All Forum Posts by: Matthew Ortins

Tenants should be treated like your employees not customers. Customers are always right and tenants are not always right. A "gift" or "welcome package" or whatever you want to label it is a great tool. If you conduct a quarterly Inspection and the apartment is in great condition leave a small gift of $50 value or less. This creates incentive and that's how humans work. Is a clean apartment a good ROI on $50? I Think so. Also if you would rather your tenants "fear" you...your probably not a good leader and have never lead anyone before. Just my opinion here guys. Good luck!

Jesal Shah I would recommend looking at your market first. Some markets don't really call for single family rentals. Big upside to a single is that you can be very hands off and allow them to do the work, but if that's the case what are you really learning. My recommendation is start with a 2-4 family. 5-20 is not a great place to start. That's learning to swim in the deep end IMO. Good luck

Tom Squire I would try to convert to a 3 BR and I would leave the cast iron in place. They may rust on the outside but if it isn't leaking then you don't need to dig it out and replace it. 50-60 years isn't that old for cast iron, you can get over 100 years out of them consistently. They are rock solid. Utilize that money in a way that will increase the value and ROI of your property.

@Brett Snodgrass I just finished reading the book called "the one thing" and I can't agree more. Thank you for reminding me of this. 

I think in your market with rents in the 1200-1500 for a 2BR you should be looking at a price point of 240-270k for a duplex. At that price you will find your ROI at a much more desirable rate.

Good advice, 

Growing to fast and spreading yoursel to thin is a common fatal flaw I hear about with new investors. Thank you @Kevin Hunter for sharing that. 

Hey @Zico George

Haverhill's A and B class areas in my opinion are Bradford and Riverside. This is where you can get at least 1300-1500 a month for a 2BR apartment. For a 3BR 1300 is fairly low. This would be in an area that is closer to a C or a D class. This would be in tougher neighborhoods like by the Aves. I have looked into Lowell a little bit lately and find that it has a consistently lower price point than Haverhill. I am interested in learning more about what apartments are renting for in Lowell. I am currently renting multiple 2 BRs in riverside of Haverhill for 1300+. Let me know if you have any more questions, I'm glad to help out. 

-Matt

thanks @Kevin Hunter . I try to stay on top of all of the podcasts. Tons of great knowledge, your are right my friend. Thanks for introducing yourself! 

Matt 

Hey, Welcome to BP and thanks for your service. I highly recommend you utilize your VA loan to use high leverage, get a multi family as a owner occupied and start building your foundation this way. You can start to build skills as a landlord/property manager and build equity via your tenants money. This is the route I chose after getting out of the USMC and I am very happy with the position it put me in. Let me know if you have any questions and cheers to your future. Respectfully, Matt

What's up Justin, I am Matt and I am from Beverly, Ma as well. I currently live in Haverhill, Ma. I moved there for the multi family market. In 2015 I purchased a 2 family in Haverhill and have been house Hacking it since. I am know in the market for a 3-4 family house. It's a little slow right now naturally due to it being winter however there are still deals to be made. Let me know if you have any questions and how your search is going, maybe we can bounce some ideas off each other to provide value. Respectfully -Matt