All Forum Posts by: Cory St. Esprit

Just purchased a 4 unit and duplex in a great neighborhood in the Pittsburgh market. Our efforts to find deals is finally coming to fruition. we can then sell some of them and leave some equity for the next buyer and keep some of them for our own portfolio.

We are just getting started in the Pittsburgh market. We have 1 commercial space on Main Street in Butler w/ 2 levels of apartments up top that need completely redone (imagine someone walked out in 1950's and never returned).

Then we just bough a 4 unit mixed-use building in Beaver Falls (we live close, in New Brighton) w/ 3 apartments and a commercial space. We also own 13 Subway restaurants in the area (and expanding with 11 more in other states this year), so will be using the commercial space as our offices.

0 Votes

Could you share that addendum with me please?

0 Votes

Quote from @JD Martin:

I think what he is saying is that rent would go up $25 each month over the next 12 months to get them up about $300 - i.e. this month rent would be $525, next month $550, and so on over 12 months.

With that strategy I am not surprised you lost/lose one or more tenants. On the plus side, you get to test your theory that the apartment(s) are well under market rates. If you are right, then you're in luck as it's almost always better to start with your own people than inherited tenants. If you're wrong, well you are about to have a lot of turnover.

I don't think I would have done it that way; most tenants see a $25 increase every month as exorbitant, with no guarantee you're going to lock them in at a fair rate if they're on M2M

I did state what market rate was and did even out at a point - so they could see that it was going to level.

Should I reach out to the tenant to verify they understood that or consider this an opportunity to clean the place up and move forward with better tenants? Honestly the units need some TLC and the one this tenant is in is a 3 bed 1 bath with 3 points of ingress/egress, a covered back porch and access to the yard.

1 Vote

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

I just closed on my first small apartment building (4 units). We have some commercial and international real estate we rent out, so now new to the rental industry - just apartments. Seller had the apartments significantly below market value (tenant paying $500 on an apartment that comped at $750, another paying $625 on an apartment that comped at $850). Leases were month by month, so I had my attorney draft a new lease that increased rent by $25/month over the next ~12 months to get apartments up to market rate - and the one long term tenant (12 years) decided to leave in 30 days.

Honestly, this tenant has a cat that isn't approved, is doing drugs in the house (I've seen it with my own eyes), and keeping the place dirty...do I call it a blessing because they're leaving and I can fix up the place to rent closer to market...or did I do something wrong?

1 Vote

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

All Forum Posts by: Cory St. Esprit

Cory St. Esprit has started 20 posts and replied 94 times.

Post: Do you have any recent Real Estate Success Stories?

Post: Opinions: Pets in Rental Properties

Post: Raising Rent Issue

Post: Raising Rent Issue