All Forum Posts by: Marian Smith

@Matt Wells I agree. Reasonable plan. Stocks are liquid. You are young. Stocks were, before covid, predicted to have mediocre returns going forward but the diversification stocks bring, liquidity and the passivity of the investment might make up for any negatives. Stocks tend to hedge against inflation, too, long term. The dollar cost averaging approach is good. You could put some of the money in a Roth as I believe your principle can be removed no penalty after 5 years. And no penalty for college tuition, I believe...if you have kids.

@Jonathan Farber Looking back at the photo, I think landscaping might be number one. Painting the white gray might be too drab. How about dark teal there and black doors? Black is actually a top door color. And that would keep the modern look. Nice modern unit number plaques with large metal numbers mounted next to the doors looks classy...not Home Depot or traditional looking ones. They will be a tad expensive but convey quality and last a long time without wear and tear...can’t say that much in the rental world. Too lazy to search and post a picture but owner occupied here both have them. Noticeably nicer than black plastic numbers on the door like the rental units.

@Jonathan Farber Looks to me like the previous owners went with a contemporary look. I think the contrast between the dark gray and white siding is too much. So a lighter gray there. And the bright red doors are too much. I might photoshop different color doors. Teal, green, navy and gray, not bright...see if that makes them look more like townhomes. If not, then tone down the red. Navy is trending and two of the owner occupied condos here used navy. The other picked a red as bright as yours, so maybe you are good. But I prefer a burgundy or deep cherry. Landscaping always looks nicer, too.

@Dom Barlow not unless you want to negotiate the price lower...that is what inspections are for. They are very general and if they suspect problems they refer you to an expert. If you are concerned about the wiring, read up on it and if you are still concerned hire an electrician to inspect and advise. And so forth. Jack of all trades master of none.

@Anthony Wick I am 5 for 5, and also with two early payers that are usually late. I was thinking they are saving up good graces in case they need to ask for some more time later, but now I am thinking that all the news about rent kept rent in the foreground and they just remembered to pay on time. Or bored and remembered. No one uses autopay but the two early birds recently started using Zelle. I did not send out letters or anything.

@Marci Stein Tell her you what you told us. You do not allow leases to begin or end outside the season because it is too risky and you cannot afford the risk. It may be that she cannot sign a lease with an apartment because they cannot control any holdover occupancy...if that is what they call a lease ending and tenant refusing to move, not able to move, whatever. If that is the case, you too may not be able to sign a lease with a new tenant until she has secured a place...found a vacant place? That would be a mess.

@Heath Jones Looks like your question is more whether your business requires 3k worth of accounting/tax services per year. It seems like when you build a “team” they often feel entitled to a percentage of the profits over an hourly wage even without a monetary investment. I will say, my extremely competent sister in law attorney, partner, super busy, charges $250 hour or so. And I wonder how complex your question was to need 2 hours research by super star accountants. Were you expecting a quick off the cuff response? I have gotten great pointers on the phone from receptionists who have seen the same thing over and over....not accountants, but law (and the tip was right on, very helpful) and appliance repair. Anecdotal true , and I don’t think you should expect free advice from paid advisors. But maybe high prices should come with some sort of perk like a phone call during the year.

@James Baker good advice. My credit card has an annual statement that sorts by category. I use pen and paper for my tax records, and put my receipts in an envelope per property each year and tally it up on the outside of the envelope. It is kind of a blessing that your tax guy turned you away because doing your taxes let’s you see how you are making money.

@Alex Svet what about the condensate drip pan...smells more musty than socks though imo.

@Adam Hoak You actually have a few things to consider. If you raise the rent and there are alternatives, your tenant may need/decide to move. Then you likely will have to upgrade the interior, at least paint, to get a good tenant. So take a good look at the interior before deciding. That brings us to the second thing. If you are living next door you may want to keep a clean, quiet neighbor...and she may or may not be...rather than risk a loud, slovenly one for more money. A shared interior wall shares bugs, barking and late night tv...annoying the occupant on the other side whether you or your future tenant. Third, a 70 year old is not that old so may be seen as an insurance policy against an inconvenient vacancy or a turnstile type property with vacancies every year or so. I have seen many places list for rent at the top of the market for the area and languish even in a hot market. A two month delay in occupancy is, in your scenario, about the same as your rent increase. So a wash. The Californians across the street from my rental took 3-4 months to find tenants at a nosebleed rent about 10-15% higher than I lease for and it is rented now to 3 guys, two with pretty beat up cars. I suspect they took a tenant that paid up because they were having trouble getting accepted as tenants...a nice dual income family being what most landlords prefer. Just food for thought. If the property taxes on the property have gone up every year for 13 years, you can use that to justify a rent increase to at least cover the tax increase and let the tenant know you will in the future raise rents with taxes and inflation (just like SS) as a matter of policy if market rental rates allow. Also, I would suggest you allow property location to sway you a little more than a house hack goal of living free for a while. Tenants top desire is a safe area.