All Forum Posts by: Mark W.

@Willard Blair

"The rental will begin on [date] and continue on a month-to-month basis."

That's all I have to define the term.  If you have a date you need the unit back, you could do it one of two ways -- you could have a lease with a defined term, or do a month-to-month and just terminate accordingly.

In NY you can terminate with 30 days notice if they've been there < 1 year.  Over 1 year and < 2 years, it's 60 days.  >2 years its 90.

@Willard Blair Do you mean the early termination fee?  Basically my current language is that if the tenant vacates within 1 year of the rental agreement signing (I don't call it a "lease") an early termination fee is charged and must be paid before the tenant leaves.

Hi Ryan, this has been my practice for awhile now (even before this new law) and from my experience it has not been a deterrent.

I have utilized an "early termination" fee should the tenant choose to leave earlier than a year.  Recent research on the subject leads me to believe a judge would interpret that as essentially making it a one-year lease, so I may discontinue this practice.

Month-to-month rental agreements only.  With habitual late payers you can simply terminate.  (Impossible with a 1-year lease.)  But within that 1st year, if things go sideways, a one-month notice is all that is needed.  Now if they don't leave, you have a holdover eviction.  Not sure if that is the same process as a non-payment eviction.

That said, if you terminate, I would still file a non-payment eviction case in order to get a judgement.  And I have no idea what happens if they also holdover.

(Note for those unaware: after 1 year, notice to terminate must be 2 months notice.  After 2 years, it's 3 months.)

Couple options here. You could open up a 2nd personal checking account and just keep finances separate. Or you could file a DBA (doing business as) form with county for ~$20 and then take that to your bank of choice and open up a business account.

I stay away from the big banks as those tend to be laden with fees, especially with business accounts. Locally, ESL is pretty friendly and fee-free for both personal and small business accounts. And if you're a sole proprietor DBA they'll let you link the accounts so you can transfer money bank and forth as needed.

Would not recommend online only.  As you grow you'll need to handle all forms of payment -- cash, checks, money orders -- and that's easier to deal with at a local branch.

@Ryan O'Malley Here's my take as a fellow small multi investor in Rochester.  I would first research a good lease, you'll need one to either rent to a new tenant or put the existing tenant on (only if they are month-to-month currently, otherwise you need to honor the current lease term.)  My lease (actually rental agreement, I don't do year leases) has evolved significantly over time.  Either through experience or seeing language in other leases that I liked.

If the house will be vacant when you take possession, see if there are any improvements you can do that will boost rent and enhance "rentability."  New paint for sure, maybe new flooring or refinish hardwood floors.  Replace a grungy, out-of-date bathroom vanity and fixtures.  Update lighting, replace outlets, switches, and plates.  New appliances go a long way if the ones in place are old and gross.  How are the kitchen cabinets and countertop?  Not much to paint those and replace countertops/sink/faucet.  Work on the unit you'll be renting first, then work on the one you're living on as time/funds allow.  I assume you're going to DIY most of this; labor is very expensive and will kill your savings rate for sure.

See what you think of property and tenant management.  The most difficult part of landlording is managing people and their expectations.  You'll find out if you're up for it once you encounter difficult situations.  It's easy to collect rent, but when the furnace goes out, or you hear yelling and shouting next door constantly, or they don't pay that month, that's when you learn.

Start saving up for the next one.  I found it to be a slow burn at first, partially because renting a single unit doesn't add much when capital improvements crop up.  But as you pick up a 2nd and 3rd, things can start to accelerate.

Oh, as for an LLC right now, not necessary. And you can run into problems if you quit claim the deed into the LLC after buying in your personal name. The bank can call the loan due, it's called the "due on sale" clause. Lots of folks say it doesn't happen, but it does. And if interest rates ever go up appreciably, banks will be incentivized to call non-compliant loans. That's my take, at least. I'm admittedly very conservative when it comes to risk.

Somethings not right.  Square footage is incorrect and no way is that pulling $1200 a unit for 2BR/1BA units in that area.

@Larry Turowski Was there a change made to the timeframe of the "pay rent or quit" notice?  I thought I saw something about it moving from 3 to 10 days, but I'm not finding that now.

I used to do used appliances too but prices have been creeping up on those.  And I haven't been happy with the lifespan.  I just got a brand new electric stove and fridge (black, not stainless) from Lowe's for $900 delivered.  I know others do better by scooping up scratch-and-dent units.  But those are cash and carry.  Sure it's not ~$500 for a used set, but they're new and I won't have to worry about those for a long long time.

@Joseph W Deleguardia I actually prefer tenants to be home when I'm looking at the place.  I will ask things like "everything working ok?"  or "anything need fixing?"  I will also ask if they like living there.  I try and engage them a little bit just to get a feel for the situation and what I might be inheriting.

For your 1st deal I would absolutely do an inspection.  Get your own quote on landlord insurance.  Figure out your own numbers.  You can verify property taxes on the city and county websites.  Since it's a duplex, you'll be paying the water bill, so you can check what the most recent water bill was on the city site.  For a duplex of that size I would expect a water bill around $80-$100 per quarter.  Much higher than that may be indicative of a leaky toilet or faucet.  Easy fixes, but over time if not addressed will cost you lots.

If it's a single furnace/hot water tank, call RG&E and get those #s.  If they're separate and the tenant pays, then never mind :)

Also, with a super long term tenant, wear and tear on the unit may be significant.  I just had a 19-year tenant leave, and I pretty much had to gut the place the wear and tear was so bad.  That turnover was not cheap.