All Forum Posts by: Kaybreh Mathis

@Todd Rasmussen Both, I think. I was looking for advice along the lines of “save 50%, reinvest 50%” but was wondering if there was an established percentage that was generally recommended for both. As it is, we don’t want to overextend ourselves, but also don’t want to lose out on more investment opportunities. Thank you!

Hello! My husband and I just bought 17 units last month. We are receiving roughly $4,000/month cash flow. Now we’re trying to formulate a plan going forward. Is there a generally advised ratio of what percentage of that to re-invest in another property vs what to hold on to? Like I said, we are brand new but always learning and big planners, so we’d like to start setting our next goal! Thanks!

 The problem here is that the old landlord let them make payments after the due date. For instance, for August rent, many tenants made payments on Aug 14 and Aug 28. And the ones that want to pay weekly also want to pay with money order, and I don't want to keep track of money orders coming in the mail constantly. For the ones that pay online, I let them make payments online before the deadline. But I need to start legally enforcing a late fee. I'll let them know about the new policy through mail. Does it need to be RECEIVED 30 days before it goes into effect? I would assume so. Several of them also apparently have trouble getting their mail (insert eyeroll)!

Hello! My husband and I bought an apartment building that is fully rented out. The previous owner was not a good landlord or business man. His lease was barely three lines long, and did not address late fees. He told me he charged a $30 late fee, but again, it’s not spelled out in the paperwork. Some of them are in current leases. Some of them are in month to month because their leases expired. I am not interested in issuing new leases right now (most of them are undesirable tenants). Am I stuck, with no ability to enforce a late fee? He also let them get by with paying rent weekly or whenever worked for them, so it’s been difficult to get everyone on board. Help!

@Tony Edington good verbiage for the future. Thanks!

@Tony Edington thank you. The lease with the previous landlord didn’t mention pests. No other tenants have complained of the issue. Should I start with treating her unit (she has the only apartment on the 3rd floor) and paying for it myself?

@Melissa Uppelschoten I have a copy of her old lease, and it wasn’t mentioned. So you think I should pay this time since it wasn’t stipulated previously?

@Jill F. She is in a 6 unit building. She has the only apartment on the third floor. Unfortunately, the previous landlord was pretty crappy and his lease was basically three lines on a half sheet of paper. No stipulations made about pests. I’ll have her save some in a bag. Good idea! I’m also worried about all 3 kinds of bugs she’s mentioned, and an exterminator costing a lot to take care of all 3 pests. You would pay for it out of your pocket?

@Steve Morris thank you! This particular tenant’s roommate makes me very nervous to have on the property. I didn’t know if I could tell the tenant that since her boyfriend isn’t on the lease, he needs to go. Or if I had to respect the “agreement” she had with the previous landlord even though it wasn’t written into the lease.

@Jaron Walling we’re transitioning everyone to apartments.com. We refuse to accept cash. However, these are all inherited tenants and most of them are undesirable. So I don’t want to issue new leases to any of them that are in month to month. I want the flexibility of being able to get rid of them as soon as possible. So you recommend turning a blind eye to the roommate for now, and just changing things when their lease expires?