All Forum Posts by: Anthony Freeman

Quote from @Anthony Freeman:

Quote from @Richard F.:

Aloha,

This is totally dependent on current age and condition of the specific property, and how accurate you want your budget to be. A newer property in very good condition will require less per month NOW, than an older property that has been milked dry by a prior owner. It will need much more in 10 or 20 years. It is important to understand that every element of the property has an "expected" life, and this varies by the type of element. Your job is to estimate how much life is left in each element, thereby predicting when it will need to be replaced or have major maintenance. Develop your budget from that information.

Of course, the easy way is to pick a % number and hope it is close to accurate; or that you have buckets of money when something "unexpected" needs immediate replacement. The fact is, 'normal" failure can be reasonably predicted. There are lots of residential construction "useful life" statistical charts found on the internet.

 Makes sense. Has budgeting kept you away from disaster or have you faced hard times due to repairs anyway?

 A budget is just a tool to help you plan for expenditures. If you take steps to create a reasonably accurate budget, based on facts, vs. guesswork, it will provide a better, more accurate plan. For those people starting out or in early phases of RE investing, this can be very important when you have limited resources for problem solving. For others that have essentially unlimited resources and decades of experience, it is much less important to be accurate, and becomes more a measure of performance.

The fact is, there are some large ticket items than can fail suddenly, others that deteriorate over longer periods due to lack of preventative maintenance. If you are not able to adequately identify those elements and prepare for them, you will often be faced with a large expenditure when you can least afford it. You just have to read these forums to see how often this happens shortly after purchasing a property. Water supply lines; waste and sewer lines (or septic systems); roofing; gutter/downspout systems; window  units; electrical system; HVAC systems; foundation; structural framing; exterior walking surfaces (frontage sidewalks and driveways); as well as more cosmetic interior items including paint, floorcovering, cabinetry, fixtures, and major appliances, all can create some level of hardship if you are not prepared for them...some much more than others, obviously.

Always remember, prevention is much less costly than remediation. Preventative maintenance is the best way to extend the life of most elements. Be pro-active, and do the right things right.

Quote from @Anthony Freeman:

Best way to clean mold from a shower?

 REALLY!!!! bleach, come on with these questions lately, BP is becoming FB, 

@Steve Tom

I have never had a lease provision that stated when a tenant terminates the lease early there is a fee or they can assist with finding a new tenant. It usually is just a straight fee of 1-2 months of rent, and that is it. This is now a tough position since they assisted with finding a replacement tenant but, they are not moving right in. I am not sure what else you can do in this situation. I would change the lease for future tenants to have a straight fee of 1-2 months of rent to make this much clearer and straightforward. Is there any work you can do to the unit to command a higher rent? Maybe let them vacate, do some repairs, and updates, and put it back on the market for a higher price.

trying not to be negative... But, we are fielding questions about cleaning mold from a shower?

Quote from @Anthony Freeman:

Quote from @Bob S.:

Quote from @Anthony Freeman:

Best way to clean mold from a shower?

 REALLY!!!! bleach, come on with these questions lately, BP is becoming FB, 

 Can you elaborate I am not sure exactly what you mean.

Meaning this is a waste of time, you are asking how to clean your shower, come on man! 

Good luck 

Quote from @Anthony Freeman:

Best way to clean mold from a shower?

 This stuff works great - we have started carrying it in our company cars - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N3Y22K4?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_prod... 

Quote from @Anthony Freeman:

What percentage of monthly income do you budget for repairs? (Small multi unit family)

The average cost for all properties around the nation is 10%. Adjust according to the age and condition of your property. I have some that are closer to 20%.

Aloha,

This is totally dependent on current age and condition of the specific property, and how accurate you want your budget to be. A newer property in very good condition will require less per month NOW, than an older property that has been milked dry by a prior owner. It will need much more in 10 or 20 years. It is important to understand that every element of the property has an "expected" life, and this varies by the type of element. Your job is to estimate how much life is left in each element, thereby predicting when it will need to be replaced or have major maintenance. Develop your budget from that information.

Of course, the easy way is to pick a % number and hope it is close to accurate; or that you have buckets of money when something "unexpected" needs immediate replacement. The fact is, 'normal" failure can be reasonably predicted. There are lots of residential construction "useful life" statistical charts found on the internet.