All Forum Posts by: Jake Henrion

The lease carries over to you and is still valid until the month is up. Then you can have her sign the new lease. 

The security deposit belongs to the tenant and is transferred over to you to hold. Check your state landlord/tenant laws to see what you are legally allowed to do if you wanted to raise her security deposit

Send me a PM. I work for contractor/plumbing company in plymouth, I can guide you to the best in town.

check with your state laws. You might not be able to exceed the amount of rent for a security deposit. 

tell them you only accept payments in full, no exceptions. Then serve the 14 day immediately to show them you are the landlord, and you are firm with your lease/house rules. Massachusetts is 14 day pay or quit as well

Are you adding capital expenditures in to your expenses?

Maintenance at 10%.. Is this 5%repairs/maintenance and 5%cap ex?

What kind of heat/hot water systems do you have? And how old/what condition are they in. These units will be costly to replace, make sure you're setting enough money aside for these future problems. 

New roof is a positive. How about the driveway/parking space? Appliances? Flooring? Plumbing system/fixtures. 

Make sure you set enough aside for these as they will eventually break due to wear and tear. And defects. They will be costly

Other than that, the route you're taking is a great way to save money and build capital for the next one.

Good luck!

When they renew with your new lease, you can add a rent escalation clause stating that you will increase their rent in whatever time frame you use until it is up to market, or below market like you said. For example, you can raise the rent 50 or 100 dollars every other month for the entire year until you hit market rents, that way they don't have to dish out 300 in increased rent right from the start. Set your own conditions for increasing the rent

you need to build a great team heading in to this endeavour. Read the ABC'S of real estate investing by Ken Mcelroy. Great book that walks through the basic due diligence on apartment complexes, and valuation aspects. I don't own any apartment complexes, but I have learned that it is a whole different ball game that requires a great team, and knowledge to recognize future potential income.

5 minutes after I read this thread, I started pulling down dropped ceiling tiles to start my basement demo and found a 25' extention cord disappearing in to the wall. Laughed it off, until I plugged something in to it to find out it's live, and that its hard wired in to the panel plug. Thanks for missing that fire hazard, home inspector.

as a plumber in MA, I'd check under every sink specifically looking at the water shutoff valves/piping for corrosion, that is a sign they will leak soon enough. Also lift up the toilet seat and make sure the water in the bowl is steady/ no rippling effect. If the water ripples around the edges, the flapper is leaking by and this will add to your water bill. Replace HVAC filters if any. Make sure dishwasher fully drains. Make sure showers are getting enough hot water and the temperature doesnt fluctuate. 

could be that supply outweighs demand in that particular market, therefore the owner needs to offer move in incentives to keep up with his competitors for occupancy.