All Forum Posts by: Wesley W.

In my limited experience and research into section 8, the landlording experience is more based on your local housing authority (which implements the program for HUD) than the federal regulations. Each municipality has its own process, and some interface better than others with your business model and management style. Tenants are tenants, and there are good ones and bad ones - so do your screening as you would any other.

Your best bet is to reach out to other landlords in your market that participate in Section 8 housing and ask them the pros and cons.  What people tell you on the forums here will usually be varied and highly specific to their own market.  Good luck!

NYC has VERY specialized rules for this sort of thing, and some of them defy logic in the favor-ability of tenants.  Make sure you do your homework, and I would definitely consult an attorney.  There are lots of stories out there about hapless landlords being steamrolled by professional tenants in the the New York metro area.  Landlording inside the five boroughs is much different than the rest of the state.  Good luck!

It really depends on your local market, and I also think the quality of the housing is a big factor. For example, my rentals are all C+/B-, so the rents are sub-$1000 - which leaves very little "skin" for a realtor, and frankly this quality of tenant will look themselves rather than involve a realtor. If your units are high-end (or SFH?), some of those tenants will enlist the help of a realtor (especially if they are new to the area via job transfer).

You can always try it yourself (I have great luck with Zillow/CL), and if you are not satisfied with the results, call a professional and see if your property is something they could help you with marketing.

I've been thinking about this since you started this thread, and I think those insulated covers are worthless.

It's all about thermodynamics.  The only thing that the insulation is doing is slowing down the loss of heat energy, which on the external part of your faucet is very minimal.  Some people might think they keep the faucet a bit warmer because it protects it from the wind, but that is a myth.  "Wind chill" only effects living things, not inanimate objects (e.g. your car).

If you are going to do anything, I would replace your faucets with those "deep valve" ones (or do what I did as described in my earlier post).  Either way, you can do it once and then forget about it.  No more need for situational "triage" due to your local weather.  You can use those modifications all year round.

It's a great strategy!  Cheap money with very few strings attached, and you can oftentimes get a discount from the seller for using "cash".

We have a detached uninsulated 1.5 stall garage with no power in an urban area.  We rent it out separately at $100/mo. and it is always rented.  Next time I will probably ask for more.   I think what you have is a potential additional income stream, because in urban areas parking and storage are at a premium.

If you start to feel bad about charging extra, call around and get price quotes at storage facilities - that will cure your guilt quite quickly.

What is the boiler running on?  If it's gas, you can always install one of those Williams space heaters (I prefer the non direct-vented kind as they can run without electricity).  They go up to about 65000 BTUs in size and you can get them for a grand or so at the box stores.  There aren't too many moving parts and are pretty bullet proof.  I use them as the primary heating source for my units under 800 sq. ft.

Watch out for freezing pipes on Saturday night.  When it got to -13 two years ago, I had two newly-purchased buildings that had pipes freeze and one of them burst.  Was not fun. The forecast is similar to those conditions.

If you need a recommendation on a good boiler guy, PM me.

I go in every 6 months (with notice).  I check for plumbing leaks and smoke alarms, primarily.  But I also digest the surroundings while I am in there.

The clause in my lease:

 ______ 13. RIGHT TO ENTER: You consent to our entering your apartment during reasonable hours for any inspections (by us or prospective buyers or renters), maintenance and repairs, pest control, for delivering notices, and for other purposes as provided by law. When advance notice of 24 hours or greater is given, all dogs in the unit must be crated/kenneled. Routine safety/maintenance inspections will be scheduled.

@Pat L. Thanks for the clarification.  Are these hard freezes you are talking about in an unheated house?  I assume so because you mentioned a lakehouse.

I use crimp connections for all my PEX work (except when I have to tie into existing copper), and have not had one fail yet.  (I'm worried about NYE, however.  Forecast is for -11 F, and the last time I had the pipes freeze and cause the break was at -13 F.)

I used this trick that I found on someone's blog, which worked perfectly.

I'm not sure if posting a URL is against the rules here, so if you search the web with this phrase:  "How to Find Someone’s Forwarding Mail Address Without Them Knowing" you'll find it.  The blog is called "The Dark Park."

Good luck!