BiggerPockets

So A few items running through my head.

Apartment complex we just acquired.Landlord left over a hundred key snot labeled.

1.I was thinking is it possible for a locksmith to make a master key that opens ALL doors??I would imagine not as they are different lock sets replaced over time.

2.In the lease there are no pets listed but many tenants have pets.The tenants said they would pay a fee to keep the pets.So Instead of a security deposit I was thinking of a one time "pet acceptance fee".

This way instead of a security deposit having to be escrowed in a separate account the money can be spent right away to increase cash flow.

3.I was thinking to prevent toilet clogs the tenants should put those child safety toilet hinges on top of the lid so they toys etc. do not get stuck in the pipe.

4.One of my tenants cars is sitting in the parking lot without a tag and a flat tire and the tenant says they don't have money to fix.Do I get that hauled away?? It looks junkie and has no tag.

5.Thinking about adding solar lights outside for the night time for security for the buildings and to deter crime.

Hi Joel,

3. We have in all of our leases a rule that after the second time of a plumbing back up that is tenant inflected, the tenant pays for the plumbing repairs. (Includes toys in toilet, backing up kitchen sink, or drain line clogs from excessive paper towels).

4. The tenant won't typcially get the car fixed if they have a financial issue. Our insurnce comany will not allow unoperating or unregistered cars on the property. Also code enforcement does not allow this. We usually tell the tenant they have 7 days to register the car or remove it, in writing. We give them the number to a vehicale donation company that will remove it for free. Other wise it costs $245 to remove and and we pass that fee on to the tenant. Let the tenant know it is the insurance company and city that has an issue with their car.

5. Besides the lights, have one of the longer term tenants keep an eye on the property for you. We call them granny gooses(they let the neighbors know they are watching the property and we have less problems this way).

Good Luck.

Hi Joel,

Are you plannning on rising the rents or rehabbing the building to increase value? We have bought many different buildings with low rents at great prices. When we had tenants that could not pay or were on the weekly pay plan(hotel payment plan.... a joke).

We would tell them that if they paid there rent on time, they would go to the top of the list to get repairs/improvements done in their units. We were very suprised with how willing they were to pay and they wanted to know when their turn was to have a nicer apartment. This was especially true with long term tenants.

Do you have the lease applications from the old management company? You might want to reveiw them with the tenants and see if they need to be updated so you can really determine whom has the ability to pay.
Christine

Yes I am planning on raising the rents.It is an A location with older buildings.

The previous landlord just became burned out and let things go with tenants paying full amounts and not fixing deferred maintenance.

Some of the tenants complaints have been repair issues.I told them rent issues and repair issues are completely separate.They are expected to pay rent or will be evicted.Most of the lease are coming due in September.I am not going to give them 1 year long term leases at a reduced rate.

So they have to invest in the process.New roofs are going on in the next 1 to 2 weeks along with other improvements.Currently many of the tenants do not have security deposits.They did originally but the old landlord gave them a credit off of back rent owed and they used up most of their deposits so resigned at zero deposit.

Some have quoted they want new carpet.I will look into it but want a security deposit from them to do it.So a lot of this is them trying to see what they can get away with which will be nothing.

We went out and posted that we are the new owners etc. then a few days later went out again and gave a note and had them sign an acknowledgement form along with the copy of the lease they signed before stating the payment they owed.

Slated to go out and pick up payment on the first.When kind of repairs did you promise to make??

We have to watch the tenants here because they will try and say 1 stove burner is not working to try and get the landlord to pay for a new appliance.

Some of the tenants would say we can't pay and can be out by the 20th etc.I told them this is not acceptable.If they want to be out early then that's fine.If they are going to hold up the unit for the month without paying there is a 100 late fee in the lease,a 200 eviction fee,and we will sue for damages and get a judgement and put late payment and judgement on the credit report.

I want word to travel fast that we are a great landlord but payments are expected or you will be gone period.

Thanks Christine.You and others have lots of great ideas.

There are 20 units total.Rehabbed units get 950 a month.Other units we have that need work get 780 to 860 a month.

I want to get them all above 900 with the improvements.

The property management fee is usually 5%.Instead I have a PM I can trust a child hood friend that is doing an excellent job.He is going to be an onsite PM living in one of the units.I will expense a payment to him for the PM and then he will pay rent to show gross income on the property.

There is an opportunity for more units on the same street so I might acquire more.I can't run them day to day because of my commercial real estate brokerage I own.I figured an onsite person will keep the tenants in check.

Thanks for the help.

4. As a car guy, just make sure you're not towing away (sending to get crushed) something that someone else might pay for the privilege of restoring.

5. Improving lighting is paramount! Especially if the neighborhood is so-so. A good combination of motion-detector lights and dusk-to-dawns will make the place feel a lot safer. They are coming out with solar-powered LED versions of the above, so those would be a great way to update the feel of the building, improve safety, and save some money (though the LED stuff is still a tad bit overpriced, IMO).