All Forum Posts by: Filipe Pereira

Write it off as being in business @Lucas Morales, as there isn't really anything else you can do. Even if you tried to blame the tenant, what proof would you have? 

Just part of doing business, write the check and keep pushing forward :)

@Gary Johnson location is critical. We have apartments in a few "C/C-" areas and when people respond to our apartment listings they often lead with "what part of the neighborhood is it in?" Investors know where the good and bad areas are, and residents / tenants who live in the area know them even better. 

Vacancy rate and tenant quality are the two most undervalued tangibles that I think most investors forget to consider. If a unit sits empty for just one month that's 8.3% of your top line gone. And if you have to pay a PM 1 month's rent to fill it? Boom, another 8.3% gone!

Refinish them for sure @Karl Dela Cruz! You'd be amazed what a good refinish will do. If you want it to look more "upscale" or "trendy" consider refinishing it with a different stain vs just putting a poly coat on top of it. 

We hired someone to redo 4 units in springfield last month and I couldn't believe how well they did. The tenant previously put down STICK DOWN checkerboard tiles over the hardwood and I for sure thought it was destroyed. Happy to say I was wrong!

@Account Closed

Identify your pain points - WHAT is taking up your time? WHEN is it taking up your time? This will allow us to offer better suggestions.

Delegate what you can. Determine what your hourly rate is, then hire anything out that costs less than that to do. You will lose some money, but you will gain your time, which to some is worth it.
I found that I was being swarmed with calls / emails / texts almost daily starting at 8:30. There was no time that I could sit down and not be interrupted during the day.

Now I wake up at 5AM, and from 5-6:30 it's blissful. Why? Because no one is awake! Just the way I like it...

Wait - did I read this right @Kate Cavanaugh ? 

Your gross rent will be 1.5% of the purchase price? That's BEATING the 1% rule. (Gross rent divided by purchase price).

If you're doing that well on a new construction build, you will be in great shape.

Many places in the north east (think Boston, NY, lots of eastern MA, etc.) can't touch the 1% rule, and here you are beating it by quite a bit on a new build. 

Seems like a no brainer!

Friendly but firm is the way to go with new tenants @Jeremy Szymankowski. 

I agree that you should give the existing tenant and her mom and dad line. What if at the last minute she pulls out and you can no longer choose the tenant that you are interested in because she found something else? That wouldn't make you too happy, especially with Thanksgiving coming in the near future.

I want to confirm your thoughts of having to sign a new lease with the new tenant. Although it is the current tenant’s mother, it's best to create a new lease from scratch if the existing tenant is in fact moving out and being replaced by her mom.

This is a question for your property management contract and lease documents @Nana Sibo. 

If this is a repeat offense for this particular tenant, it might be time to remove the option of personal check from their payment options. If a tenant sends us multiple bad checks we require them to pay us via money order or cashier's check moving forward.

@Noam Birnbaum the most basic, easy, way to confirm that what you're getting invoiced for was completed is by simply requesting photos of the work done. This is pretty typical for out of state clients, and it's really not that difficult. 

You should feel that a partnership exists between you and your PM, not a relationship of "I work for you, or you work for me".

Check out their reviews online, off of their website - where tenants can leave real reviews. Keeping tenants happy is equally as important as keeping property owners happy...if there are no tenants, there are no rent checks coming in.

Ask them what their rent collection rate is through covid. Are they happy with it? What are they doing to improve it? Or are they just throwing their arms up and saying "it is what it is". (Hint, if they are doing that, it's probably not a good sign). 

Hey @Justin Klein, 

You should check out bigger pockets podcast episode 360 with @Stephanie Cabral! Link here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

I think you will find that she's got a lot of the things you're looking to do in place, and she may even be willing to share some additional insight here. Best of luck, she's a local gem here in CT!

@Turo Tales, I agree with @Charles Carillo. Referrals are the number one way to get a quality contractor. 

In addition:

Did you have a home inspection as a part of your purchasing process? If so, your inspector likely knows a few good contractors, and that's where I would personally start.

The next best thing you can do beyond networking and local real estate groups is to search your local Facebook groups. Every day somebody's asking for a plumber, electrician, Etc. These groups have been vital for us to expand our contractor list as a property management company.

That brings me to my next point, a local property manager. Call up a few of them and see if they are willing to share their list of vetted subs. We have a tab right on our website where people can view who we recommend and use.

Best of luck!