All Forum Posts by: Matt Romano

Even if she only really needs a week. Does it make sense to allow 2? She might put up a stink about not wanting to pay that ammount since / if she really only needs the 1 week 

Thanks for the response @Greg Carrier I really don't mind being flexible. Especially if it's to my benefit  (more rent $ and more time to complete garage project). She stated in the E-mail that she would need only until the 7th of October and absolutely no longer than that. But I'm thinking to give 2 weeks to allow for any other mishaps with her move and to also justify my request for a higher portioned rent. Thoughts? The ball is in my court.

I purchased my first 2-family home this past July. its an up / down 2 unit that I will "house hack". The upstairs tenant (unit where I'll live) received a notice to vacate from me back in July, stating that she had until the end of September to hand over the keys. I got a letter back from her within a week stating that she would be out before my requested date; by the end of August. This was good news as I would be able to start some renovating to my unit sooner, and thus obviously move in quicker.  As the end of August came closer, I received an e-mail from her asking if I could go back to my original request and allow her to stay for the month of September.  I decided that that wasn't an issue because of two main reasons: 1. I was in the middle of doing some construction on the detached 3 car garage, and needed at least another month to reach full completion there, and 2. Another month of rent sounded good to me, lol. 

So here we are, nearing the end of the month that she's supposed to be out, and I get an email from her this afternoon, explaining how her new apartment isn't ready to be moved into yet.  And requesting just ONE more WEEK in order to transition smoothly into her new place.  I understand completely that I do not have to cater to her wants, and that by allowing her the additional week I am enabling her. I agree with all of those whom I can already hear through the computer about treating this like a business, and not a hobby.  However, I am STILL not finished with the garage, and an additional week or 2 wouldn't bother me much in terms of my timeframe. I am leaning towards allowing an additional week or 2 that way I can finish up what I need to with the garage and not be overwhelmed with both the garage and unit renovations at the same time, as I'm doing nearly all of it DIY style. 

Can I have her stay for 2 weeks for an amount that I come up with thats MORE than just 1/2 the months rent (say as like, an inconvenience fee), If both her and I agree and sign papers stating so.  For example, her current rent is $675/mo, and if I charged $400 for two weeks.  

Or should I just require another full months rent (regardless if she really needs just a week) and risk delaying my schedule back a full month.  Or would I legally have to prorate accurately if we both signed a new date for her to be out?

And what are your thoughts on this matter as a whole? have any of you dealt with similar situations? Sorry for such a long post! I appreciate all your comments in advance as always

-Matt

awesome @Nathan Gesner thanks for the info. And that calculator / chart will definitely be saved for reference! So unlike the units rent value affecting property value, would a garage with an awesome history of rent add value? Or still just be looked at as a bonus? 

I own a 2 Family home that has a 3 car (detached) garage. The garage was rented for a measly $125 / mo from the previous owner. I had the garage emptied so I could start from scratch with it after closing. The garage is (but not for long) in pretty bad shape. The building is from the 1930's, and its just been structurally hacked together so many times throughout the years. It'll be going under construction this weekend by myself and a buddy to fix the roof sag, and the majority of other structural areas needing attention. And also the leaking roof will be fixed and re-shingled w/ style to match the property. I know that I will have no problem renting out the spaces for a total of $400 extra income. But aside from the bonus in cash flow that it will bring, I was curious to if the repairs and roof done to the garage will in fact add value to the property at all!? Like is there any ROI with these things? I'm under the assumption that a property being sold with a 30yr old roof in need of replacement would be valued (or even assessed) at a lower amount than the same exact property that just had a 30yr roof done? Any and all thoughts much appreciated! Thanks BP :)

I will be residing in one of the units come the winter so I think just offering to compensate them for the usuage would be the best route for now. Thanks for all the replies! 

Maybe I should've been a bit more clear @Chris Martin the garage will NOT be for tenants use, but rather rented out separately, hence my question / concerns.  And @Gail K. I will be adding some supporting 4x4" posts and sistering the existing roof trusses with 2x6"'s, along with getting the roof done (stripped and re-shingled).  Tough to put an amount of actual time (in hours) to it.  But I could always just compensate the tenant for my usage as Andrew previously mentioned. Still curious to hear other thoughts though!

There are only 2 meters for electricity.  So I should be compensarting for the electricity that I use to do work on the property.   Thanks for the response @Andrew B.

I have a 2 family property with a detached 3 car garage that I'm going to start working on next week.  I will need to run electricity to the garage from either the 1st or 2nd floor tenants electrical service (just to work on the property, not actually putting electricity permanently in the garage).  And I'm just wondering how I should go about this.  Should I just mention something to either one of them that I'll be using some juice of theirs.  Or whats the right way to go about it? All thoughts appreciated! 

Definitely Victor, I agree that the properties in the area are selling extremely fast, and often above asking price. I myself, closed on a 2 family recently $7,000 above sellers asking price. The market is just that hot and competitive right now. And when you're going up against the masses, sometimes that's just what it takes. If I was looking at the property as strictly an income property, it wouldn't have been a smart decision. However, my situation falls under two specifics that Anthony stated. 1. It's a great place that I want to live. And 2. The majority of my mortgage (PITI) are being paid by my tenants. Now, in terms of pure investment properties, aside from the larger (4+ units) generally having more potential to produce well than their smaller siblings, I believe that finding deals in ways other than MLS are extremely necessary. Essentially everyone can see the deals on the MLS. But rather to find properties that are either in distress, or other off market opportunities. Otherwise, bidding wars are unfortunately becoming quite the norm it seems for the 2-4 units. Anyone else agree that there is more potential for greater return through a non MLS deal?