All Forum Posts by: Michelle Marty

The rents are on the low side the new construction units are getting $795 these could get $650. All utilities are individually metered I have no idea the age and condition of roof and piping. I assume it's all original which means the roof is probably at the end of it's life cycle. I really like this building and location but its sounding like they'd have to come down a good bit to make it worth while. I'll probably go ahead and put in an offer and see what happens. I was thinking since its an owner agent and they've been on the market so long they have to know theyre seriously overpriced. Maybe they have them listed just to get thier name out there without any real intent of selling. I dont know much about realtors or if that would make sense to do but a fleeting thought none-the-less. Thanks for all of Your input you guys are awesome!

The rents are $550 per month. They are 100% occupied. The owner has 6 buildings all on that street all built the same year and all at the same asking price. 2 of them are listed on the MLS but in the description it says they're all for sale as a whole or individually. I'd love to buy them all but can't. Zillow says they've been on the market for 384 days but I remember them first popping up on the MLS around January. I have emailed the owner/agent asking questions and she has always responded within 15 minutes (not sure if shes just prompt or motivated) The seller said they put new tile and carpet in each unit. From what I've seen they're in good shape. Hope that helps paint a better picture.

I am wanting to purchase a 4 unit building. I have found one that I am interested in that is for sale by an owner agent but not listed on the MLS. The asking price is 199,900. The owner paid $140,000 in 2010. This is an older builing (30 yrs old) in a new area so it's hard to get an accurate comp because all of the other building for sale are 25 years newer, but those have sold for $178. I was thinking of offering $160. If you were you seller would to you consider that a low ball offer?

I am interested in purchasing a 4 unit townhouse style building. 3 of the units are occupied. I called the listing agent and asked if I could view the units. She said the tenants were unaware the property was for sale but could show me the empty unit. Is this standard? My other rentals are SFH so I've never run into a tenant take over situation. As a newbie to the multi-family game are there any questions I should be asking or documents I should see?
Thanks in advance!

We live in the Washington DC area and it is very pricey. We live an hour away and most of our neighbors take the train (metro, subway, etc) into DC and all say they love it because it gives them an hour to sit down and read the paper or relax before work sans kids. We were able to get a 5000 sq ft house, new construction, large yard, terrific neighborhood, schools for about 300,000 less than something similar in DC. Is public transportation an option in your area?

My family and I had to relocate for one year for an amazing job opportunity. We too are in the northern Virginia area (DC subs) and since it's only a year we rented. We signed a 1 year lease on a 4 bedroom 4.5 bath 4000 square foot house with a large fenced in yard and a pond. The asking rent was 2700 per month. It was on the market for a while so I negotiated the rent to 2600 per month. The house is in a terrific neighborhood and only a few years old. I think increasing the rent by $200 is very risky. If I were the tenant I'd move out. I'd check craigslist. That's what I do with the rentals we own, also near military post. Another tool would be to check the BHA (basic housing allowance) for your area. That's how much the military gives them for living and a lot of military families won't go much higher than that, mainly because they can't afford to. Good luck!

I'm certainly not as knowledgable as a lot of people on this site but I did set up an LLC. The manager at my bank actually told me how. It was very simple I just went to the court house and asked where to go. Everyone was very helpful. There was a set up fee of $125.00 (Virginia) and a yearly fee. I was told each state governs there own LLC processes and assess a different fee/tax. There are also websites that will save you the trip to the court house, but charge about $100 to do it. As far as purchasing a single family the first step for me has always been gathering the cash to make it happen. Good luck!

I do all of my own and really enjoy it. I have a bs in accounting and have always been a numbers gal so it's just my cup of tea. I use quickenbooks. I think it's a lot easier than excel. I'm not good at dealing with sob stories from tenants so my hubby handles all of that. He stinks at numbers. Together we are a good team. I think if numbers aren't your thing build a "team" and find someone who is. Good luck!

There was a building with 4 town homes for sale. It was listed about 30,000 below value. The building is in a nice area but I have not seen the interior. There were no photos on the MLS site and the rents listed are about $150 per unit below value. I contacted the listing agent and requested information on the property the 1st day is was listed. She responded 3 days later saying the property had been removed from the market. She was very vague and dodged almost all of my questions. All I could get out of her was the seller removed the listing. The property would be a good deal if its in good condition and if I could purchase it at or below the original listing price. The seller lives in a different state but I was able to find all of his information from property records. In your opinion would you attempt to make an offer directly with the seller or move on? Can anyone give me any ideas as to why someone would remove a listing after only 4 days?

In my state taxes are 1% of the appraised value minus $40,000 for a home owners exemption. On my house the tax value (with $40,000 off) came in at 257,000 but my neighbors have been selling their houses in the 315 range so it's not exact. Good luck.