All Forum Posts by: Tarun Kapoor

I own a condo that is 2 bedroom , 2.5 bath and is built on 2 levels. There are 4 recent sales in the last 3-4 months in the same building but all those condos were 3 bedrooms/2 bath and were on a single level. The size of my condo is almost same as the size of these other condos. My condo floorplan is just better.

If i stick to these 4 datapoints, can i assume that i can sell my condo in the ballpark of the average sales price of those recent sales ? Or will i have to take a decent hit because mine is only 2 bedrooms as opposed to the comps which were all 3 bedrooms ? 

Thanks in advance.

Since RE is not my main job, I cant take calls all day. I encourage emails and texts. All my tenants are tech saavy in that way and like this as well.

Also, I am not sure if you can forever pretend to be the property manager and not the owner.

Hmmm, comparison of apples to oranges. A mortgage company usually does not care about the repeat business. Most of the people own 1 or less home. In cases, where you are an investor and get several loans from the bank then in many occasions they do show their gesture. The gesture might not be in the form of money because there are regulations against that kind of thing.

Obviously no one is suggesting to give a gift card in a situation where the gesture has no value. For example, if the only consideration is financial and the tenant will not renew the lease if they found a cheaper place, then no one is suggesting to send a gift card.

We all know that a tenant is not going to renew their lease ONLY because they love the gift card at Christmas. In my case and in many cases, tenants do appreciate the gesture of a gift card. Since most landlords don't do this, my tenants find this special and it strengthens the brand value i am creating by providing otherwise good service. Strengthening your brand value has numerous advantages that you can look up.

Are most of your properties in warzones where the lease renewal decisions are quite dependent on financial considerations? Or do you own big buildings where there is salaried management staff to get new tenants and area vacancy is low and therefore the risk of vacancy is low ? In such cases gift card dont add additional value i would agree.

You also suggested that sending gift cards made you look weak and they started delaying their rents. I believe it does not have much to do with the gift card. Unfortunately its a screening issue. You got the wrong tenants. And i am not suggesting to give gift cards to such tenants.

Thanks Jon K. for the prompt response. Let me furnish the missing info.

Revolving balance: $9,000
Car Loan: $3,500
Never missed a payment in 5 years (not 3)

She was jobless for few months. Previous employer liked her too.

I am new to landlording and this is my first time reviewing a credit report.

Rent: $1,100
Monthly income (before tax): $5,500
Credit Score: 778 (did not miss any payment in last 3 years)
Min. Monthly Payments: 550 (which includes a car payment and the min payments on credit cards)

However, all the credit cards are pretty much maxed out. She was out of job for a few months and just started a new job last month which could explain why. I talked to the new employer and they were very happy with her. The job is a full time job with all benefits and everything.

Rent/Income ratio is fine and so is the credit score. I am worried about her high credit card balances. I like the tenant as a person but i am new to this and not sure if this thing is a straight NO-NO in the books of the experienced landlords here.

Thanks in advance. I really appreciate some advise.

TK

I ended up buying these from overstock.com

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/GlideRite-6-inch-Solid-Stainless-Steel-Finished-Cabinet-Bar-Pulls-Case-of-25/6172351/product.html

I thought this was an amazing price. I needed nice ones since i have a fancier kitchen (granite, backsplash, new cabinets etc)

I am working on remodeling a fourplex. Its my first project so i have been hit by some surprises to say the least. I need around 15 or so cabinet pulls per kitchen and home depot/lowes are selling decent ones at $4 a piece. This is going to add up !

I was wondering if people know of a website that has a nice collection of builder packs ? Menards has some set of 10 builder packs but the variety is quite limited.

Hi Gary, Welcome to BP. I am in Minneapolis as well. I own a couple condos in St Louis Park and recently bought a fourplex in uptown. Let me know if you want to bounce off ideas or something.

* I don't know of any amazing deals. The number of good investment properties in twin cities area are very very limited and you have to be ready to make an offer or go through non MLS channels. I made offers on 4 properties last year after filtering reviewing around 100+ and then finally closed on this fourplex in uptown..

My dwelling amount is $400K, liab of $2mn. 1909 duplex and i am paying $340 a month and that was after shopping around. Its a replacement cost insurance and not ACV. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples....

Plus I'm in Minnesota and we get all types of crazy weather...

Don Koss Hi Don, thanks for the answer. My main focus is less headaches (less plumbing calls), which is why i started this topic. Can you tell me the reason for the leaks you had ? I am not an expert at this topic but if the space between sink and the granite is sealed, it shouldnt leak.

I dont plan on providing a garbage disposal as thats normal for the area. But someone was telling me that i need to, if i am adding a dishwasher because tenants dont clean their plates before putting them in dishwasher and it clogs the pipes.