All Forum Posts by: Mary M.

@Cameron Mitchell  I dot know where to find your ad (and dont have time to go looking) but please dont destroy older home "charm" if it exists - ie glass knobs, unpainted wood trim (assuming this is a place from the early 1900s) ...  people love that look and if it truly has that kid of vintage charm people will pay top $$ for it. Of course I have not see the ad so I could be off but thought I would mention it! 

Portland (and Oregon in general) can be a great area to invest in.  I own 2 small new build  MFs  (20 units total) ....  The one thing to keep in mind when thinking about repositioning a building is that in older buildings you cant just jack rent up - we have rent control....  and if you evict someone for no cause you need to pay them to relocate.   I guess my point is please educate yourself!   

This is a tough one. Are you positive you could rent it for 1400/mo?  That is a huge differential....

You need to think about the value you place on your current tenant. How much is it worth to you to have them as a tenant? If say,  you can increase their rent to 1200/mo this year,  then to say 1350 next year would you keep them? 

No matter how great your market is you will have costs associated with re-renting.  Conservatively 2 weeks of vacancy, plus costs to clean, repair, advertise and if you use a PM,  cost to lease up.  I would guess that would total at least 1200 if you dont use a leasing agent - way more if you do. (maybe twice that?) 

So....  you can place values on all these options and you hopefully will come up with what will work best for you. 

Finally, there is no law that states that a business must charge as much as possible. Look around and you will see that prices differ even on the same thing based on who is selling it.  Money is not everything and sometimes the best way  to succeed is to maximize what makes you happy. (maybe a good, easy tenant is important to you) 

after reading the posts that saw your ad-  the number one thing people like about my apartments is they are CLEAN - cleaning is easy to do and is cheap - you can do it yourself! people dont want to clean when they move in. and you can rise above your competition just by having a clean space. 

if you post your ad I am sure others can add other valuable feedback,. 

You should call the unit a house. not an apartment btw. 

Just want to mention that you should check your local Tenant/LL laws before you do anything.  For example here we are not allowed to deny based on source of income (aka section 8), an eviction from (i think) prior to 10 years ago,  and we can not deny based on am eviction  during covid. 

*Basically, before  you do anything learn your local laws.*

That said, lower the price and see if you get a bit more interest. 

Question for you folks that are pro caulkers:  I am learning to caulk - are there any specific online resources that you would recommend?   Also, how do you keep caulk tubes from drying out?  I go thru a lot of white, but for the special colors, I use it rarely and so keep having to buy a new tube as the old one went dry....  what is your secret to keep that from happening?

 No,   tenants should not be responsible for caulking!  that is crazy!    I would NEVER rely on a tenant to maintain my assets.

As a tenant I would request to have something caulked and if the LL didnt do it in a reasonable time, I would ask if they wanted me to do it (since I know how)

I have Kaiser and always have (was born at Kaiser) .....

Check your state laws.  In Oregon a self employed contractor or self employed  licensed individual  whom you hire with a contract, will self insure themselves. They basically have health insurance that will cover their injury if one happens.   This is true for all self employed people....  but for this discussion  you need to be sure anyone working on your property is licensed as per state laws. 

I would grab this book https://www.amazon.com/Estate-...  it will teach you how to analyze properties.   (i am not affiliated with amazon or the link I posted just trying to be helpful to the OP) 

Analyzing commercial properties is very different than SFHs.... if you can find a CRE broker to help you it would be really helpful.