All Forum Posts by: Jessica Zolotorofe

ohh hmm... ok shared laundry is a game changer. How many units share the laundry? How many machines? 

Yes, still definitely valuable, but not sure cost would outweigh the benefits if you already have laundry on site and you can't conceal the unit well. If you can get it behind a nice louver door or something, that could be worth it,, but not sure of the configuration of your kitchen. 

Dirty laundry out where you cook,.. not sure how attractive that is if there is an alternative that's relatively convenient. 

Adds a ton of value, I say go for it. That being said, try to separate it from the actual kitchen area as much as possible. Maybe behind a matching cabinet door or something. 

I am partial to showers, myself, they look a lot classier... in a one bed you don't really have the problem of families with kids that wouldn't look at anything without a tub. I assume if you have room for a tub you can put in a fairly substantial sized shower. Totally just a preference, but if you don't have room for a real soaking tub, and there are no kids to worry about, I think a shower generally is just nicer looking and gives the opportunity to tile the floor and make it really nice at not so much additional cost, That being said, if you are going to put in an insert and not make it really nice, just go with the tub. Looks better than plastic shower walls. Just my opinion!

Not totally accurate. Even if most of the businesses are online, they need warehouse space to get their orders out quickly. Food will always have online order and delivery, so they may take less retail space, but the dining/beverage industry is not going anywhere. People like to eat and drink out. Personal service industry is another good one. While it's typically mom and pops and not nationals, which are preferable, people always want to get their nails and hair done somewhere. Brick and mortar is not going anywhere for a long time in most industries. The ones being hurt hardest would probably be banks, which are primarily online now, and clothing stores, though stats show that they are actually not hurting as much as you would think and like I said, they still need somewhere to get their product out of. I don't anticipate a crash from technology. People are into instant gratification and also, the older generation, which is a majority of the population at this point, still want to see their doctors in person and urgent care centers for example can take tests and xrays, which is limited obviously online. Again, not worried, but we shall see!

You would have to get a mortgage broker or lender to run your numbers and give you an answer, though it would be speculative at best because you have to have a certain value in your property to pull out any equity and you wouldn't know yet the value of the property after you do some work and get in tenants (can't guaranty the rent amount even). If your financials don't change and your LTV won't be different, I would imagine it's a better situation for the bank to have the tenanted, renovated property, so I don't see why you would be denied, but I couldn't say for sure. A lot changes fast in the banking world. The more money you have outstanding, the more negatively it impacts your credit, BUT the more consistently you pay your bills, the better your credit gets. You want to have a balance between debt and good payments on that debt. Another good question for a banker. If you are just replacing one mortgage with another, it shouldn't be a problem.

Hi Scott!  I just wrote an article about urgent care facility development (I think it's in my blog on here, if not, I can send it to you). It's hot right now, but they're not the easiest tenants. They do offer long term leases because of the expense of their build-out, but they come with some challenges, too. Do you know if that size lot will pass approvals for a medical facility in your town?  Where are you located?

Good morning! It totally depends on what you are referring to as "closing costs". Attorneys fees, yes, though they may give you a discount for the double deal, title you don't have to pay twice. Insurance costs will go up when your value goes up, obviously and the bank will likely make you secure a year of premium before refinancing. Transfer taxes in most states (not sure about RI) for smaller buys and sells are paid by the seller, so you wouldn't have that cost twice. What else are you concerned about?

No, the landlord picks up the vacant space. 

@Vaughn Smith is awesome. He can definitely help.

Have a lawyer send a letter that if the behavior does not stop, you will be issuing a notice to quit. Month to month leases can terminate for cause at any time, so it's not like trying to evict a tenant mid-lease. Does the lease specifically prohibit the use of hallways for storage? It doesn't technically need to, it's a hazard to other tenants, and it's space outside the rented area, I would assume, but expressly prohibiting in the lease would be useful.