All Forum Posts by: Elizabeth Schellhammer

Stephanie, I think one of the best strategies to build financial security and long term wealth is buy and hold. Sure, there are headaches, but you are essentially having a tenant pay for your asset while you're also collecting a profit from them if you buy right and it cash flows. 

We have two rentals now... a duplex where we live in one half and rent the other and one single family home. We have a great property manager for the SFR and I honestly do not spend much time worrying about that property and never have to deal with calls, filling vacancies, etc. Now, we have had bad property managers in the past and that can be more of a headache than doing the management yourself. Make sure you choose a good manager, and if you are not happy find a better one! Once you feel comfortable with the manager you've hired, you will be just fine watching your checks come in and your loan amount go down.

As far as flips go, I can understand how you think they seem fun and exciting. We have yet to do a flip as we haven't found the right deal. We also are not very handy and would have to sub contract, which makes me nervous. If we did do a flip, that cash would go into another buy and hold. Flipping, to me, does not seem to be the way to build long term wealth, it's more of a supplement. It's a way to earn cash, likely large sums if done well, but if you are just planning to flip then that is more of a job than an investment. 

Excited to see where your investment journey takes you!

Keep us posted.

Beth

We have hard wired interconnecting alarms as you have mentioned above, and I can tell you that they are so annoying. I can sympathize with both parties here, you as the landlord, and your tenant. Every time we cook our alarms go off throughout the whole house, and there is nothing we can do except grab a pillow and wave it over the sensor! Having the hardwired is great for tenants because you know that they cannot take the batteries out, but they sure do drive me nuts. 

Weird but related.... these hardwired alarms go off every time we cook without a hitch, but never go off when i blow out a scented candle and it smokes. Always wondered what that's about, perhaps they are more heat sensitive than smoke sensitive? That doesn't make much sense but it's the only thing I can come up with. 

Anyway, thanks for the article, It's a good reminder about fire safety. Sorry to hear about the woman and her two pups. 

This happened to me when I was renting a few years ago. I had just moved into a new apartment and had all of our odds and ends stored in the "three season room." It rained and the roof leaked and destroyed my grandmother's antique sideboard that I inherited. I was furious as I was under the impression that this room was safe living space. When I called the landlord, he explained that the roof does leak in that room. Of course he did not disclose that to me before move in, and never did fix it while i lived there, despite multiple calls to him. Anyway, he did nothing except offer an apology for the destroyed property. Oh and guess what, when I moved out, he tried to keep my security deposit for the leaking roof, stating that I never called to inform him it was leaking and that it's my responsibility to fix it. (we fought and won that case)

I have to say, I am a much better land lord than he was. If anything, he taught me what not to be... a criminal lol. 

Well this post got a bit out of hand, but I am excited to hear what you decide to do!!! Keep us posted.

I agree with everyone. Let him leave on good terms, as long as he is giving you enough notice to find a new tenant, what's the harm? If you tell him that he must abide by the contract and that he is unable to break the lease, he may react angrily and mess with your asset.

excited to hear what you do with this project! Definitely keep us updated.

I was in the same situation as you in December, even posted a similar question! I ended up paying the extra replacing the stove with stainless. It looks so nice and I figure if the other appliances go soon, I will replace them with stainless too. 

What if you asked your current tenants preference? and be clear that you will ultimately make the best financial choice, but them knowing that you asked for their opinion on the matter might make them want to stay longer since they were able to make a choice in a finish of the apartment. Probably trivial, but an interesting thought none the less. 

Is this going to cash flow for you monthly... It's not looking like it is based on these numbers. What is your interest in the property? Are you looking to house hack? I am sorry but I am not sure I am clear as to what is drawing you to this property. Is it in a location that you would love to live in but could only do so with a rental unit helping pay the mortgage? 

Awesome! Congrats from just across the way. We are in Brigantine. 

Hey Chris, we use Jesse Storm for our Lancaster City property and have been very happy with him. You can PM for his phone number if you would like.

Before Jesse we used PGM Real Estate and were very unhappy so I would suggest to steer clear of their services.

All the best,

Beth

Hey William, I live in Brigantine. We tried the REI meetings and they were a bust. I'm worried about trying to wholesale here as, I do not think it would be difficult to get something under contract, I worry about finding a cash buyer. Seems like the economy is dying here as the casinos die and the investors are few and far between. We have a buy and hold duplex in Brig, we live in one unit and rent the other. We have another investment property in Lancaster, PA. We wanted to continue to invest here at the shore, but it just didn't make sense. Property taxes are too high and rents are too low. Let me know if you have any good luck!