All Forum Posts by: Laura Williams

@Navid A. congrats as this sounds like an awesome deal & a home run. If it was me I’d wait until his lease is up before raising rents. My PM raises rent on a sliding scale for renewed leases which seems to work well ...month to month is 10% increase. 1year lease is 5% increase and 18 month is 4% and 2 year lease is 3%. I’m currently offering 1/2 month free rent special if they choose the 2 year lease option as I hate turnovers. Trust me if this guy is a good tenant and long term you want to keep him as long as possible & treat him well. 

Thank you. I’m learning so much. Never would have thought about the basement needing to be insulated 

@Jim K. it’s an older house that was converted to a 5 plex built in 1930. It has a large basement with high ceilings ...one of the tenants was actually telling me he would be interested in making it an apartment down there and living in it so I’d say it’s a good size. The windows are typical small basement windows and the electric furnace for this problem unit is located in the basement. 

@Jim K. great info in your post. This building is 3 stories high and its only the bottom floor unit that’s getting hit with the high electric heating bills. The tenants on the second floor tell me they hardly need to turn on their heaters. First floor apartment the electric bill is $500 this month and 2nd floor apartment (smaller) it was $38...probably cause they getting heat from the first floor Would the attic insulation make a difference in your opinion on this situation? 

Thanks @Matt M. and @John Pierce  This thread has been really helpful. I'm getting the sense from everyone that the problem is more that it's electric heat (instead of gas) more than the drafty windows ...although the windows might not be helping. This has certainly been educational about the difference in an electric furnace verses gas. I will definitely be taking note of electric furnaces in the future ..I never realized such a difference such a difference in monthly cost.

Thanks @Ravi P. The apartment has it's own electric furnace ...no gas at all except for the water heater in the basement. I just got the new electric bill for December and was $500 and they told me that the apartment averages this & higher in the winter time for past few years. It's only a 2 bedroom apartment. I've not experienced this kinds of cost before for electric even on a huge house. Great idea bout the window insert. I'll look into that

@Ariel Hernandez That interest rate sounds about right for an LLC loan. I just got a portfolio loan renewed at 5.75% fixed for only 3 years which was before the recent interest rate went up so it would probably be more now. A couple weeks ago I was quoted 7%-8% for 30 year fixed LLC loan from a couple different lenders. The best I found for a fixed rate 30 year LLC loan was a bank that could do mine for 6.2% with 2 points and 75% LTV & this bank doesn't look at tax returns. The one good thing about the LLC commercial loans is that they are alot less strict & easier for paperwork than Fannie and Freddie.

Thanks@Anthony Testino  Appreciate the example. So it sounds like if the windows are somewhat bad and you replace them it could average around a 25-30% energy savings. Do you think adding drapes or that plastic wrap to the windows would average the same savings in your professional opinion?

Thank you @Thomas S. @John Pierce @Curtis Bidwell

I appreciate all of your replies. The problem is that this unit the electric bill was $330 for November ..not event the coldest month with no washer/dryer or dishwasher and I'm worried about it causing tenant turnover or problems with someone paying the rent ..if it's this high in November it might be $500 in January. The area the apartment is in people don't have this kind of money. On the other hand just loosing a tenant every year and doing a turnover would pay for the cost of new windows but I'm just trying to see if that would even help solve the problem before I throw money at it. It does have an electric furnace so that could be why it's so high. Thanks again for all your ideas and if any other suggestions I'm open :)

For those of you who have fully replaced old windows & installed new ones in your personal or rental properties I’m curious what percentage it reduced your utility bills.

I have an apartment unit that has 15 large old windows and has been getting high electric bills (electric furnace and no dishwasher or washer/dryer and temp set at 70) and I’m wondering if it’s worthwhile to replace the old windows. Curious the reduction in people’s bills after full window replacement on their older properties.