All Forum Posts by: Michael Totman

Other than digging through individual property details in assessors offices or county registry's, copying and pasting the info into spreadsheets, where would one find a nice list of property owners to use in a simple mail merge label printing program?  

What do other houses in the neighborhood have? Are these 2 - 4 unit houses or 8+ units?  On property laundry is a huge luxury for tenants but I've struggled with the idea of coin op in my two family units. Will it earn enough to pay for itself, will I need a machine for each unit so I don't have the "Susan upstairs is hogging the machine on every weekend and she don't even work during the week" fights, etc.  When I offer regular laundry in the unit I get a lot of ad responses and I found that $25/month premium in rent should about cover it. 

Oh Jim I forgot to ask, if lots of rent is paid in cash and you are managing it yourself from out of state, how do you plan to get that cash into your bank account? It's "tricky" sending cash through the mail...

Sounds shady Jim, if it were me I would not do this as my first deal. An out of state owners agent of a C+ property tells you "don't worry, lots of rent is paid in cash to avoid taxes, it's totally legit..." and you are still considering it? Run buddy.  Honestly if you still have these questions as your about to pull the trigger then you're not ready to pull the trigger.  The only way to know if it's a decent deal is to view it, run the numbers, and compare it to similar properties in the same area. Sounds like you have not done this. 

I'm not sure how you manage a property from out of state, you'll need to have someone local that can handle maintenance, emergencies, etc. 

There is absolutely no way you can verify the cash rent payments, not even when the seller presents you with verified receipts.  It's cash, and they can do wonders with Photoshop these days...

If you still want to buy an out of state property let me know, there are plenty I can sell you up here and I'll even manage them for you. 

Best of luck, make sure your research is solid, and be wary of this deal!

"....I read a book once that told me to do this...." words to live by, and also words to die by.  I always wonder who those authors are, what year was the book written, and from what tax jurisdiction.  Sometimes they are accurate, sometimes not, but nothing can substitute for real life professional advice...

Welcome Kathleen, good luck on your journey.  I focus primarily on the south shore but anytime you have any questions I'm always interested in talking with MA investors!

Hi everyone, I'm a landlord in Massachusetts and I've been dealing with two separate housing authorities who administer my tenants section 8 vouchers and am getting conflicting information from them both regarding HUD rent limits.

I have a three family building, all units are identical and stacked on top of each other. I have two different tenants, in the same building with identical units, whose section 8 vouchers are administered by two different housing authorities. I'm trying to receive a fair rent but one authority tells me that their HUD limits are one value, the other tells me they are a different value, and the two are hundreds of dollars apart.

One is what I would consider fair and we've been able to reach a contract. 

The other is not what I consider fair and they refuse to raise the rent. This tenant was inherited when I bought the building last year and this is the period when their contract is up for renewal. The housing authority insist the HUD limits prevent them from paying my requested rent or even increasing it at all, while the other authority had no issue entering into a contract for the requested amount. I've requested the same amount for both.

Has anyone ever faced an issue like this, and have you successfully negotiated a higher rent that is well supported by local comparable values and even HUD numbers that you've received from a housing authority?

Any tips on what I can do? I've already sent them comp rents from MLS, provided data from my other units in the same neighborhood, and shared the HUD info from the different authority with them. They won't budge and I don't want to have to evict the tenant.

I recently dealt with a 5am call from a 3rd floor tenant in a building in which the roof was torn off in a storm. They were there with the fire department and everyone with water pouring in through the smoke alarms and lights in the ceiling. That was a fun day....landlording is not the horror stories those that have never done it make it out to be, nor is it a sit back and simply collect checks and get rich game that tenants think it is. It is what it is. 

Have you got a list of sold listings and DOM from an MLS? I imagine you can get the info there.

If it hasn't sold yet then the price is too high.  Regardless the situation or condition of the property there is a price at which it would sell quickly.  The key is to find that and convince the seller it's accurate. Run the numbers, what will the renovation cost be, what can you expect in reasonable rent, how difficult will it be to manage, what costs, and if it fits your criteria then make an offer. Offer low and make them counter.  It's approaching four months with no movement so take a shot.