All Forum Posts by: Colleen F.

The students in our single family drop off rent at the property manager usually cash or check but the property manager is about 2 blocks from the house. Some of the tenants at our 5 unit are older and all prefer checks which they want to hand to someone. I am going to have to change that as we won't be at the property much once major projects are done. I don't think they would adjust well to electronics. I asked for an email and half don't have one. erent systems seemed like a good idea to me but it does depend on your tenant population.

My pet peeve is not grammar but failing to leave the number or leaving an unintelligible message.

This is a situation in which you would do well to follow Tom's advise to consult an attorney. A phone call will give you an idea of what this would cost and they usually don't charge for the initial. You could also look at the paperwork for the purchase closing and go back to the lawyer who handled it.

You probably have a simpler situation if it was a single member LLC but the situation could become complicated by a multi-member LLC or any changes in legal status (marriage/divorce) of the member even for a single member LLC. Good Luck

Kevin, Thanks for sharing this hopefully you will weather this setback. Are utilities up and running or will you need to winterize? I gather it was without tenants at the time? After Sandy the town did mitigate the taxes on a flood damaged home and also utility companies removed meters although we had electric and water (no gas) but those properties were not habitable. If you can attend any local meetings on the issuethere are things that don't get in the paper.. of course that might be tricky if the roads are out but I wish you luck. Let us know how you make out with this property.

Aside from get recommendations. If you don't have that Do they return calls? do they show up? Do they do the kind of job you have? For example ask what kind of roofs do you do? Ask to see their work. Is the scope of work about what you are doing. Do them seem to like what they are doing and explain it if needed. are they busy- now this can go either way but if they are in business for a while I would expect they have other jobs and I might need to get fit in to their schedule. Whenever you have multiple contractors look at a job look at the differences in their proposals this can tell you what they value and what they know.

Have you thought about a contract that lays out the long term arrangements ? What I thought when I saw your arrangement was you are doing work upfront for money on a regular basis and down the road. The maintenance may not be a big thing because it sounds like you are looking to help them out and you would be compensated monthly so I would expect the routine activities would be covered. For this something like a property manager agreement would work.

But the big jobs like a roof. If the deal terminates right after you complete a major activity like that where you have put a lot of hours in how will that work? You may need to structure it in a more complicated way that specifies a minimum amount you will be compensated for these major jobs. If you do the roof you are entitled to x months of this management fee. Also you need to consider what if someone decides to not rent the apartment? what happens to your compensation? If you do this it needs to be carefully thought out.

You can write the license cost off as an expense but your rental income is still "passive" in almost all cases if you have a non-real estate day job. I wish the paper work reduction act would be real and they would move to post -card taxes-- the complexities are just mind boggling..

Definitely look at that link. It looks like the perfect fix and frankly less expensive then some of the other proposals. The mini set back dormer on the garage helps too. The difference in the brick vs siding on your house could be made more appealing through good use of a darker color with white trim. I don't think a brick dormer looks "real" but that may be just me.

A comment on roofs, if you can get a couple estimates you are lucky. We are replacing a big roof on a 5 unit as we speak and it took all summer to get 2 estimates. Only asphalt shingle - I had 3 roofers show and never send an estimate.... Granted I am not sure if the steep pitch, angles, and trim work got them but when you describe the job you think they would say something..

First, I am sure you will get lots of good advice here. Since you are asking about financing I am assuming you ran the numbers and have a good idea on expenses and cash flow. That is how your commercial lender is going to evaluate the financing. I would speak with a few local banks who may be more likely to consider the loan. A mortgage broker will charge a fee of 1-1.5% avoid that if you can although you can also talk to them about possibilities which is free. If you have been looking at commercial properties for a while you should also be talking with lenders so that you can present any offer with a pre-approval. (this might be tougher with not much credit history). A 5 family will require commercial lending whereas a 4 family or less would not and would be based on your personal credit.

I am hoping some others will chime in. We did a recent similar purchase but have a long credit history which factored in. They wanted 25% down standard and some expense reserves. I have seen some posters out there who started at your age and could have some insight as to where best to go in your situation.