All Forum Posts by: Jeff K.

I would insist they deposit it. Otherwise it could be 2 weeks and they will say "oh we mailed that already...." blah blah

I have a long-term tenant, an elderly lady, whose grandson that had been living with her moved out recently. He had been dropping off the rent for her monthly. Consequently, it is now difficult for her to get her rent to us on time. She does not have a credit card or checking account (its a C- neighborhood) and does nothing online. I offered pre- stamped envelopes but she is nervous to send by mail because she pays by money order.

I thought of giving her a deposit slip, to make the deposit monthly, as there are bank branches closer to her than our PO box. But, I don't want her to have access to the account.

Short of me picking it up every month, does anyone have any ideas of how to make it easier on us and her to get the money to us?? Anyone have any similar experiences?

I would add some other caveats to consider. Since it needs a lot of work, it is usually difficult to get major work done while Tenants are in there.

Also, You probably would want to get a lead certificate to protect yourself in this state, and that might necessitate them moving out if you need any type of scraping and repainting-otherwise might be a big liability with lead particles flying everywhere.

I would research these 2 issues to protect yourself.

Hi Bill. Welcome!

It was wonderful to read your positive vibes and attitude towards landlording in the city!

Let me know if you attend any of the local meet-ups and we can hang out and talk shop.

The Baltimore City School System is shut down for tomorrow. Sounds like they are expecting more trouble. 

I am a bit worried about my properties and tenants safety.

Thanks @Colleen F. I think I will try to get another estimate just to make sure.

@Matthew Paul I thought of doing the whole unit electric. I also thought of just installing 1 electric baseboard in the living room (instead of the whole house) along with the new boiler, but thought it would probably need a lot of electrical work to make it usable, as well as removing the old radiator an closing the pipe loop afterwards? I guess it is worth an estimate while I have my electrician/HVAC there. I have not heard of mini-splits; will google it. Thanks!

Hi BP friends. I had a heating question and was hoping to get collective wisdom on the following:

I just bought a 2 unit house with 2 bedrooms each floor. Total house is about 1450 sq ft.

Boiler to first floor (according to sticker) was installed in 1964 and not currently working. My HVAC guy said it would take some money to service to just test it and see if it works- so I figured we may as well just get a new one at this point and have a fresh start. All radiators on first floor look ok. He said cost for boiler and labor, as well as the updating of some parts related to boiler would be $3700. ( second estimate was similar)

Second floor boiler (hot water not steam baseboard) is newer and looks good, however there is a cracked radiator in Living room that needs to be replaced. He told me a new one would be $2200. We searched for used/ reconditioned but they are also expensive, hard to come by for exact sizes and matches, and need time and money to test before installing.

(I budgeted for this in my purchase price)

So I see 2 options:

1-replacing boiler and radiator:$5900

2-I thought of taking this opportunity to switch out the boiler only on first floor for a forced air unit, run the ductwork under first floor in basement, and use the first floor radiator upstairs. ( maybe I could sell the remaining ones on CL to recoup some money) I am waiting for an exact estimate but his first thought was in the area of $7000-$7500. Although it is more initially to do this, down the road I would not have to worry about the expensive radiators going bad. (I don't think I would ever add AC to this down the line even though this gives me the option.)

Has anyone ever switched boiler to forced air just for heat like this? Do the numbers quoted above make sense? Any other ideas or options? 

Any advice would be very appreciated!

Here is the link to view multifamily registrations:

http://cels.baltimorehousing.org/reg/Reg_MFD_Searc...

You can search a property by address to confirm it is registered. 

Sounds like you have a great plan!

Good luck!

Hi and greetings. 

One important step to take is to attend any of the various meet-ups and network with other investors. That way you can start to build a reliable team of contractors, agents, etc to help set you up for success. Your new network of friends can also  provide encouragement and advice.

What part of Baltimore were you considering-City or County?