All Forum Posts by: Mike D.

I have several tenants who are a bit below market rent. They are good tenants who have been there for a few years, but I want to bring them closer to the market rate. I'm thinking October is about the worse possible time since I'd be looking for tenants in November if they decided to leave.

Thoughts?

How many units are there? Even for a 4 Plex the rents seem very low for California. And why the $10000 up front repairs and $6000 closing costs? Seems like you could raise the rents substantially. Have you done an analysis of the local area to see if rents could be raised and how much? Another reason your cash flow is low is because of the small down payment.

Where do you see apartment buildings for sale these days? Broker connection, MLS, network of owners? It's so hard to find anything for sale in my area so I'm curious how others are getting leads.

I own 2 adjacent 4 plexes. It saves money in snow, lawn, and trash. But I could never come up with a reason to combine the parcels.

Going to the property to meet contractors and showings is my biggest time waster. I have a key lock box for showing vacant units and a safe inside with an electronic combination that I allow contractors to access. That way I don't have to meet contractors at the site when tenets aren't home.

If they're paying rent on time and aren't causing problems my philosophy has been get as much cash flow out of the old carpet and paint as you can. You know you're going to have to replace those things for any new renter so why put the cash up. If you get tired of the tenant always being dirty just give them a notice to leave and explain you want to remodel the unit before the year is up so she has to leave. I'd give her 60 days notice. That's what I've done in the past.

I was raised to buy and not lease, but I'm really starting to question that philosophy on a vehicle that depreciates so quickly. Especially for new vehicles you loose 25% of the value driving it off the lot, then you have the expense of selling it or trading it in for a value below market. If you just need something to get you around, then buy. But if you want a new vehicle. Would consider leasing it.

I would definitely get it reviewed by an attorney. You can find one to do that for a couple hundred. And at the same time have him review your other documents like rules, checklists and applications. Especially with applications it's not hard to violate the fair housing laws today. Make sure you find an attorney with experience in that area. It makes a difference.

I've seen turnkey 12 plexes here. They're not easy to come by. The ones I see are usually not listed on the MLS. I would suggest researching who the multi family brokers are in your area and tell them what you're looking for

Hi Joel. Did you make a decision on this property? There's a building I'm interested in here with identical specs but it's vacant so would require some build out. Thanks, Mike