All Forum Posts by: Mike Adams

They tell you one thing, do the other. They take on more clients then they can handle. Lack of communication and when turd hits the fan, they twiddle their thumbs.  I've found really one one I can recommend (outside of our own) in Connecticut and Massachusetts.  Have yet to find a decent one in New York, New Jersey or greater Philadelphia; aside from our own.  One thing I can say, communication and automation is key. 

Originally posted by @Jim K.:

Picture it...Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, home of old houses with serious problems and the people who live in them. At the end of October, the bathroom sink upstairs springs a leak. The leak flows across the tile floor and into the crack between the hall and the bathroom. It slowly soaks all the joists and the heavily-textured plaster ceiling downstairs. The house is empty, waiting for the tenants to move in on the first of November.

Oh Rhett, Rhett, whatever shall I do? Wherever shall I go? The tenants are scheduled to move in, their lease is up at their old place, where are they supposed to stay? Where am I supposed to find people to fix this quickly? WHAT SHOULD I DO???

Seriously, I'm extremely curious what those of who don't do any of the work in your own places do in this situation and under this time pressure. I know that you all believe your time is too valuable for this. "Work on your business, not in your business"...so what's your solution? Find a handyman willing to do this repair and pay him whatever he wants to get it done chop-chop? Call up your regular plaster repair contractor? How much money are you willing to pay to fix a hole in a dining room ceiling of this size? How much of a hit is your war chest going to take?

I feel for you. Been there plenty of times. Think logically and non-emotionally before doing anything. Hard to do, I know, but it helps a lot; at least for me it does.

Nothing some nails, sheetrock, tape and textured paint couldn't fix. We often fix things ourselves on our own rentals. Major things we hire out and we have good relationships with plumbers, electricians, etc.  We had to turn over a 1200 sq. ft. unit this weekend so we could fill for Monday. A painted want nearly 1800 to paint. I did it in about 4 hours, 2 coats and then tenant loves the unit. 

We used Aceable Agent (Real Estate Salesperson) & Real Estate Express (Broker) for our and our agent's licensing.  I have a coupon code for both if you or anyone else needs.  A++ for both.

Yes. Laws change as well as programs. There is zero guarantee that they will allow this to happen. With the way landlord / tenant regulations are going, I would bet that it will be revoked. They changed a lot of the laws in 2019, so that just shows you that they will do whatever they want to obtain votes and stay in office. Tenants want free water, utilities, rent, and now you may also be subject to provide the building with free Internet.

If it was such a deal and a steal; I assure you someone or some company with larger pockets would had bought it already.

Are you a seasoned investor? If not, pass. NYC is not for the novice at heart.  There is no guarantee that the building will turn market and should you want to evict a tenant, it can take up to a year under normal circumstances; with COVID, it looks closer to 1.5 years+.

Unless you have really deep pockets, like Uncle Scrooge McDuck pockets, hard pass.

Will have to agree with the minority here. When we started a half a decade ago, we picked a PM who was a franchise from Real Property Management. Was good at first, but as they grew their quality fell to pure garbage. We kept on adding buildings to our portfolio and tenants moved out. The one's they replaced them with nearly all were evicted since they stopped paying rent. We had a super at a complex we had in New Haven County, we didn't know that the fee he was getting to manage the building was half of what these clowns were charging (we started to self-manage and had our attorney's get the garbage out and hired a realtor to replace them). We had another PM in upstate New York who was given a completely occupied building with six tenants, and when we fired him six months later, the building was empty. No matter how much checking you do, most of the property management companies are horrible.  The reviews one sees on Google, Yelp, Thumbtack, etc are usually "friends" or fake. This is why we took it upon ourselves to slowly transition on taking over our own properties, making relationships with handymen, HVAC companies and plumbers.  We're now licensed and are going to be offering property management services the right way.  We built out a system with an API to where all is done online from support to dispatch to specialists and techs. We had one eviction during the pandemic, and they were removed within 120 days from their unit.  It is easy, no, but we will offer management on the same level and quality as we do our own.  We've been there where the PM takes advantage of the landlord.  Believe it or not, it's very common in NY/NJ/CT.  Of course, not all, but I maybe can name two PM firms in Connecticut that I'd recommend.  Zero in NY/NJ.  

I think many newbie landlords also make the mistake in entering the wrong markets or neighborhoods.  They see on TV and on YouTube how "easy" it is.  I cannot say it's easy, but it's manageable when you have a system in place.  As for tenants, I find if you treat them with respect and are stern with them when they are in violation, things work out better.  One may not avoid an eviction or repairs, but it can certainly lessen the negatives that can happen.  

Correct, that was what I was expressing. He has to play the game, but complaining about it. Fine, don't play.