All Forum Posts by: Jeff Schemmel

 Makes a lot of sense.  i've seen the most damage close to the end of the line by the city connection.  Repairs would involve breaking up sidewalk and such, not ideal.  I know the City of Minneapolis was helping homeowners install liners for a long time.  In what form and if they still do it is not something i'm up to date on, but i've heard it can be an option as a backup, but that if the city will wrap in the cost of replacing with PVC over 20 years via property taxes that is probably the most advisable option to replace a clay pipe.  Some of these pipes are going strong at 120yrs old with little to no cracking, it's kind of amazing how it holds up.  You get offsets and bellys, and some surface cracking, but the worst is often just some root intrusion.  

@Ayanna D. draft a change of ownership letter and attempt to hand it to them directly on closing day - aim to make a great first impression!  cordial, but firm and a professional :).  The seller should provide you with the tenant's contact information and you should already have had a glance at the lease at this point.  In the letter, make sure you are clear about your contact info for emergencies and non-emergencies, and you include your office hours, how you want repairs to be communicated, and how the tenants should pay rent.  Did you also get pro-rated rents in addition to the security deposit?  If you're already pending it's kinda too late for this. 

I believe in landlording as a service, and part of the way I like to make a good first impression is to ask for a walkthrough and try to understand what the tenant likes and doesn't like about the proprety and if anything should be repaired.  I like to just fix a problem and show them if there's something broken I prefer to fix it rather than leave it until it's worse.  I like this because when something more serious like a water leak or a clogged drain happens they aren't afraid to call me before it's a bigger problem.

lastly, if they don't have renter's insurance, ask them to get it.  if it's not in the lease that it's required they don't have to but it's in their best interest to do so.

good luck!

I've seen plenty of belly's in pipes.  here in saint paul most multi-family are turn of the century in age and it was common to have cast iron to the foundation and clay connecting to the street.

There are a few options that may be available if it's scaring you:

Call the city to see if they have any sewer replacement/repair programs.  Sometimes they will offer a loan via property taxes to pay for the cost over the long haul, although every city is different.  

Sometimes getting a liner is a good option compared to replacing sections or the entirety of a pipe.  I cannot comment on viability of that as i'm not an expert nor have I watched the scope video.

hope this helps!

ask lender what it takes to buy down a 1/8 or 1/4 point of the interest rate.  may not get there with $700, but that's usually the route I take because the purchase price is rather immaterial.  Outside of that, ask for a new appliance :)

@Hector Rubio Dig in a bit about house hacking.  There's a great book written by Craig Curelop (who I should be able to link here but cannot for some reason), called "The House Hacking Strategy".  It goes in-depth on all the ways you can go about reducing your cost of living by owning a property you live in and partially rent to others.

I am house hacking, and I believe it's the most simple, effective, and powerful way to start investing in real estate.  You get so many benefits:
1.) reduce or eliminate your housing cost
2.) obtain an asset
3.) leverage other people's money to buy said asset
4.) learn how to be a landlord at your pace, and be picky about who you rent to
5.) learn how to manage a property and finances of your business
6.) meet some incredible people who are doing the same thing

I can be a resource, end-to-end, for this sort of adventure.  hit me up anytime, Hector!

-Jeff

@Andrea Kraft I have a similar response to Brandon, but i'll share my 2 cents anyway :)

I use apartments.com, and I keep the application button OFF.  I pre-screen by having the interested party message me about the property (weeds out the first layer of tire-kickers), and I send them my screening criteria and pre-screening google form similar to Brandon's "free application".  If all is well there, I ask for a phone call. about half just don't respond at this point (2nd layer of screening).  From there I show the property, and if they seem great and the criteria is acceptable I send them a link to the application which also includes the background check directly through apartments.com so there is no money collection from me.  apartments.com sends me the report and I accept/decline from there.

as far as your second question, I recommend reading the section of the MN landlord Tenant laws regarding tenant screening (entering into the agreement)
https://www.ag.state.mn.us/con...

A landlord must return the applicant screening fee if:

1. The applicant is rejected for any reason not listed in the required disclosed criteria; or
2. A prior applicant is offered the unit and agrees to enter into a rental agreement.

If the landlord does not perform a personal reference check or does not obtain a consumer credit report or tenant screening report, the landlord must return any amount of the applicant screening fee that is not used for these purposes. (11)

return-on-equity (ROE) comes to mind.  I haven't done a refi yet, but going into my last deal I figured I'd own for about 10 years before ROE made me look at that equity more critically.  However, I was wrong about that because I ended up doing some major improvements that forced some equity sooner than expected.  This will likely accelerate the time frame at which my ROE tells me I should leverage that equity.  I will also say, I have somewhat of a feeling that now is not the time to over-leverage, but that is speculation :)

 man, they did a great job over-complicating this.  certainly doesn't promote more housing availability

@Noah Jacobson shoot me a text!  I have a couple options for you.  We spoke about this prior but if you still need a name i'm happy to share.  Good luck1

Hey Brandi!  Welcome :)  What's your background?  What are you doing to network in your area?  I'm familiar with Sioux Falls, but i'd like to know more about the market there - it's been a few years since I've been there.  I went to school in Marshall, MN and while I was there I made trips to Sioux Falls to visit friends.  Is there a strong network of investors there, or is the scene pretty low-key?