All Forum Posts by: Tim M.

Ken Latchers - I have a 4 unit in PA that has separate water meters. My advice is to bite the bullet and pay for the submetering. I've seen [b]individual bills over 100/month - when someone else is paying the bill (you), these tenants will abuse it to no end. They keep sink water running so their beloved cat always has fresh water, etc. Funny though, as soon as they are paying the bill, you'll see it drop by at least half. Guess felix goes back to toilet water...
1k per meter install sounds extremely high - is it possible to do most of the 'grunt work' yourself? Running new feeds, etc - then just having the water co. install the actual meters. I admit, I don't know what it SHOULD cost to do this - but even at 5k, I'd do it in a heartbeat. It will pay back rather quickly - and will certainly alleviate stress immediately.
As for the laundry - if neighboring comps in the area do not have laundry AND are all paying their own water, at roughly the same rent: that kind of answers your question. Take it out. You may have some immediate turnover, but the upside is you now get a chance to put some better tenants in place. Also, if you were to keep laundry - wouldn't that be another sepate meter (you pay)?

I'll preface this by saying I'm not an accountant - so at least this will bump this thread - I'm also curious as to the real answers by someone more knowledgeable.
It's my understanding that these fees are not added to the basis, they are ammortized over the loan term - much like prepaid interest. As to which property schedule to deduct them - great question. I would think it depends on which property is actually paying for it. Hopefully a pro can answer this.

I tend to agree with Nathan Emmert on this one. Your 13k IS an investment, and it would be getting you about a 26% cash on cash return with this refi. Unless you could park this 13k elsewhere and get a greater return, the refi sounds like a good strategy. Plus the benefits of buying equity, etc. The only downside I see is you now wouldn't have that money available for CapEx or repairs - maybe consider taking some (or most) of that new cash flow and setting it aside for this repair 'fund'. After you sell in a few years, anything left in this 'fund' is your profit. Of course, if the fund is depleted by then, then it was all a moot point... I suppose it all really depends on how much CapEx or repairs will be needed in the next 4-5 years.

I have a similar situation with a 4 unit. Two units are Sec 8 and two are not. The two sec 8 both rent for @100 more/mo. As Joel Owens said, in my case it's because their voucher includes some utilities. In my analysis I do include the higher rental rate, as I feel pretty safe knowing there is basically a waiting list of Sec 8 tenants for my units. I can fill a vacancy and get that rate quickly and easily. As everyone also mentioned though, don't short yourself on expenses. I have no horror stories about Sec 8 tenants or HUD inspections (yet?) - but it may be somewhat geographical.
I also have all 4 units submetered for water - tenants foot the bill. Depending on how your plumbing is set up (4 separate lines tapped off main in basement?), it may be pretty inexpensive to submeter. Definitely worth it in the long run if you are able. It's amazing how tenants simply don't care when someone else is paying the water bill - watering the sidewalks, etc. It's also a great way to get them to notify you at the first sign of a toilet/faucet leak - before any major flooding.

I see - after thinking about it I saw my error. Although, more participants COULD mean less payout (more winners) which then could affect your expectation value, correct? Regardless of how you look it, we all have a better chance of contracting a rare flesh eating virus, or getting struck by lightning twice...

Jon Holdman Wow - your lotto analysis is as comprehensive as your great RE analysis! Just curious - where does the 176 mil win probability come from? Wouldn't the win probability be based on the number of participants?

Agreed Rusty Thompson - in fact, the odds actually go down. More money = more people buying tickets. And yet, I still bought 5 tickets... at least it was with a pool of 30 people - 150 chances to win, albeit maybe a mere 7 mil instead of 200.

Tony Sas - I heard you could use darker colors for vinyl as well. I have to say though, I painted the white vinyl siding with a darker sage green color (edamame the wife says). I'm guessing this wasn't a 'vinyl-safe' color - but I was trumped because it was a 'wife-safe' color... I do have some warping, nothing too bad at all and doesn't seem to harm anything, but it is noticeable up close when we have temperature swings. This is the full-sun lake side of the house though. But I'd still do it again, even knowing this now. This was even on my personal residence, I wouldn't hesitate to use it on a rental if needed.

Brian Hoyt - I did a ton of research as well, and you're absolutely correct. I also talked to a few pros who used SW Duration exclusively, they won't touch anything else for exterior painting, and they also won't do a base coat unless it's new siding. I was able to see a couple neighbor houses where this paint had been used a few years earlier, still going strong. In my case the siding was already weathered - so it was already 'scuffed', adhesion is much better with older siding than newer shiny stuff - no base coat or sanding required. The chalkyness was removed with a powerwash - with a little TSP added. This paint was designed to be flexible. I live on a lake in the northeast - so I get the sun reflection from the lake all summer long, then we get below freezing in the winter. Obviously, I'm sold on this paint for aluminum. As for the vinyl (on addition) - we'll see how that goes. I figured a couple hours a few bucks was worth a try. If I get a year out of the vinyl it was worth it - but I'm hoping much more.

I agree with all - Tony Sas is right on. I did exactly that this past spring with SW Duration. In fact, older weathered alum siding (like mine) is even easier. Just give it a quick powerwash, let dry, start painting - brush, roll, or spray - all looks good. If it is newer siding and still has a smooth sheen you may need to lightly sand to give the new paint something to bite into. I actually had a small addition that had vinyl siding and used the same SW Duration right over that to match the rest of the house. I was a little concerned because the vinyl was newer, thought it may peel, etc. - but the pros told me it's an industrial paint and can be used basically on anything. So far, so good. Like Tony said, you want to make sure you don't go too dark (over either alum or vinyl). It's amazing what a coat of paint can do to your house.