All Forum Posts by: James Fisher

@Will Eagles

Hopefully someone smarter than me can give advice about running the comps. 

@Jessica Zolotorofe

You nailed it. It's a LLC. Non-profit one at that. I have a buddy that is also somewhat invested in this property who is an attorney. I'm going to rope him in to do the filing, but I need to do the leg work prior. I do have parent's addresses. These kids have failed out of school and have probably been kicked out of the house.

I may try to serve them in PA or NJ...but it would be much easier to serve them in WV - where I live and where the property is located.

@Patrick Collins

There are a few tweaks I can make to the business plan - I have to be careful b/c the wrong change will cause me to loose non-profit status.

@Levi T.

Thanks for the recommendation.  I'll check out American Tracers.

My rentals are in a college town.  I deal almost exclusively with students and rent by semester, not month to month.

I have evicted three tenants, all from out of state (PA and NJ), and I want to sue them for the money they owe.  I'm knocking off a few grand from each tenants debt to keep it below $5,000.  Over $5,000 and it's handled in the Federal Court (that's my understanding) and I don't want to get that deep in.  

I think the crux is the serving of the notice.  

I think I can sue them in my local magistrate, but I have to serve them somehow.  I don't know where they currently live, nor do I have SSNs etc. 

At this point, even though I may never get paid, it's a matter of principle.  I am more than willing to get a judgement and lien so for the next 7-10 years these kids cannot get any sort of credit.  And I hope it shows up when they apply for jobs so they can't get hired.

@Will Eagles

Looks like one heck of a challenge!  What type of roofing material?  What condition on the fireplaces/chimneys?  

I have a 14,000 sqft place that used to have spanish clay tile.  Previous owner tore the tile off and put asphalt shingles on - which caused me to loose Historical designation.  A new tile roof was quoted between $120,000 and $275,000.  New asphalt shingles (50 square) was $50,000.  

At a different home I had multiple chimneys that needed re-pointed and sleeved...it was about $10,000 per chimney per floor (building is 3 stories).  

Those are just two (of dozens and dozens) of the common issues I've ran into in buildings that were built in the early 1900s.

Good luck - I am very interested in following you on this if you pull the trigger.

Does anyone have any suggestions for low maintenance exterior cladding - particularly for dormers?

I have two properties, both of which have several dormers.  Both are on very tall, very steep roofs, and completely rotted out.  The framing underneath seems to be in good condition.  I would like to set it and forget it...for as long as possible.  I don't want to deal with any type of sealing or painting.

A local contractor suggested Everlast siding by Norandex.  It seems to be a quality product and unlike Hardie Board, I won't have to paint it 15 years from now.  Unfortunately, Everlast does not have shake or fishscale patterns.

For one property, I would like to put a shake type siding on the dormers.  The 2nd property would look nice with a fishscale pattern.

Thanks!

@Account Closed

It may depend on your state.  In WV, it is 10% down at the close of the auction and the remainder within 30 days.  It is highly unlikely you will get a bank to loan you the remainder, so you will need to either have the cash in savings or a private lender.

Ok, please correct me if I am wrong...

Unless you are a real estate professional (at least 50% of your income is from real estate and you spend 750 hrs per year on real estate activities), you are under no obligation to send a 1099.  

In 2010 an act was added to require rental owners to 1099 contractors, but in 2011 the President vetoed that act.

What is the status?

As other's have said - students are not looking for housing right now.  There may be a few that are starting a Spring semester program and looking.  The deadline for signed leases for the property I manage is 1 Feb for the following August, 7 months in advance.

My experience has been if I don't have the property filled by March, I won't be able to get anyone until the next 'lease signing season' a year later.

@Andrew Kwiatkowski

I've thought about Fairmont and Clarksburg/Bridgeport, however as long as I have a full time job I'm not interested in looking that far away.  20 mins to Fairmont and 45 mins to C-burg/B-port doesn't sound that far away, but the inconvenience factor has steered me away.

If I ever do this full time, I would absolutely look in that direction. 

@Jonathan Johnson

Both - not profitable and non-profit.  The property is owned by a non-profit student org and receives some benefits with regards to property tax.  Money spent on physical infrastructure outside of improvements for educational purposes does not receive any tax advantage.  

Updated internet system - great.  New roof because the rooms on the top floor are leaking - nope.

Management issues can be boiled down to a century old building with nearly daily damage.