All Forum Posts by: Andrew S.

Track record.  If you have been renting for >2 years, chances are you know what you are doing and won't likely go broke.  

Each lender has their own rules - exceptions exist and can be found most often with small local lenders (credit unions, etc)

They may well have been put there on purpose at some time in the past.  I toss a couple of orange feeder goldfish (2-5 cents a piece at the pet store) into my water features in the garden in order to prevent mosquito breeding.  They really clean up the larvae perfectly.  They can last for years without any supplemental feeding - they just live off the insect larvae and probably some of the plants that grow in the features.  They survive fine under the ice in the winter, as long as the container isn't frozen completely solid.  They do breed sometimes, so you can keep them going forever potentially.

Thanks @Account Closed 

Makes sense.

Michelle, are you saying that this transaction is actually transparent for the owner?  In other words, you pay the repairs from the deposit and the owner doesn't see an income or an expense line on his/her statement from you?  That's actually very much what I would prefer.

@Account Closed 

 - as you area PM, how do YOU handle this line item?   I now have agreement with PM that he will not charge the % anymore but he still thinks it should be classified as rental income... what is a better descriptor?  

Thanks @Account Closed 

 - that's reassuring!  I need to get to the bottom of why he insists on calling this "rental income".  It sure doesn't make any sense to me from an accounting standpoint.  

BTW: Sorry about the typo in the title - I don;t know how to fix it..... didn't mean to make fun of your profession :-)

@Patrick Reagan 

I grappled with this problem a while ago (there is thread on my particular situation somewhere on this forum).  I ended up asking for a 50% reduction in price to take on the risk and the deal fell apart.  Property is still on the market.....

The problem with this is that in many cases, you might be able to clean it up for 10-20k (sometimes even less),  However, the downside is essentially open-ended.  If the contamination spread to neighboring properties, or if there are any water wells anywhere nearby, it could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix - if it even can be fixed.  Once you own the property, you own the problem and you'll have to disclose it to any potential buyer down the road.

That said, if the deal is worth the risk, and you have the stomach to deal with it, the property could still be worth pursuing.  There are several folks here on the board who seem to do quite well with such situations.  For me, it's too much potential downside. 

I'm in a debate with my PM over the following scenario and I'm looking for some opinions.

Tenants move out and property requires $500 in repairs (beyond wear and tear).  PM has the work done and charges $500 against the tenant's security deposit.  Tenant is fine with that.  THEN, PM charges a 10% "maintenance override" for the work to my account. I'm NOT fine with that.

My position is that the override is part of the cost incurred by the tenant and should have been added to the amount taken out of the security deposit, not charged to me directly.  The PM disagrees, citing some nebulous accounting rule that such costs are considered rental income and therefor are subject to the regular maintenance override (so far, he hasn't provided any documentation to back up his position). 

This seems crazy to me on several levels but particularly because it actually lets the PM double-dip on fees.  First he gets a maintenance override (which is fine with me, except I think should be charged to the tenant, not to me), and by calling it "rent" he also get's to collect his 8.5% management fee.

Am I missing something?

Don't know about Baltimore either - around here you are on the hook for anything on the user side of the water meter.  That said, I have heard of cases where this may have been negotiable for documented leaks, as @Kate Horrell 

 mentions.

There used to be a tab you could click to see all unanswered posts - has that gone away?

Edit:  Never mind - it's still there.  I was on the wrong page.....  oops  :-)

@Dawn Brenengen 

I agree with @Chris Martin 

Those numbers are extraordinarily thin - congrats if that was really your expense, but rest assured it is NOT going to be your long-term average.  If you count your own capital, the mortgage, as well as the costs Chris mentioned above (incl PM), I'm actually struggling to see ANY cash flow at 165K cost and 1300 rent.  I have properties near NCSU too, and it is true, they are generally easy to fill.  However, sooner or later, you will have larger repair/maintenance items that will necessitate a longer transition than 2 days.  That cuts into the income as well as bumps the expense side.  I think those numbers are basically an appreciation play (nothing wrong with that either, if that's the longterm plan).