All Forum Posts by: Radhika M.

@Sarah Lam just wanted to say thanks for sharing and let people who are considering out of state know of potential issues to consider.

A couple of posters have suggested firing or changing the PM but since you the rental guarantee for two years. I assume you can not fire the property manager and keep the rental guarantee? Is that correct?

@Account Closed For the market rents I would research what the going rent is for a 3 bed room and 2 bed room in fourplexes. Like you said depending on location and condition even 3250 seems high. Don't compare one zip code to the other as rents vary quite a bit depending on location within San Jose.

Other thing to keep in mind is the rent control. Most fourplexes in San Jose are rent controlled so you may not be able to increase the rent right away. 

@Account Closed Is teh fourplex in 95117 or 95128 zip code? if so the rent of 3500 for the 3bed seems high.  Right now units for rent are talking slightly longer to rent especially at the 3500 price range in San Jose.  I would be cautious when estimating higher rents.  

@Account Closed Like you said if you think you can do it you can and if you think you cant you cant. My mom always says this :) (not just for real estate it is true for many things in life)

15 months seems like a short time to break into inner/winner circle of anything. Some people just don't have the patience.

@Account Closed You are on a Roll. Thanks for sharing some numbers and showing it can be done.

@Sid N. We have not built a Multiplex have some experience with building our home.

Some things to consider are the zoning of the lot. If the lot is zoned for single family it will be hard to get it rezoned. You should go to the city and find out if it is feasible to do build a multiplex. Also the building codes might be different for multiplex over 4 units.   Is the lot on city water and sewer? 

If the lot is zoned for a multiplex then your next ste would be work with an architect familiar with this type of designing this building.  The soft costs for building one of building in bay area are high. This includes the permit costs, design costs and other costs.

The building costs in Bay area are high so consider if it is make financial sense to build a small multiplex.

@Huan Yang

Like you said the management fee is very low. There is no Vacancy included in your numbers. You are not accounting for Vacancy and Capex. If you account for 8% or 10% vacancy and 5% capex and another 5% extra for management do the numbers still make sense to you?

Like a couple of people suggested above call Property Management companies locally and find if they will manage the property and if so ho much they charge and what is teh vacancy you can expect.

@Ladan Ballai It looks like you do not trust the old Landlord and believe the tenant. One thing I want to point out is that if the tenant signed the estoppel and they did not mention the last months rent was paid then they also missed something they should have made sure the landlord included.  Is there something else during the transaction that makes you feel like the landlord is the one not telling the truth. Also you said the property is in San Jose so 2000 is not a big enough amount for a landlord to try to cheat you intentionally based on property cost here.  

So I think like someone said said above you take the Landlord and the tenant to court and let the judge decide who is telling the truth.

@Account Closed It depends on your lease but in majority of the leases subleasing is not allowed. If you want to add some one the lease you need to get a approval from the landlord and he has the right to get a back ground check on the person you are adding to the lease.  If you do let some one live there without his permission the landlord can evict you.

I am sorry that the landlord did not treat you well. You may be upset that you paid his mortgage but it was your choice to rent and you seemed to have enjoyed the low rent for a very long time because of rent control. So please move on and not hold on when you clearly don't plan to live there.

@Monika V You say that the these are houses so I assume single Family houses if so you should be okay doing the increase but for any increase over 10% you need to give 60 day notice. Make sure you send the rent increase letter by certified email.