All Forum Posts by: Jim Adrian

@Brook Rieman

Im going to take the opposite approach as others said, though I don't disagree with what they said either.  

Looking from the flip side, he needs a place to live.  He has proven to be a non-issue to his landlord for the last 5 yrs.   Your service you provide is housing and that's it.  You are not buddy buddy with this person and you shouldn't with any of your tenants.   I would bet he would be willing to pay more for the place because of his past and knows how hard its to find a place.  So keep him around, raise his rent by $25 or $50 or so and put him month to month.   If he gives you problems then boot him.  In 10 months you will find out if his problematic or not.    I would research his cases to understand what he "specifically" did.   He has also proven to be a long term tenant. 

On the flip side it may be hard to rent out the other units and you may need to disclose (not sure on this as its public knowledge) this to future tenants.  

At some point you will need to let the code official in the place.  Don't piss them off even if they are dead wrong.   It is fair to ask for the specific code reference so you can familiarize yourself with this issue and how to resolve it.  I would call them back and ask for this info first and then set up a time to meet.   Having a conversation can go a long ways.

I use my wife's prius!  lol

I use Tenant Backgound search.  I do provide them with a copy of this report even if they are denied.   Make sure you understand the information on them and how to read them.  Knowing how to use the info is key.

https://www.tenantbackgroundsearch.com/

Time to replace.  Besides looking at cost you need to look at life span.  Here is a good link to lifespan of products.

http://www.nachi.org/life-expectancy.htm

If you are going the commercial avenue...  Call a local architect and have a talk with them.  They will let you know if and how they can help you or refer you on.   

What you need is a "master plan" for the site.  An architect or landscape planner/urban designer can provide this for you.  A civil engineer is pushing their limits with this, I feel and I would pass on them.   This can be a simple site diagram / mass modeling and it doesn't have to be fancy full renderings. Though you can go this route.  From here you can put a rough order of magnitude for cost.  Then decide what is feasible by cost and work one piece of the puzzle at a time.  

Later in the process its best to hire the architect who then will hire the engineers that are needed for the project.  This gives you one contract to deal with.  If you, the owner, hires each engineer  and architect separately this removes the contractual obligation to work with each other.   Engineers and architects don't like working under separate contracts under the owner.

Always include the cost of Property Manager whether its you or someone else.   Once you add this in, its a looser.  PM will take 1/2 of first months rent and then 10% every month. 

Here is what I use.  Feel free to tweak it to your needs.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/JimA732/file/rental-expenses-report

Color is such a personal preference.  Staying neutral is key.  If you are selling people will repaint the inside a lot of the time.    Stick to gray or beige.  Reserve Pewter by Benjamin Moore is another option with a hint of brown in it (or warm gray).  The above are good as well.

Remember the small the building the higher the square foot cost will be.  600 sf for a 2 bedroom is way too small.