All Forum Posts by: Victor N.

@Erin N. It's neither your fault nor the tenant's but you should do the right thing and pay the entire overcharge. Don't listen to those who want you to find one excuse or another so you can stick it to your tenant.

Welcome to BP @Maua A.!!!

I own a few properties in Meriden. Feel free to PM me if you have any question.

@Robert M. There was an abatement for December so you should not have been paid the rents for December and January. Someone at the Housing Authority failed to stop the payments. 

It looks like your PM was receiving the rents electronically. So it is entirely possible for the housing authority to take the money back electronically ( recall the payment for example) and they have the right to do so because your PM was notified of the abatement and failed to make the repairs: you were not entitled to those rents.

Now, should you refund the money to your PM? That's a different question. They were notified of the reason why the apt failed the inspection but did nothing. On top of that they never informed you. Carpet pulling up is really easy to fix so your PM definitely dropped the ball. I would not refund the money to the PM, then again I've never used a property manager so you should refer to your contract with PM.

 Not opening your mail in time cost you a month's rent. The rent is automatically abated for 1 full month if you fail a re-inspection. They will not pro-rate the rent even if you completed the repairs 1 day after the deadline. 

If you fail the next inspection, not only will you not get paid but the Housing Authority might give your tenant a new voucher and ask them to move out.

I am a section 8 lanldlord who self-manages. My suggestions are:

1) Open you mail the same day you receive it specially if it is business related 

2) Since the inspections are done annually at about the same time, plan ahead. Call your tenant and ask if there are things that need to be fixed. But dont stop there. You should also inspect the property yourself and make the repairs before the inspections.

3) Be present during the initial inspection. The inspector will tell you what issues need to be addressed. You can then start working on the repairs even before you receive the official report. This means that you get a few extra days to make the repairs since you don't have to wait for a report to come in the mail. This also means that you avoid the issue you are currently facing because you didnt open your mail on time.

4) Not only the repairs have to be completed but the Housing Authority must receive the letter/form from you confirming completion by a certain date, which allows them to schedule a re-inspection. So, scan and email, fax or drop off instead of mailing your signed letter and save a couple of days off your deadline.

5) When facing a re-inspection deadline, 2 things need to happen: a- the repair must be completed and b- the housing  authority must received your letter confirming completion of said repairs. The most important of these 2 events is the letter. So when in a crunch for time, send the letter even if all the repairs are not yet completed BUT ONLY if you know 100% that you will get it done before the inspector comes back. That can save you several days.

If you complete the repairs by the deadline but send your letter late, it is still seen as if you did not complete the repairs on time and the rent will be abated.

Good luck!

Earlier today, I was at my local Home Depot to purchase some material and paint. So I stopped by the paint dept where the attendant casually asked me if I wanted some paint? She pointed to a stack behind her and said the magic words " It's free"! I thought she was joking but she was serious!

The brand is "Storm". It looks like Home Depot will stop carrying it and giving away all they have in stock. They even tainted the paint to the color I wanted ( from the "Storm" color booklet).

There are 5 different categories from transparent to solid color. Not sure if this was only at my local store but worth checking out! I got several gallons for free without paying even a penny!

GO GET YOUR FREE GALLON OR 2 OR 4 OR MORE BEFORE IT'S ALL GONE!!!

@Jean Torchon multi families are great specially for cash flow but they have their own set of issues. Advice? there's so much that you will benefit more from them if you have specific questions. 

So here are a few random ones:

* Put a "team" together for repairs/maintenance unless you plan on doing them yourself.

* Get a good lease ( you can find one here on BP) or have your attorney draft one, or use a generic one from Staples and add a few or a lot of addendums to try to customize it.

* Select your tenants VERY VERY carefully! your success and stress level will be very closely linked to whom you select as a tenant ( one of the reasons why some landlords do not like section 8 tenants - I do have a few section 8 tenants myself)

* Learn the tenant/landlord laws of CT. You can grab a free booklet discussing them at any courthouse.

* learn how to manage people/ different personalities specially in a multi family situation ( you will have to manage different tenant expectations regarding noise, parking, common area use, cleanliness, etc)

* Craigslist has a bad reputation but it can be a great resource. Use if to check what other landlords are asking for rent for comparable apts. You can also use the "rent" section of realtor dot com for ideas.

Talk to other landlords in your area and learn from them. Set the rules with your tenants from the get go and be firm but also a little bit flexible based on the situation. Above all, remember that we landlords are in a customer service business! Good luck...

@Brie Schmidt there are some electric heaters that can be installed inside the wall. They have a fan which means they can warm up a room faster. They are easy to install and can be wired using the same connection a regular outlet wire ( they draw less power but put out a lot of heat). Basically, you can install one anywhere you have an outlet. Just check them out! I bought them at the orange big box.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Cadet-Com-Pak-1-500-Watt-120-Volt-Fan-Forced-In-Wall-Electric-Heater-in-Almond-CSC151TA/203208824

seems like your issue was with the type of tenants you selected. So create a PLAN  that solves that issue ( ie: no more college students, only rent to mature professionals, etc etc...) and maybe another plan to improve the property ( specially the exterior - cities love that) and go NEGOTIATE nicely with the city. If you have a strong plan that will prevent another noise complaint then you have a chance. 

It wouldnt hurt to approach the senior living center and discuss your new plans . If you can convince them they might support you or at least not oppose your request with the city.

If all fails, then hire an attorney but I wouldnt go the legal route right away. 

@Charles Ho you can increase your investment in real estate AFTER you convince your wife of the benefits.

I am also invested in the stock market. I am long so I don't trade often but back in '08 when everyone was running away from the stock market, I went in head first. I scooped up a lot of banking/financial stocks that most people were dumping and others. Today my return for those is around 130-150% ( well much less now after this past week market meltdown). All this to say that I like the stock market and would not stop investing in it.

But, I would rank real estate higher because I have more control.

Im married too and when I was in a similar position ( wife not interested in real estate investing) I did all my best to convince her with examples, real numbers based on certain properties that I would pick from the MLS, taxes , current rent etc. It took a while but long story short she gave the ok to buy a bank own duplex for 50k that needed a lot of work. Today we're getting $2400 in rents. We've had a few more since.

So needless to say that she is now SOLD to RE investing. The kicker is that now she gets mad at me because I havent bought a new property in a while. She even sends me MLS listings in hope that I will buy something. So do your home work, convince your wife and she will support the idea.

By the way, $2000 a month on a $450k investment doesn't sound great. Maybe that's the reason why she's not on board and I wouldn't blame her.

I know a little bit about waterbury and there are some area of the city that are pretty awful  and where a house that costs $20,000 is overpriced if it needs a lot of money in rehab because you will never get that money back if you needed to sell. 

If you are only looking for cash flow then it could work. Just make sure you know the area very well before pulling the trigger and are prepared for all issues that come with the neighborhood.