PM for one half of duplex while living in the other??

Question

My wife and I are going to be closing on our first RI which is a Duplex in Jacksonville, NC. We are inheriting a tenant that has been in there for 15 years, is paying $695/mo, she’s on a month to month lease and is talking about possibly getting out because she is starting to have trouble getting up and down stairs. She is currently going through a management company and neither party has had any issue with each other. That being said it brings me three questions.

-Once my wife and I move in should we continue using a PM for the other half? (I’m currently active duty Marine Corps, we are about to have our first child in less than a month and my wife plans on working shortly after our son arrives)

-Should we raise the rent on the inherited tenant? I was going to raise it to $750 once we move in and then increase to market value which is around $850-$950 next year. Thoughts on that?

-If lose the tenant should we continue with a PM? My wife would like to due to having such a loaded plate of me being active duty, having a new born and her eventually going back to work. I wanted to manage it ourselves to save the money and to gain the experience but at the same time I don’t want to stress my wife out with it all. Thoughts on that as well?

Kyle Falkenstein · Answer

@Dennis Cosgrave Will do! Thanks again for reaching out.

Dennis Cosgrave · Answer

That is not a bad idea, however, I would still give her a 90 day option either way.

Kyle Falkenstein · Answer

@Dennis Cosgrave thanks for your input, I will be discussing with my wife about managing it.

She’s a really clean and quite tenant and treats the place like her own.

My question to that would be if we offer to bring her up to market value immediately and install a chair lift for her (especially if it keeps her in there for another 10+ years) and possibly any other future partially handicap tenants to use, would that be a good or bad idea?

Dennis Cosgrave · Answer

You really don't need a PM for a duplex if you are going to live in one of the two units. I would suggest that you find a reliable handy man who can deal with any repairs that might be necessary while you are on active duty. The rest is pretty simple to manage.

As far as the tenant is concerned, I would give her 90 days notice that the rent is going to be raised to market value. Since she is thinking about moving anyway, this gives her lots of time to find a living arrangement that is better suited to her needs.

PM for one half of duplex while living in the other??

4 Replies