All Forum Posts by: Eachan Fletcher

Obviously fewer repairs are better, but none of this sounds hyper unrealistic on the surface, @PJ Kolnik.  But agree it's definitely bad timing that they all bunched up like that!

The fridge problem you had seems like the outlier to me, and speaks to the benefit of having knowledgeable local people on the ground who may have figured out the right measurements up front.  My wife and I have found that it can take a couple of years to get to know the nuances of a building - enough time to react to a decent variety of things going wrong - then you kinda know the more subtle gotchas.

Couple more things to think about (we do this with our buildings):

1- Consider services that deliver proactive maintenance.  Fixing things when they're small and cheap might mean not needing a new water heater, and highlighting potential problems to keep an eye on can help you pace things out better over time so that the big stuff doesn't bunch up like this.

2 - There are companies out there who can spread maintenance costs out over several months without any extra costs.  Think $2500 for new water heaters vs $416/month for 6 months.  This takes the big up front hit away and helps smooth out your cash flow.

Love to be more specific than that, but I do not want to incur the wrath of the moderators by mentioning any specific companies in a post!

Given where technology is today there's no reason not to do this online.

Things like a direct ACH or using some of the services others have cited in this thread allows you to set up something automated - the number 1 reason for late payment is simply "I forgot" and you can eliminate this easily.

DM me if you want some more options!

Many landlords just starting out can't absorb a 3+ month gap in rental income if things turn super bad with a tenant - rare, but those finance payments still need to be made even if rent isn't coming in!  These products can provide comfort and make the difference between succeeding and failing as a landlord if the worst comes true.

By the time you have a larger portfolio you're less exposed - one tenant refusing to pay doesn't mean dipping into your personal finances to keep your investment alive.

I have some inside knowledge on how these products work, DM me if you want to hear more.

I think you're going to get a lot of replies along the lines of "depends what your goals are" and, why that's strictly true, let me try and offer something a little more:

If you're new to investing then a positive cash flow property will give you a great tailwind to grow your portfolio, and lower your risk for your first few units.  Your success is also more a function of your execution as a landlord, you're not going to succeed or fail based on the overall market movement.

Hope that helps, and best of luck!

Things do change if you go from house hacking to regular investing as you lose access to residential consumer financing options, however that is not exactly the same as saying it gets harder.  The money is still available, the terms are different.

That said, I know plenty of people who are on the 3rd or 4th multifamily and they are still house hacking!

In addition to the higher cash flow and 'house hacking' advantages others have cited, multifamily properties often have strong maintenance cost benefits which improve with a greater number of units.

My wife and I have a few 6 flat buildings; one roof, one yard, one furnace, one boiler, but 6 separate units paying rent.

Also you'll often find multifamily buildings have some incremental income opportunities, for example detached garages or parking areas where you can add on parking fees, shared laundry areas that can be run coin op, etc.

Good luck, and congratulations (in advance) on your first property!

A couple of quick thoughts: first, and most importantly, you're doing the right thing with the lease terms (renter's insurance and indemnification).  Also, if it comes to it, there's seldom any good comes from keeping a tenant in a lease they want out of especially in a situation like this.  That's very considerate of you.

Something you might consider is exterior lighting/sensor lights.  These are very strong deterrents - especially in poorly lit areas - and are cheap and easy to install (especially compared with an alarm system).  It will show the tenant that you're taking it seriously and taking action.

Best of luck, terrible situation to be in.

Hey Mathias - whenever I get this request I usually respond by letting them know they can move in whenever they want but, if they want to take the apartment, they need to lease it from today.  If they want to move in a few weeks after the lease begins that's up to them.

Ultimately you should always be pragmatic - if your market is hot and you're confident you'll rent it anyway, then I would go with this approach.  You could make some concessions like the other suggestions in the thread if you're concerned it will still be vacant a month from now.

Something else to consider - I have rarely had tenants start off awkward and unreasonable but later turn out to be great residents.  Not to suggest this request in itself is super unreasonable, but make sure you feel good about the fit overall.

Lots of great advice in this thread already.

The only thing I might add is combine an increase in rent with an improvement to the tenant's life.  For example, perhaps you're aware of some appliances that are near end of life or bathroom fittings that need replaced.  Stuff you actually want to do anyway and would eventually get around to regardless.

Then the story becomes we need to raise the rent because it's significantly behind market value, but hey we're also upgrading your x.

They may be a good tenant but you should also be a good landlord, and you deserve to be paid correctly for that.