All Forum Posts by: Michael D.

Super, thanks Jeff, that's exactly what I was looking for.

More awesome stuff, thanks!

So if a roof lasts 300 months, then I guess that's about $50/mo just for the roof.

I've already replaced two fridges and a stove @ $300 each, but I'm guessing I won't have too many more this year. Say I have to replace 3 more. That's $150/mo for appliances.

Out of nine water heaters, I guess I'll replace two of those every year, so that's another - what $100/mo?

It's adding up fast. I'm already at $300/mo, but I guess nothing else can break, right? ;-)

Say $100/mo for misc.

$400?

By the way, thanks for all the advice guys!

I know the answer is that it depends - but I'm asking because you all have much more experience than I do, and can probably think of a property like this that might shed some like on what the number actually is.

Joel - Yeah, there's another 9-unit almost sharing a wall with this one. Actually it looks nicer than mine. I think I'm the eyesore!

Oh well, I can bring the image up over the next 6 months or so.

Really though, I'm trying to get an idea of what to expect the actual long-term maintenance expense is going to be, assuming that I've already taken care of any deferred maintenance.

$300/mo?
$400/mo?
more?

I'm right there with you, and truth be told I closed two months ago!

I did have it inspected - twice. I asked that everything be fixed, which it was.

At this point I'm really trying to just check my work as far as future expectations go.

I'm budgeting 10% of gross rents for ongoing repairs and maintenance. Is that a fair (not "safe", but honest) number to use? Would you calculate it differently?

I'm not looking for the safe (high) number that I might use when considering a purchase. I'm trying to get a feel for what you all actually expect over the long run with this type of property. I'm also interested to see how you measure it. I'm using a percent of gross rents. Would somebody else use a percent of market value, or something else?

BTW, next time I'll ask before I buy. :-)

How would you guys calculate an expected number for ongoing repairs and maintenance on an old, lower-income type property?

Specifically, I'm looking at a 9-unit building that is about 100 years old and has gross income of around $3600/mo or so. The market value is somewhere in the neighborhood of $180-$200k.

Thanks.

Nathan, he might have a "cash value" insurance policy rather than a "replacement cost" insurance policy. They pay you a depreciated amount based on how much useful life it had left. In his case, that probably wasn't much.

Why would you want a cash value policy?" Because it's cheaper and you're willing to bear more risk. I have one like that.

Make sure that you review all the leases carefully (even on 50-units).

Take a note of anything that the landlord is paying for tenants, and then get statements of those costs going back at least 3-6 months.

I learned the hard way recently that the water I would be paying for tenants came to $600/mo, rather than the $200-300 per month I was told be the seller.

Can any of you recommend a good property manager in Pittsburgh, PA?

What is a typical fee schedule?

I don't know much about wholesaling yet.

What happens if you can't assign the contracts? Do you have the cash/financing to purchase yourself? Do you have an assignment contingency?