All Forum Posts by: Bradley Padula

Welcome to self-managing rental units :) I'd be interested to know what quality of area this is in, A? B? C? D?

Between the rental units I own and the ones I manage through my property management company, there are almost always some things that pop up for the first month or two as tenants settle into a new space. Your tenants complaints don't seem too out of the ordinary. It seems like these small things all combined at once and noticed when they moved in is adding to their frustration. 

I do this, and recommend you do going forward, is take a video walkthrough of the house between tenants including inside and outside of dishwashers, all appliances, floors rooms walls everything etc. If they say its dirty I would have them send me a picture and would compare it with my video walkthrough. If in fact the cleaner missed it, then you simply call the professional cleaner and have them come back to clean it. Blame it on the cleaner and have it corrected, easy

Mouse droppings is a valid concern. An exterminator is fairly inexpensive to hire and then you wouldn't have these tenants setting traps (correctly or potentially incorrectly) and not address the issue properly. You filled the spots you found with steel wool but there could be spots you missed and the problem could just get worse over time. I don't think plugging a few holes with steel wool and giving the tenants traps is the best that can be done. I'd bring in a pro. 

The brown water is interesting, that I would have them send me a picture or video of prior to coming out to look at. If they say its intermittent, ok send me a pic when it happens again so I can show my plumber. If they can never send you a picture because its not happening then that puts and end to that issue quickly. Sometimes towns flush water hydrants or do work on main water lines. Usually this info is available on town websites or by calling town office. Could have been a bad timing coincidence 

If a tenant wanted to bring in their own washer and dryer I'd be happy, no wear and tear on my items and no service calls when the washer doesn't work or the dryer doesn't dry. Most rentals in my area don't provide washers or dryers to tenants. Most have their own they bring with them from place to place. There is a big marketplace for used appliances so you can always sell them, I understand your concern about them sitting, the dryer could sit indefinitely and the washer would be the main item of concern that I'd just sell 

Like others have said, you ultimately picked these tenants out of the 50 applicants you had. Use this to gain experience as to what you can do next time to avoid this, either on the tenant screening end or on the preparing the unit. I'd level set with them over a phone call or in person, not texting where there is no tone or inflection, that the issues they've brought up you've addressed immediately and lined up the people needed to fix and you want to have a good remainder of tenancy with them

Hey Matt, 

Ring is compatible with several smart lock brands (schlage, kwikset etc). Basically you get a call from the ring doorbell and it prompts you to open the app and unlock the door. There is one main owner on the ring account (you) and you can add users. Between the ring and the smartlock it would be a semi expensive system to implement but it seems like it would satisfy what you're looking for. Keep in mind i believe Ring charges some sort of subscription fee.  There are some good articles online if you search "ring and smart lock". ring also has some info on their website. It looks like a "ring base station" is required to make these work, not sure if there is a work around, and also wondering if you'd need your own dedicated wifi in the house to connect all this too

 Owning a few properties myself and as a property manager for other investors I am imagining now the calls I would be getting when this system isn't working properly, batteries die, motorized lock stops working etc, so living in new england with the elements and temperatures we experience I would not recommend this to the owners of the properties I manage 

I have an up down style 2 family with a common entry door that sounds very similar to your setup. If your main issue is the tenants leaving the common door wide open and you're worried about vandalism or rain/snow etc getting into your common entry area, you could install self close hinges on the door so it would automatically shut after its been opened which would eliminate that problem 

LVP for flooring, much more tenant proof. For paint I use a nice neutral grey called Revere Pewter from Ben Moore. So much easier with touch-ups and repainting when you have one go to color for all walls. Initially I had 4 or 5 different colors between properties. It was a headache to remember the color that was used 2, 3, etc years ago to match one specific wall. Switching to one standardized colors has made life alot easier

Another vote for Cozy here, easy for tenants to link their bank account, nice reporting one click to export an excel of payment history come tax season, I also like how it sends an automated "upcoming rent due" reminder email to tenants out a few days before 1st of the month. Based on cozy's website it says it helps tenants credit scores by reporting on time payments, on the other hand late payments.. 

Hey Rowan congrats on planning your house hack!  I would be thinking a few things here:

1 - 1st step, Asking my lender, will I even be able to get a loan from you on a fully occupied property, and if so under what conditions you could still get the loan if the property is fully occupied? I'd be asking them would one of the existing lease agreements have to end within the 'move in' window to allow the loan to be given. There is a certain amount of time after an FHA loan closes that you are required to move in but you'd need to check with lender(s) for specifics. I'd ask at least three The easiest bet like you are saying is currently completely empty property, or one that will be vacant upon closing. Then you can fill the unit you wont be occupying with a tenant you've screened, have Your lease in place, have set the rent to what you want etc

2 - Eviction cost, process, duration. Talk to a few attorney's. Say you are able to get the loan and the tenant refused to vacate at the end of their lease and you have to go the eviction route it will help to know the rough length and cost of an eviction, both of which can vary greatly. Generally expect repairs once a tenant getting evicted finally vacates.. You'd want to do your due diligence and make sure the deal still makes sense and you have enough reserves to to make it through the months it takes to evict someone 

I'm directionally close to you (I'm over in MA), happy to connect over a phone call if you want to chat in more detail. Send me a message anytime! 

Some good points in this thread. I own a few properties and also run a property management company myself.I think one thing you could do after this situation is simply talk to your property manager and tell him what you expect in terms of communication during these types of situations going forward. I think your desire for responsive communication is completely justified

I've found that every owner is different. Some will want my firm to handle problems end to end with as little communication as possible to not bother them. Others, which sound like you, want to be filled in each step of the way. I cater my communication individually to fit each client.

I'd just talk to your PM and tell them what you want out of your business relationship with them. If they can't give you what you want, there are always other PM's 

23, SFH foreclosure in 2016

Good advise in this thread. I recommend talking to 3 or 4 lenders, you'll get a good sense after talking to a few, and at the same time can start developing relationships 

Good idea @Jenni Utz. One idea is also where the funding comes from the parent but instead of the parent buying the house and being the bank, the parent's contribution is limited specifically to the down payment funds. Ask around to find a lender that accepts gift funds as a source of the down-payment. This allows the loan to be exclusively then in the child's name and the loan is underwritten and determined by the child's income, debts etc, but the down-payment was funded by the parent. 

Also, if the child can't afford the downpayment, I would be asking myself "Well how are they going to afford an emergency repair like a furnace replacement, eviction, roof replacement, or even an appliance replacement, etc".

I would replace the two damaged windows and leave the rest. Like others have said, Windows don't really have an impact on appraised value. However for prospective tenants, if the windows have peeling paint, don't open/close right it will be a headache to be fixed after they move in and complain to you. I would inspect the existing windows now and make sure they visually look appealing and function property. Calk, make weather tight and paint now. An old window with nice paint, opens and closes easily will be a non issue for tenants and buyers down the road. An old window with peeling paint, and one that is hard to open/close is a maintenance call waiting to happen. Best to get ahead of it now while you're already working on the property! Good luck with your BRRRR!