All Forum Posts by: Mike A.

True, but the licensed firearm is hidden on me and only used for protection. I'd rather have the option of protecting myself and giving myself a fighting chance than pray for divine intervention. I do not think God or Jesus is visiting Hartford or Bridgeport anytime soon. lol.

No doubt, but they will be setup prior before they move in and provided a username and password to each Nest account. There's no issues in terms of support as it's pretty self-explanatory. Once it is setup, it basically runs itself.  The building also has a few washers and dryers, so I understand your frustration with that. The w/d hookup brings in an additional 20k a year, so worth it in the common area, and we do the same for fridges as well. Very basic no bells and whistles; but they are stainless steel in the A and B areas. In the C areas, we get either white or black, but no water line and we do not offer garbage disposal units. We're just concerned if a kid puts their hand down their and flips the switch. You'd be surprised that this has happened to other landlords before. Not a pretty sight.

Not my first rodeo, but I appreciate your input. I will, of course, provide updates to see how the test does. So far we've pitched it to the tenants about the proposed upgrades, it was greeted with all positives, no negatives. The wifi is optional for the tenants, but they are welcomed to use it and it will offer SSL encryption as a standard feature. None use home phone or cable, but each apt is already wired for it.

It's a shot. I thought it would be another way to get some extra money while providing a valuable service that my competitors do not yet provide. I know I've heard the ritzy apts in NYC already offer this.

Yea, the Internet is shared, but I need it anyway to setup the devices. I wonder if there is a way to create a separate login for each apt. for them to use. The account is in the business name, which they know it's an apt building. I live a few miles away, so I do not think it would have any negative effect on me. I think Spectrum also offers business wifi and public wifi, so I'll check with them too (https://business.spectrum.com/internet.html).

Of course, tenants are able to get their own wifi, but with that usually costing around 50 bucks a month, I think my offering along with the smart home features would be very appealing.

Ever since I finally sold our four complexes in a C/D area of New Haven County, I've been refocusing my efforts into better areas. I know the rents will not be be as strong, but I am hoping for better tenants and less BS from the lower income properties. I am also trying to get properties within 30 minutes of our office so we can manage them directly. I've relocated to Stamford, so I am trying to stay in Stamford, CT, Greenwich, CT, Norwalk, CT, Yonkers, NY, and New Rochelle, NY. It's hard to find good deals, but the one I am working on now is 1.9m and throws off 170k gross. I am hoping for a Freddie Mac SBL, and it should net around 5.5k after expenses.  The biggest way I am cutting costs is if they are in my area, I will manage directly, so no PM. That saves me nearly 20k a year in Stamford. I've sold Ansonia, New Haven and Hartford; but keeping the Bridgeport, CT properties. 

I've tried to management with our small team, but since they are in downtown Bridgeport, it's a struggle. One of our team members had a gun pulled on him, and I've had to stare down some groups too. The only difference was that I have a legal concealed carry in CT, but my other team members do not want the responsibility of a firearm. I was in the Army for a number of years, so Bridgeport is a cakewalk compared to Iraq. I could sell our Bridgeport properties, they've appreciated around 60%. However, even with the PM in place, they clear a decent profit most months (knock on wood).

What do you guys think? Do you keep any C/D area properties? Or, are they just not worth the headaches even though there's more profit in those units? Or, do you strictly stick with A/B areas? 

1850 - 2350 for 2 bd and 3 bds. The building brings in 185k a year gross. 

It's not optional. It's part of the rent and in the lease agreement.

I understand and it makes sense, however, I wanted to be able to have everything universally controlled remotely. With that, only Nest offers the thermostats, locks, smoke detectors and doorbells. Remember, I have setup their accounts and give them access. So, when they leave, I just change the password and ready it up for the next user. Also, I can control the thermostats remotely when they are not in use.

Also, I found that Frontier will wire the entire building and give wifi access for 50 bucks a month at 100MBPS. So, I will also offer free wifi for all tenants. 

So, for what we are going to offer, I think it's a pretty good deal for $25 bucks a month. No one can beat that. 

I would not had believed it myself if I didn't do it myself. My home has 9 zones, so I had to replace everything. I had the old Honeywell thermostats. I bought them off eBay, so I paid around a hundred bucks for each. I compared the bills for the last 12 months and even in the summer, I saved on average around 200 bucks a month. Some months significantly more.  My partner has been certified by Nest, so he can get me the devices listed above for about 50% off MSRP. The total investment for the entire building is around $1800.00. If I receive $25 per month, per unit, that means I'd be paid back in about a year and a half. Everything after that is gravy. If it wasn't in the heart of Stamford, I'd not do the upgrade. However, I am thinking the gamble may be worth it. One of the tenants works at WWE, the other three work at Thompson Reuters; so they're up there. When a person can control their entire apt. through their phone, it's pretty cool and very useful. I know, I find great value in being able to control the thermostats and getting notifications from Nest's doorbell when someone as at one of my doors. The door unlocking feature is interesting, and it's cool where they can allow people in even if they are not home. Plus, it's associated with a camera, so that is an extra security issue as well.

I recently took over a small building in a A area, very Ritzy in Stamford, and I am in the process of a small experiment. It's only four units, so it's a controlled test to see if smart devices can raise the rent and save me money at the same time. I am installing:

(4) Nest Hello Doorbells

(4) Nest Protect Smoke alarms

(4) Nest Thermostats E's

(4) Nest × Yale Locks

I will set them myself, as I've been using them in my home w/o issues for over 2 years. I will setup separate accounts for each apt. and when they are rented out, they will be given a login for the Nest account and I will also charge a $25.00 per month, per unit smart home support fee. That includes support and any additional help they need to manage the smart apt. However, I need to figure out how to get wifi for the entire building. It's only four floors, so it shouldn't be too hard, I am just not sure how to do it. Would I just call the cable company to install the Internet?

Open to ideas.

I can tell you, the Nest Thermostats in my home save me about 150 - 200 bucks a month then my previous programmable thermostats. I would think this would be a big selling point for the tenants as well as the alert features they'd have all setup when they move in. With the smart support fee, I'd be able to recoup my costs in less than a year and then it pays for itself. In addition, our utility gives a rebate for the thermostats as well.