All Forum Posts by: Terry Kavouras

For Sale:

$35,000
3BR/1B/1100sf
West 90th Street, Cleveland

House was previously rented for $840 per month.There was a small fire on the outside, upstairs porch. Had ServPro come in and do fire remediation cleaning.  They had to take the kitchen down to the studs.  So the house needs some rehab.

The Bad:
House needs the following:
New kitchen - Cabinets, sink, countertop, walls, wood floor refinished
New upstairs back porch - Needs to be replaced. The porch is also the roof of the kitchen.
Bathroom rehab - New floor, possibly new sink.
Attic - Insulation
Upstairs Hall - Ceiling repair (a ServPro worker stepped through the attic ceiling, made a 2'x2' hole that needs repair)
Backyard fence needs some repair
Estimate of all repairs is about $17K
Comps are pretty widespread, but the nicer homes are in the $60-80K range for that area.  And this would be one of the nicer homes if it was fixed up a bit.

The Good:
A thorough (and expensive) fire remediation cleaning from ServPro.  They removed the attic insulation, cleaned the rafters, floor and roof sheathing.  They cleaned every wall, ceiling and floor of every room in the house.  They removed the asbestos tile floor in the basement and cleaned every surface. They removed the kitchen down to the studs and cleaned everything.
The rest of the house is in good shape.  It features leaded glass cabinets, hardwood floors, lots of beautiful woodwork. The boiler is a couple years old and super efficient.

Respond here if interested.

Regarding water/sewer: It is so expensive that I tell all my tenants that they have to pay for it.  I tell them to pay the bill when it comes.  The account remains in my name, but I tell them to open it and pay it. I tell them that if they don't pay it, their water will be shut off.   Down side is that if they rack up a big bill and then bail on me, then I'm stuck with the charges.  The water departments in Cleveland and Akron will mail the landlord a copy the bill if it is delinquent, so if that happens I call my tenant and tell them they have to bring their water bill current.  So far no one has failed to pay the bill.  

This article came out yesterday about this subject.  It's possible, in some states at least, for a tenant to live for free for nearly a year.

https://www.avail.co/education/articles/rental-horror-stories-renters-who-pay-late-or-dont-pay-at-all

I might know a painter.  Pro who does apartment building interiors and takes side work.  I'd be happy to give him your contact information.

I haven't read through the whole thread, but it looks like you might need to read this:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/731/topics/43...

Thanks for your response, @James Wise.  I am not in a bad relationship with them to my knowledge.  I keep nice houses and I'm not afraid of the inspections.  I'm just worried that they are beginning to use their power arbitrarily to bully or generate revenue.  Parma is struggling financially and if they are using housing codes as a cash grab, then I want to talk to other Parma landlords and see what can be done about it.  Not lay down while they deliver death by a thousand cuts.

Lately the Parma, OH Building Department has been aggressively assessing fines, writing tickets and trying to collect rental registration fees from prior years.  Has anyone else run afoul of the Parma Building Department?  And if so, what, if anything, are you doing about it?  

Last year they dinged me for a cracked driveway.  It cost me $800 to fix the few minor cracks to their satisfaction. Last month they ticketed me for "debris" on the front lawn of one of my properties.  No one could explain what the debris was, specifically.  Rather than spend half a day in court (and court costs even if I win) I simply paid the ticket of $160.  This week I received rental registrations that they failed to send me for from 2015, with penalties!  I have four properties in Parma and this is getting extremely costly.  Anyone have any advice?

@Jordan Sprague, the meetup has traditionally been held at the Brew Garden in Middleburg Heights.  

Please notify me if (or help me understand how to find out myself) when the next meetup is scheduled.  I'd love to attend.  Thanks.

Who plans these meetups?  Where are they posted?  I'd like to attend the next one, but I don't know where to look for a calendar of events.