out housing herself and I'll reimburse her? Do I say 'tough luck-figure it out'? (obviously probably won't do that, but you get the spectrum I'm laying out here).

I'm sure there's a state statute (I'm in Madison, Wisconsin, aka the most tenant-friendly city in the US) that specifies the landlord's responsibility and I'm going to seek out input from our local tenant resource center as well, but wanted other landlord's opinions on how they'd deal with the situation.

Thank you in advance!

Stephan

@Chela O'Connor thanks for this opportunity to see your rehab. This is for tomorrow’s meet up instead of Brink?

@Scott Johanek, I've worked with Michael Greiber (Greiber Law) and he's been great. He's based out of Portage and owns some property himself.

Investment Info:

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

Purchase price: $211,000

House hacking with an FHA.

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

FSBO.com

How did you finance this deal?

FHA 3.5% down, 30 year mortgage @ 3.25% Interest