All Forum Posts by: Mike Adams

If you do not like the rules of the game, then you do not have to play.

Originally posted by @Paulina Espinoza:

Since paid in cash, I just would deposit what I needed to pay bills, and the rest used to finish my house renovation that I started years ago, before I started getting into real estate investing.  I made an addition in my 1906 house, change floor plan, new electrical and plumbing, finishing still in process, adding value to the house. That the only proof, city permissions, blueprints, etc.  And my daughters came back to live with me after finish college, they have to pay me rent, have a lease, but lender don't accept it like income.  Besides, also cash.  Is it going back to a 9-5 job to show a secure income the only option?

 Did you pay taxes on the income you've received via cash?  I.E. reported it to the IRS.

Does anyone think another eviction moratorium is possible or likely in this upcoming Fall/Winter? With this cookey politicians in NY/NJ/CT, I do not know how to proceed on two deals we're considering. Luckily, we've only had one tenant who stopped paying, but that was only for 2 months. We received an emergency eviction due to drug dealing and safety issues.  However, we're just very concerned on how to proceed due to these politicians mucking everything up.

LLCs and at least 1m GL per property.

Find a way to get rid of the tenants who are not paying and refuse to go for rental assistance. Every state is different on what they require. You can also go through civil court and remove them that way in most states; but lawyers usually charge more. I'd be more active with the PM. Remember, they get their money even if you do not. If you do not sit on them, they will just lay back and wait. 

Originally posted by @Genny Li:

Originally posted by @Mike Adams:

We had a tenant tells us the same a few days ago.  When this has happened in the past, usually a tenant tells us within a week or so.  We can then send out the crew again and make it right.  However, they moved in on January 1st, 2021; so there's little we can do eight months later.  We said we would hold it against them in their security deposit.  They also complained that they didn't like the paint job or color, it was satin white, so they painted it another color at their expense. Little we can do about about it now.  Tenants will complain about anything if you give them the ability to do so.  We're fair, but we're not fools. You need to do the same. Give them an inch, they take yard.

 You...you painted a place satin? Satin??? Please tell me this is a C/D property.  If it's B or solid C, that is a very poor choice.

 No, it's a million dollar building, B area.  We use sherwin-williams infinity satin white across all of our properties. Most tenants like it; and so do we. You are welcomed to paint your apts any color you wish though.

More important question.  Where did they go to the bathroom?

We had a tenant tells us the same a few days ago.  When this has happened in the past, usually a tenant tells us within a week or so.  We can then send out the crew again and make it right.  However, they moved in on January 1st, 2021; so there's little we can do eight months later.  We said we would hold it against them in their security deposit.  They also complained that they didn't like the paint job or color, it was satin white, so they painted it another color at their expense. Little we can do about about it now.  Tenants will complain about anything if you give them the ability to do so.  We're fair, but we're not fools. You need to do the same. Give them an inch, they take yard.

Originally posted by @Frank McGovern:

Originally posted by @Aaron Zimmerman:

@Frank McGovern I think on those smaller buildings (anything 3+) can be pretty lucrative to have laundry and charge for it. I make a decent amount per month off it and has been a nice perk. Fortunately, I don't have too many coins as most of my tenants use a digital payment option

I'd assume it would be easier to just account for this in rent and increase the satisfaction of tenants and could even be a selling point for tenants. Not sure if many of you been a renter, but the quarter game or paying additional small fees to landlords on top of rent does become an annoyance/draining/negative aspect of renting. It's why units with in-unit W/D's sell much faster than shared laundry. It's less the sharing and more the hassle of having to get quarters and pay even more money on top of rent that makes people choose in-unit laundry units.

Agreed, however, not all buildings have in-unit laundries and it costs thousands to run new lines and drains to each unit. Since the landlord is paying for the utilities to use the units, it becomes expensive to offer the service and absorb the costs. Some of out buildings, 3 - 6 units, have no in-unit laundry. While we tried to offer it at no charge, tenants were abusing the service and it was costing $45.00 - $65.00 per month to offer the free service. One cannot just simply tack on a laundry fee on to the rent, as that could price you out of the market. Therefore, we provide washers, dryers with a coin-op conversion along with a coin changer for the tenants to use. It usually pays for itself in a few months. We also price it about half to a 3rd less than a laundromat. We're not trying to nickel and dime the tenants, just cover the laundry expenses. We also find, if they are paying for it, they tend to not abuse the service.

Originally posted by @John Bradley:

Hi, any best practices for handling all the quarters that come along with coin laundry.

so far I’ve been taking them to the bank but they make me count the. By hand and put them in rolls 

We've installed coin machines in the laundry rooms and just recycle the quarters.  Look into the CM-222. You should be able to acquire a used one for a few hundred dollars.  We just take the dollar bills and deposit them into the bank account for the specific building. Much easier than having to take the quarters from the machine, roll them, write the account # on them, then deposit them.