All Forum Posts by: Michele G.

What you have is likely mildew not mold, but impossible to say without seeing it. I would make sure the shower is properly caulked and then I would install a combo light/fan unit that vents to the outside. That way every time the light is turned on the fan is also turned on. This will reduce the moisture in the bathroom as long as they turn the fan on when they shower. We had the same problem in our bathroom. As long as we remember to turn the fan on when we shower we don’t have a problem.

Ron Jurgeson In case you haven’t gotten your answer yet... you have to set up a different email for each account. My first Zelle payment was for rent. My tenant used my email and it went directly into my rental account. Apparently my cell number was linked to the account as well. Then a friend sent me money via Zelle using my cell number and it got automatically deposited into my rental account. Oops! I emailed Zelle and this is what they told me... “You can assign one mobile phone number or email to a single bank account and/or debit card. For example, you can connect your mobile phone number to your account at Bank A and your email address to your account at Bank B. If you are using the Zelle® App, you may only have one debit card active at any given time. If you have multiple accounts at one participating financial institution, please contact your financial institution for assistance in assigning an email or phone number to each account.”

Capital additions generally add value or extend the life of the asset. Costs to maintain your property in good condition fall under repairs & maintenance. Usually the larger replacement/maintenance items or additions fall under capital expenditures. The IRS does list some things as capital improvements, but for many expenses there isn’t a strict list to classify an expense as an R&M or CE. You have to decide on a case by case basis. Look at the scope of the work and its effect on the property. Does it extend the useful life of the asset? Does it add value to the asset?  Then it’s likely a capital expense  

For example, I would make the following classifications on my property depending on the cost and scope of the work involved:

Fixing a portion of a roof is a repair, but replacing the roof is a capital expense. 

My weekly gardener is an R&M expense. Hiring him to redesign the landscaping or plant several new trees is a CE. 

Painting a common area wall that has graffiti or chipping paint is R&M. Painting a whole building is a CE. 

Replacing a leaky faucet for $50 is a repair. Replacing all of the fixtures would be a CE. 

Hopefully this gives you an idea of how you might classify an expense, but always check with your accountant. They will be able to properly classify it for you. 

Thank you for the recommendations Melissa Nash I need to get my team in place so I can find a replacement property. I’m stuck in an over analyzing mode.

@Eric V. It’s frightening what tenants flush down drains. Some blockages are the landlord’s responsibility (poor maintenance, roots, broken line, etc), but if we find the blockage was due to paper towels, rags, diapers, or anything else that should not be flushed down the drains then the landlord might be able to hold the tenant responsible for the cost of the cleaning. It may also save you from paying for damaged personal effects too. 

I would make sure that whoever you call out to fix a backed up line writes the source of the blockage on the invoice if they are able to determine what caused it. 

Many of our landlord clients have clauses that make the tenant responsible for drain backups if they flush something down the drains that shouldn’t be flushed.

 I have my MSA. I understand the difference between tax evasion and a 1031. I don’t work with 1031’s so my knowledge there is very limited. 

My husband & I are self employed. We love our businesses and have no desire to give them up. We are simply at a stage where our companies need less management on our part. We have accumulated quite a bit of equity in our properties and I would love to use that to scale up. Our “exit strategy” is to continue holding our real estate to pass on to our kids and grandkids. That’s what my dad did with me and it’s why I have so much equity in our buy & holds. I have been very blessed to have very little problems with our SFHs. Tenants have been there for 6-10 years in all of them, rent is paid on time, & we have never had to evict someone. I feel I pay a large enough sum of income taxes so if the IRS wants to allow me to defer my capital gains taxes I will happily do so as long as they allow it.

Thank you all for your advice! I am enjoying learning about real estate investing. It has so many facets and strategies for all different types of people and goals.

I’ve tried several of those and found I tend to go faster which causes messy lines. Now I use a good brush and do it by hand. If it’s a dark color next to a light color I will use the painters tape that seals extra well. I used that tape when I painted navy blue next to bright white and got a super crisp line.

Those of you who have student rentals... what cash flow benchmark do you use? Do you have a figure per room that you shoot for or do you still use a per door metric?

House configurations can vary greatly from house to house here:

• 5 bed/2 bath; 
• 2 units: 2 beds/1bath each
• 6 beds/6 baths
• 3 units: 2 beds/1 bath & 1 bed/bath, etc. 

It's really hard to compare each one per "door". I'm evaluating several properties and the cash flows are all over the place regardless of whether I compare per room or per door. 

I live in a large college town that relies on student rentals to house the kids & we have worked in student rentals for the past 20 years in our other business. Here leases run for 50 weeks split into 12 equal payments starting in late August and running through the first week of August. The 2 weeks allows for cleaning and repairs for turnover. Lease signing opens in late September for the next school year. Many rentals tier their rates depending on the number of students on the lease.  Most student houses are 50-100 years old so you need to keep up with repairs and capex.  Student houses & SFHs are mixed in together. SFHs sell for less than the student houses of the same size and bedrooms.