All Forum Posts by: M Edouard

Quote from @Chris Seveney:

Quote from @M Edouard:

Quote from @Theresa Harris:

Do you know for sure that the previous owner is the one who had the basement filled in.  Why did the inspection not detect it?  Similar to what Jay said would they not have noticed that the foundation wasn't right because it was in fact the top of a basement?

How much to jack the house up and pour a new slab foundation?

Yes I know for sure the previous owner filled the basement and lied it ever existed. 

The former entry point to the basement is sealed and the owner did a good job of hiding it ever existed. Except the boiler room was moved to the first entry room of the first floor and architecturally didn’t make sense. 

 so if you fill in a basement is there really a basement? Never heard this one before. But i do not see why filling in a basement would cause the first floor to sink or structural issues. 

Have you had an engineer review this?

Not yet I just uncovered this information 

Quote from @Theresa Harris:

Do you know for sure that the previous owner is the one who had the basement filled in.  Why did the inspection not detect it?  Similar to what Jay said would they not have noticed that the foundation wasn't right because it was in fact the top of a basement?

How much to jack the house up and pour a new slab foundation?

Yes I know for sure the previous owner filled the basement and lied it ever existed. 

The former entry point to the basement is sealed and the owner did a good job of hiding it ever existed. Except the boiler room was moved to the first entry room of the first floor and architecturally didn’t make sense. 

Hello BP,

I recently purchased a property in an area that has flood issues. When I bought the property I was told by the seller that there was no basement and the property never flooded. Based on this information I felt comfortable buying the property. However through doing renovations we discovered that there indeed was a basement. We found out that the previous owner filled the basement with dirt and anything else he could find because the basement use to flood. 

Through out the entire house buying process he told all of us there is no basement. 

This has caused structural issues to the property because the first floor apartment is sinking and I feel it is related to what he did to the basement. 

On all of the paperwork there is no mention of a basement he purposely sealed the basement and lied to everyone about the property flooding and the basement. The inspection report has no report of a basement because we did not know it existed.

Knowing what I know now, what can I do?

Quote from @Bruce Woodruff:

My thoughts:

1) Go with white shaker style

2) Do not use RTA to save a few bucks

3) Look at something like Diamond available at Lowes off-the-shelf

4) Don't shop for discounts. Go get something that is good quality and will last for many years.

5) Don't install them yourself, hire someone who has done it before...a lot...everyone thinks cabinet install is easy - just screw than to the wall, right? It's not easy at all.....

Thank you! Wouldn’t the white get dirty over time? 

Hi BP,

I recently purchased my first property, a 4 unit in Queens NY. I am renovating one of the units and I need guidance on renovating the kitchen. What kind of kitchen cabinets should I get? Which color? How much should I spend on them? Should I do RTA and hire someone to put them together? Where can I shop for discounts?

Quote from @Mohammed Rahman:

First off, congrats!! That’s a big move, buying a 4-unit in Queens. You’re officially a landlord now! Sounds like you already got a bit of a head start managing your mom’s property too, which definitely helps.

So here’s the deal:

Getting folks on leases:
If the tenants are cool and paying on time, that’s already a win. You don’t wanna shake things up too hard, especially if you’re new to this. Best move is to talk to them directly—something like, “Hey, now that I’m the owner, I’d like to get everyone on a lease just to keep things clean and official.” You can slide in a small rent bump at the same time, just nothing wild. As long as you give them proper notice (30 days for under 5% increase, 60+ if more), you’re good. Keep it respectful and transparent.

CityFHEPS tenants:
This one’s a little trickier. You can’t just raise rent on your own—the city has to approve it. Each unit has a rent cap based on size, and you’d need to submit a request through HRA. If your current rent is already near that cap, might not be much wiggle room. But if it’s low, there’s a chance. Also, CityFHEPS usually wants tenants on a lease, so you can actually use that as a reason to get something in writing with them too.

End of the day, stable tenants—even at below-market rent—can be more valuable than headaches with turnover. But if you’re trying to slowly bring the building up to market, this is how you ease into it.

 Thank you so much Mo! It's been almost a month and things are coming along. Appreciate your advice!

Quote from @Jordan Flescher:

Will include here; getting those tenants on a lease is crucial. In NYC you cannot even begin the eviction process without a lease.

 Thank you!

Hello BP,

I just purchased my first property—a beautiful 4-unit building in Queens, NY! This is my first time being a landlord, though I do have some experience managing my mother’s tenants who lived in our multi-family house.

Of the three current tenants, two are without leases, and two are on DSS CityFHEPS. While their rents are below market, they do pay on time each month.

I’d love some advice from experienced landlords:

1. 1. What’s the best way to transition my tenants onto leases while also adjusting rent?

2. 2. Does anyone have experience working with CityFHEPS? How can I go about raising the rent for tenants on the program?

Any insights or strategies would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Hi BP!

I'm interested in buying a multi-family property in New York for a reasonable price. The catch is it has a violation for building garages without permits. The owner agrees to pay the violations but I'm responsible to do the necessary post work which is to either remove the garages completely or bring them up to code. I'm looking to hire an architect who has experience with violations. Does anyone have any recommendations?

You can probably get something for 600K is some parts of the Bronx but you'll inherit a lot of problems with the property. I strongly recommend North Jersey as you'll get way more bang for your buck and your open to a much wider selection