All Forum Posts by: Colleen F.

Inspections , If you need a specialist hire one. We had to get a structural inspection and it was worth it. Repairs, bring in contractors to estimate any major needed repair that is complex. You'd be surprised what things cost. Best advice , run the numbers and don't cheat , make sure you include all expenses even if the seller didn't. Our sellers insurance was half ours as he had no coverage...

When you get rent rolls and leases make sure they are complete. Many of the leases we got were just messy and missing pages. Lead disclosures weren't made or there were inconsistencies from lease to lease. Get a payment history. We didn't it worked out okay but I see other people here are not so lucky.

Horror stories well for landlording many are the same issues as single families with the exception that in MF they can hear what goes on next store so sometimes that 's not so good.

Good luck.

Not a chance. Do you provide lawn mowing for single families? We do for one but that is college students. We are thinking about what to do for another single family since it is adjacent to a MF we may include mowing but for other properties in the past we had not. Fertilizing would not even cross my mind just means more mowing to me.

No drop ceilings, they are all plaster. I just had a plasterer in but it started before he got there and I don't think anyone closed anything in. It is the first floor tenant complaining but you have reminded me I haven't been in the attic lately. There wasn't anything there and it doesn't make sense but at this point I am checking everything.

I have checked there are only CO detectors with battery and they don't seem to be beeping. What is a UPS? Universal Power Supply?

If the machines are plugged in to your electric (you pay the 110 for the laundry machines and you pay water). You could send a notice reminding them that although the machines are theirs the use should be limited to the occupants as you pay for these utilities (you might want to have this in the lease) and should you determine that use is excessive you will move to a different system such as coin op... Our lease allows us to charge for excessive water use but we only once had to. If you decide to talk to them I would consistently mention this same information. Good luck.

Ok so I am stumped. I have a tenant complaining of a periodic beep in a 5 unit building. I can hear it, other tenants hear it occasionally but she hears it night and day every 15 to 45 minutes for like 1 second. The building has a fire lite MS-4 fire alarm but neither the inspector or the manual report this as an alarm this unit makes and the panel is green lighted. The emergency lights don't have a beeper and we have stood in front of the Verizon Fios boxes, septic alarm, Battery CO alarm and it wasn't coming from them. It doesn't seem to be in her apartment and when you sit in the front hall it seems to be referred to the upstairs but when you go upstairs it seems to be below you. What else can beep like this? None of the other tenants complain so I don't think it is coming from their apartments and she says it hasn't happened before. We are relatively new owners and put in a call to the old owner but I am open to suggestions.

If it was not the previous tenant and they put it in there it is their damage and they should be paying for it. That being said if they claim its not their candle you may have trouble getting them to pay. I would however tell them the previous tenant used the oven frequently so it is unlikely the candle was left behind and they need to be careful in storing flammable items. I would not be giving them a gift certificate for dinner or making nice over the incident.

Some tenants are more hysterical when things happen. It is good to see for yourself sometimes.

Thanks, we have an LLC and I just don't want to run into trouble with the IRS(audited me first time when I was just 17 so it left an impression). He is documenting each time he works and what he does and there is no gifting involved. He is working for the money

For his inheritance if he has a paid job he can exclude more and effectively lower his tax on the money my mom left him which is all taxable to him because of what it was. If he has no job he pays tax on all of it no standard deduction and tax rate is our ordinary tax rate not the lower rate he would pay nor a capital gains rate. Since 2500 went to the lawyer because he has to has a conservatorship required per MA law and in addition he will pay our ordinary tax rate on the rest basically on 10,000 he will be lucky if he gets about 3000. My understanding is if we pay him for what he is doing it will be an expense for us and he is an employed person so he files and he can deduct and invest in an IRA equal to his paid wages. This would seem to effectively decrease his taxes since he gets the standard deduction too. In any case we're paying him anyway and just wanted to see how to do it right. not sure about a 401k to but will look at it. For us right now it is about his taxes which seem like a lot but I want to document well so I thought there might be a service that does the paying. If it is a 1099 and I don't have to do monthly tax payment like you would with and employee that is less complex. Thanks all

First , what is your goal? If as I think it is to decrease your costs a couple of policies I would implement even if you decide not to go with coin op. All HE machines, this decreases your water cost. Electric, if you can shift this to them by getting their own machine associated with their electric meter and also by using point of use Hot water heater that is good. However the initial outlay is high for a Point of use HW heater. If you decide to go with coin op I have hear of card machines and machine leasing but I have no personal experience. Good luck!

In our area rentometer.com is a pretty good ballpark estimate. It won't tell you the exact rent to charge but will give you an idea of where you are. In addition you have to look at condition , it makes a big difference. We look at craigslist and sometimes call someone with a sign out.