All Forum Posts by: David Krulac

Many of my properties are in PA and other northern states.  The real pool season is 3-4 months, which also sways my opinion.  If I invested in FL, CA, AZ, NV, I'd probably have a different opinion, but warmer climate still doesn't mitigate the liability and maninenace objections.

Owner occupied united increased by 8.4%

"Still, although the overall share of households that rented decreased, the number of rented units increased by over a million units (43.3 million to 44.6 million)."

I have bought and sold over 1,000 properties, a few have had pools.  At 2 properties removed the pools.  And we had a large inground pool at our residence, really for the kids.  There are 2 big reasons why I never had and would never have.

1. Insurance liability, I personally know 2 families that lost their children in home pools. Its a personal nightmare and tragic event.  No amount of insurance covers the personal loss.

2. Maintenance, We had a pool so I know first hand, you really need daily work on a pool.  Some days are pretty minor, but you need to skim, check filters, check ph, check cholrine, etc. One time we went on vacation and a neighbor was supposed to check the pool daily.  When we got home the pool was split pea green, and it took more than a week to get the pool back in shape.  

Hard and fast rule for me no pools at tenant properties. We have had rental properties where the HOA had a community pool, that was ok with me.

all materials, all labor costs to others, Not you, utilities, interest payments, permits, licenses, auto/truck expenses, tools needed are all deductable. What is not deductable is paying yourself for work done. What is not deductable is princuple payments. In an LLC or not does not affect dedcutability.

The first house that I bought was 17 years old, 3 br, 1.5 bath, brick ranch house with hardwood floors, Andersen windows, ceramic tile baths, gas heat and a brand new roof.  I paid $27,000.  Zillow says its worth $240,000, which I think is low, and would rent for over $2,000.

The first apartments I rented as the owner, were previously rented by the former owner at $150 month including utilities.  My big bold move was to rent them at $150 month with tenants paying for heat and electric.  I owned for 37 years, raised the rent many times, and later sold for 6X what I paid.  Zillow says the estimated current rent is $940, which I think is low.  I have some similar apartments that I rent for around $1,100. 

One year we appealed the assessmnet on 65 of our properties.  We did all the research and comps ourself and did not hire either an appraiser or an attorney.  I went to every one of the 65 hearings myself and got 61 properties lower and 4 remaining the same.  Of those four, two were lowered in a subsequent appeal.  You need to review the assessment record for your property as there may be errors.  One property the square footage was high because they assumed both florrs were same size and they were not.  Another property assessment included another home that had been demoed/removed before we bought the property.  Another one had a detached garage that was not on the property.  Another single family house had two front doors and they assumed it was 2 units, it was not.  There have been errors in the land size.  I recently worte here on BP about an "8 acre" lots that was really 1.8 acres, and another lot that was listed at 1.6 acrea and was really 0.6 acres.

@Jonathan Small  I have owned both for many years.  Tenants prefer detached housing over attached housing and stay longer.  I've had tenants stay longer than 30 years.  Additionally house tenants bring more of their own appliance, like refrigerator, washer and dryer; which means tenants are responsible for repair and replacement of their own appliances.  If there are existing aplliances left by former tenants or former owners, my lease says that I'm not responsible for repair or replacement of those appliances.  I've even had tenats bring their own range, but usually that's included in the lease as are dishwashers.  No window air conditioners or freezers are ever included in the lease.

 Additonally house tenants take care of lawn maintenance and snow removal, and pay all utilitites.  We have had duplexes with shared water, sewer, and trash billing, as well as shared driveways.

The long term tenants act more like owner occupants, planting flowers, etc. and in some cases neighbors think that they are the owners.  One tenant stayed 13 years until their youngest child graduated, then moved.  Almost all of our SF rentals are in owner occupants neighborhoods.  On some streets we're the only rentals, and you would be hard pressed to identify the rentals.  On one street of 20 house we had the only 4 rentals.  On another street of 22 houses we had the only 2 rentals.  So we are in ownder occupied neighborhoods.  We look for good school systems, low crime and desirable neighborhoods.

I'd check local zoning ordinances to see what is permitted.  Maybe a garage conversion is permitted maybe not.

@Bob Asad

I like the individual sub account method escrow account, but there are multiple different ways to hold security deposits and multiple laws in different states.