All Forum Posts by: Matt Rutter

As someone who is local, but has purchased several houses from out of state investors that have used property management companies the best thing I can say is definitely do your due diligence.  

The amount of seemingly small issues I've encountered from my tenants that were just simply not address, neglected, or the work was done so poorly it had to be done again is more times than I can count on my hands. I can't speak to who the PMs were or their size that managed these properties, but there's probably more mediocre PMs out there than great. Size is probably somewhat irrelevant.

Property management should be one of four essential partners in your portfolio so take the time to find the right one, vet their process, understand their response time, ask for references, and whatever else you need to do that makes you feel comfortable with them as your feet on the street.

+1 I'm interested in some more details

Water is highly dependent on whether the property has in unit laundry, shared or neither. We have a 2 unit each with their own laundry that water and sewer is about $175, but we also ha e a 4 unit with shared laundry that is $100 or both. So it's hard to say off the bat but that should help. At a high end I think $100 per unit is a God conservative number to start with for a preliminary analysis. 

I have personally used Rolen Brothers (www.rolenbrothersfence.com) in the past. They are very consultative, do great work, and super affordable compared to the other companies I've vetted for services like tear down, haul away, installation, and warranty period. Give them a call and feel free to use my name as a reference. 

Long-term tenants are great, however, I wouldn't weigh this into your criteria. There are plenty of owners who have poor rental practices that you'll be inheriting and that's the last thing you want.

Taxes will definitely increase. Cuyahoga Country just did another round of increases which were pretty substantial for most. One of our properties had a proposed increase of 3-4x.

Water & Sewer shouldn't be a huge concern, but you need to go a layer deeper. Is there a washer & dryer? Shared or in-unit?  If they have access to a washer / dryer then you can expect that water & sewer bill to reach close to $80-100 per unit each month since they will be using it more often.  Without it, it's probably more around <$50 per unit, per month.

Two of our properties are close to cemeteries and we haven't had any issue renting them.

General location is good, but because it is an up and coming area properties can change street to street so you just want to make sure you look into that a little bit more as well when it comes to comps.

Overall, it's probably worth a deeper look, but I would hedge on some increases that might affect future cash flow.

I'm looking for some helpful DIY basement upgrade ideas!

We recently purchased a 4-unit rental property in Cleveland and the basement serves as the communal laundry room.  Completely unfinished with exposed foundation, pipes, hot water heaters, crawl space, etc. The walls need a good brush down with a broom and the ceiling for some cobwebs.

That being said, while it isn't a large space we'd love ideas on how we can make this space a little more inviting for our tenants.  We've tossed around the idea of hanging curtains to cover the exposed foundation and adding some storage shelves for laundry products. 

I'd love to hear what you have done either DIY or on a budget to make these types of spaces a bit more welcoming than just a dark, damp basement.

Hey Everyone,

We're looking for a short-term loan document to outline the terms of a private loan.

Without going into too many details, we are in the process of acquiring a new MFH rental property and borrowed about $60,000 from family to be repaid over 10 years with 3% interest. Their names will be on the title and mortgage since that is where the money is coming from, however, the agreement and plan is to refinance them off the title and mortgage at a later point since this is a short-term loan, and not an equity stake in the property. I realize there might be an easier way to have done this in the future, but those are the current logistics given our first time using private money.

I'm looking for a document that might cover those details.

Thanks!

@Caleb Heimsoth We are using a lender, but I don't think that decision has been made for us.

Hi everyone!  

We are closing on our second rental property next week and I was looking for some advice when it comes to a Landlord Insurance Policy.  The properties are on Cleveland's west side in Ohio City South of Lorain and in Eco Village South of Gordon Sq. so they are definitely older in age.  These are buy-and-hold properties.

I'm looking for advice, and realize part of this might be personal preference, on whether I should be considering a Market Value policy vs. Replacement Value policy.  The Market Value is clearly lower than the Replacement Value, but considering the home's age it has me thinking.

I'd love some advice, op that might be helpful to guide me towards a decision.  Thanks!

Do you have have a monthly newsletter or list for these meet ups I can subscribe to?  I unfortunately can't make it this Thursday, but would love to in the future.