All Forum Posts by: Brandon Ingegneri

Now that the house is completed and has been 100% rented since the beginning of the year, it generates a positive cash flow of just over $2000 per month after paying expenses.  We pinched every penny and tried to put the money where it would have the most impact on the overall value of the property.  

So after a pretty large extensive interior rehab, we took steps to make it look modern, but cut some costs.  We bought a lot of material in bulk, and got some better pricing.  We bought stainless steel appliances, but we scored all of them on a Black Friday sale.  In the lower units, we really did very nice higher end looking bathrooms which I do not have  completed pictures of for some reason.  (This bath picture above is of the top floor studio unit).  All new 6 panel doors, crown molding in the kitchen, and the icing on the cake that got them rented... black hardwood floors.  People went insane when they saw them.  Completely a chance, but it worked out.  We created that modern, lofty feel in a burned out old multi.  We spent the money on making it efficient, and structurally sound, but put the money to work on the finish.  As a result, we were able to choose from a large pool of tenants, and were able to fill 4 additional apartments in other buildings from the showings of all of the units in this building.  

We didn't let this make us nervous though, we just realized that we needed to focus on two things, the mechanicals and how the property would show upon completion.  So, we separated all of the plumbing, heating, and electrical.  We went higher end with each unit getting its own on demand system.  Every single wire, pipe, water line, heating element, etc was replaced and was brand new.  Now we knew we had to focus on the second part, a cost effective but high end finish.  This is where I have to dish out the credit to my partner 100%.  He is a foreman for a large commercial construction company, and does tons of lighting design work on the side for bars, high end houses, clubs, etc so he knows the trends and really just has a knack for picking out cool stuff.  We knew that if we could pump out a really modern looking product at a reasonable price, we could get them rented to quality tenants and build a demand despite the parking situation, and the moderately sized bedrooms.  

We stripped the entire house down completely, changed out all of the windows, and resided and roofed it.  Once we got the exterior completely cleaned up, we immediately put a for rent sign in the window, and had tons of interest.  We next focused on all of our mechanicals.  Every pipe was ripped out, there were tons of holes in the walls, kitchens were damaged and old, you name it.  This was a full blown 5 month rehab through the winter.  We had lots of interest, but no bites on units for a couple of reasons... our big fear, the not parking, smaller bedrooms, and the fact that a lot of people can not imagine layout once something is complete.  They need to physically see it, but we still had a huge amount contact info for potential tenants.  

My partner and I were going to look at a small bathroom remodel one day when we drove by this house.  We saw some pretty extensive fire damage, and immediately did some digging to find the owners.  It turns out this house had been let go, and was bank owned just outside of Providence, RI.  We thought it was a great location, directly on and off the highway, walking distance to a bus line, shopping centers in close proximity, and the commuter rail to Boston minutes away.  Only thing, zero off street parking which scared us, but we rolled the dice and compensated what it lacked with a very low offer.  After we got inside of the house, we realized that the fire damage was extensive, but only damaged a minimal amount of structural elements of the house.  There was severe smoke and water damage, and an existing sagging second floor from the weight of the water, but we knew that was able to be fixed.  What we also learned upon further inspection was that there were 2 other previous fires in this house.  That was our ammo for the negotiation, plus everyone else that inquired about it was scared of the fire damage.  My partner and I have been in construction for some time, and could see the extent of the fire.  Also, being a firefighter, I could accurately assess how specifically the fire damaged the structural elements.  Long story short... $40K for this multi.  

Thank you for the input @Ann Bellamy  Inwill certainly look further into these networking events in the area, and once the site bears some fruit as far as making a purchase or a sale, I believe I will upgrade. I discovered the area where full members are able to post their deals. And yes you are correct, pissing contests are certainly not the reason I am here. Thank you again. 

@Mike Hurney, yes you are correct. I do my best to be respectful of people especially in business. The majority of people I deal with have luckily done the same over the years. Regardless, I have some great stuff on the books and I will contact you through the proper channels to provide you with more detail. I look forward to speaking, and thanks in advance for your time. 

Joanne, I will look at anything with 3 or more units that may be available. 

your welcome @Paulo Tomas.  Obviously any management experience is beneficial. Construction knowledge is a must is your going to have competitive pricing. I have found that having my own in house employees rather than sub contracting has been something that has kept us busy. I have a construction background, we have 2 full time carpenters, my partner is a master electrician, so we always have a full electrical crew, and a couple of guys I work with at the fire department work part time doing general maintenance, painting, etc. building the infrastructure of the company and all of the equipment is the key to being able to deliver promptly, consistently, efficiently, and the ability to do so where your pricing is reasonable enough where you are referred often. 

Tenants love to talk.  If it is a legitimate claim and there was documented neglect on their part, break down exactly what was needed and what costs were associated if you haven't already and forward that to the tenants.  If there are photos, this clearly helps your case.  Im all about avoiding the costly court, but I had a similar issue with a property that I personally manage.  I documented it, and I sited the RI State Statute in my letter that gave me the ability to retain in this case their entire security deposit.  Never heard back from them after multiple threats of court.  

I understand that @Cal C., but what do we as landlords all want?  We want a tenant who respects the rules we set forth, the property, and the terms.  If she split and the boyfriend can foot the bill, I personally wouldn't waste any time chasing her.  I do all month to month leases, because if they leave, even if the courts rule in your favor, their ability to pay is usually not present unless this is a high end rental.  Chasing them through court at least in RI is a costly headache.  If the boyfriend can cut the check and she is in the wind, I'm not wasting my time telling her she is responsible even though she technically is.  If he can't pay, he gets evicted.  I'm not going to evict the girlfriend if she has already moved out.  But yes, you are right, they are both, "Technically" responsible.