All Forum Posts by: Timothy Meuse

Have you explored the option of doing a HELOC? This would most likely allow you to do a 90% LTV or more depending on the lender. In addition you do not have to change your current mortgage. I'm assuming your rate is better now then what you will get on a cash out refi, and you will not have to pay closing costs for a heloc.

@Matthew Catanzariti

Hi Matthew,

I am an agent in the North Shore and would be happy to answer any questions you may have. Feel free to send me a message.

Sincerely,

Tim Meuse

@Juliano Pereira and @Thomas Hickey

As a licensed plumber in Massachusetts I can tell you that permits for plumbing work can only be issued to licensed plumbers.  However I believe electrical permits are different.  Homeowners can pull their own permits and perform their own work as long as it is to code and inspected. 

Hey Thomas, to go from an FHA to another FHA banks typically do not approve unless they have a reason to. If you go fha to fha they want to have a clear "life" reason such as wanting to move closer to work to cut down commute, move into a larger sq footage unit because you plan on growing your family, etc. I work with some pretty great lenders that know the ins and outs, feel free to message me.

We ran into a similar situation in the duplex we purchased. The floors were all hardwood so we did not have to deal with removing carpets, but if you have carpets I would recommend removing them. For the walls and ceiling before we painted we used TSP cleaner you should be able to find it at Home Depot, it is very strong so you should plan on wearing thick rubber gloves. Then we primed with Kilz just be cautious if it is the oil based one it will have a very strong odor, after priming we painted the entire unit. Also leave the windows open as often as possible, I understand it is a tough time of year to do that here in Massachusetts. Lastly the bathroom will probably be the toughest to eliminate the smoke odor, since the bathroom steams up while using the shower the smoke really locks into the walls. We gutted our bathroom out completely not because of the smoke just because it needed it. I would recommend the TSP in the bathroom as well and just keep changing the water often. Good Luck hopefully this helped, and make sure when you go to rent it out it states NO SMOKING in the lease that is written up.

Ben I am a plumber as well and I agree with Daniel. In addition to the added up front cost you also have to take into account that they need to be serviced at least every 2 years at about $200. When parts go on them they are more costly then your traditional cast iron boiler parts  and not always readily availablr. There are so many plumbers out there that don't know enough about them either. If the tenants pay their own utilities I would put in a traditional cast iron boiler low maintenance, cheaper, and last longer.  If you want to save the earth and have unlimited funds/time for repairs/maintenance go with the high efficiency. Myself I would put in a cast iron boiler even though most plumbers will disagree with me.

@Rich N. not trying to cause drama and I know they were not technically late when I posted that but I was just trying to get ahead of the possible situation before it became an issue. Was just looking for some advice and I have found my answer.  I will try not to post anything "pre-maturely" again.

Thank you for all the responses @Vince Leydet your response sounds very reasonable and if needed will be the route I go in the future

They must have known I was talking about them rent check just went into the mail slot.

My tenants have been in place on my first rental now for about 6months no issues so far.  On the first of every month my rent check is put into my mail slot on my door, however today that did not happen.  It may be something as simple as they didnt realize it was the 1st of the month however I would like to set the tone now. My question is should I draft a 14 day notice to quit tonight and deliver it to them tommorrow regardless of if I get the check by tommorrow just to show im serious about being late? Should I give them a 3 day grace period before giving them a notice.?They are great tenants a retired older couple that meet all the rental requirements and I dont think they even realize quite yet that the rent is late.  If thats not the case I just want to be proactive and get ahead of this before it becomes an issue. Any advice would be helpful, oh and by the way im located in the Tenant Friendly State of Massachusetts as well.