All Forum Posts by: Joe Martella

As the landlord you need to determine the level of importance as the work orders come I.   Not everything is an emergency.  

A faucet with a drip can impact the water/sewer bill (depending on what type of leak) and add unnecessary expenses to you or them depending on who pays the bill.  The fridge can cause the cold air to leak out and impact them where their electric bill is increased and additional wear/tear on the appliance, limiting its life. 

I would take action on those two issues  

As for the other issues like the trim and blinds, those are repairs that are needed but can wait a little bit of time. They aren't urgent.  Then again, how were these items damaged?  Is it wear and tear or did someone rip the trim off? If it was caused by the tenant then you should consider charging them for it. 

As for $150 each repair, you have options available to you such as doing the repairs yourself or finding someone that is cheaper.  There are apps like Taskrabbit, thumbtack or Facebook marketplace, where you can find someone who is cheaper to do the job. 

Personally, if it is an easy fix, I would go there myself to do the repair, which will allow me to look around, talk to them and see what really is going on inside.  

What exactly are you looking for?  I invest in tax liens in NJ. 

I think they all have fees associated with the account if it doesn't meet the threshold.  Try Citizens bank if there is one by you

It is called a landlord tenant account.  Any major bank has this account.  

Quote from @Michael Plaks:

I don't know of any website that presents the entire picture in a structured way. There's plenty of good blog posts covering some specific issues but not arranged in a systematic way. 

I cannot recommend IRS publications. Their only plus is that they are free. Otherwise, they do a horrible job explaining ideas, cluttering them with obscure exceptions to exceptions, using mostly unrealistic irrelevant examples and technical terminology that often misleads.

BiggerPockets published two books on tax strategies. Then on Amazon, look for books by Diane Kennedy, Sandy Botkin, Stephen Fishman.

 Thank you!

Quote from @Michael Plaks:

@Devin Keener

The standard deduction would not bring you down to $150k. Even if it did, at $150k your available loss is $0.

Your overflow losses are not wasted, they are stored for future use when you sell your property.

There's a whole lot more about the $150k ceiling, not practical to teach on a forum. Invest in a book or a CPA consultation.

 I know the basics of it, but not enough to provide any value.  @Michael Plaks, do you have any books/websites we should read that talks about this?

I had the same thing happen with me.  I had a resident purchasing a house and as we all know, the timing really isn't the easiest.  The house was in great condition where it could be re-leased easily.  They were great and reasonable people.  I agreed to the early termination with no penalty, instead, I asked and they agreed to allow me to show the property the last 6 weeks of their residency so I can have it rented and not miss a month.  They agreed.  

It worked out to my benefit because prospective tenants actually asked about me and they gave positive reviews.  In fact, I let them show the property to the prospective tenants while I stayed outside and answered any questions.  I had it rented immediately after they moved out, gave them their full security deposit at move out and wished them the best of luck.  They actually moved out a week earlier and I took a week to do a couple things and hand the keys over to the new residents. 

I would put a value of time there.  If you rent the property in short order, then your damages would be limited to whatever your month's rent is.  Do you have a security deposit?  I wouldn't bother pursuing anything that is nominal.  Looks like we are talking about California, the land of hated landlords.

This is from an earlier post I made. I hope this helps. I have used TurboTenant successfully 4 times now.

I currently manage 4 SFH rentals in addition to having a very demanding full time job. There are many free resources out there for smaller investors. I am going to list them:

• TurboTenant
  • It is completely free to advertise your rental, screen your tenants.
  • You upload your pictures, write a description and it posts to 20+ websites for free
  • Takes about 24-48 hours for leads to come in.
  • Once you select a tenant, they pay for the background check, upload documents (paystubs, ID, W2) and it is all set to you.
  • It even helps you build a lease after you select a tenant (there is a $30+ fee for the lease)
  • My referral code .disclosure. I do not get any money from TurboTenant, nor am I an owner or investor in the company.
  • They have a referral program where they will send me a $25 home depot gift card for a referral - you don't have to use the referral code
  • I also use them for rent collection now since they do free credit reporting for tenants

• Stessa
  • Stessa is a website that I use to track all my expenses.
  • It is another free site and you can pull reports
  • You even can upload receipts.
  • Roofstock recently purchased Stessa
  • Completely free

• Zillow Rental Manager
  • I use this to collect rent.
  • Free for the landlord
  • Tenant only pays a fee if they use a credit card to pay rent. ACH is free
  • Takes about 5-7 days for the funds to hit your bank account
• Excel
  • I use an excel spreadsheet to track my check register. You can download a free template online

Other free websites I haven't used.

• Avail.co
• • This is another free website that I learned about this week listening to a podcast (may have been a BP podcast). I haven't used it and cannot speak to it.

• Zibo.com
  • This is another free website where you can collect rent electronically and have an interest checking account.
  • I am still looking at this, because not all my tenants pay electronically. 2 like to mail checks. I haven't looked at how to deposit those - I don't like mobile deposits.

There are many free resources to use before you start paying for services. Out of my 4 rentals, I have placed 2 tenants with TurboTenant - one tenant is on year 3 and the other tenant is on year 2. I listed the properties, took some pictures (they weren't the greatest pictures) and had it rented in a week. I was able to recycle the leases upon renewal and didn't pay any commissions for the rental, which is a savings of over $4,000 if you consider the rental commission to be 1 month rent. I highly recommend it.

Here are some threads you may want to take a read of:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

Quote from @Yoram Ezra:

I am getting a RE business started in Philly.  I'm deciding on a property; if everything goes according to schedule, it will begin within 6 - 8 weeks.  I have some experience in reno from the Brooklyn, NY market.  Unfortunately, the NY market is too hot, and with only 2 hours away, Philly seems to be a good choice.   

I am looking for a contractor. I have some names from BBB, and I was thinking of sending them a mock RFP of a comparable reno. Does anyone have experience with vetting a remote contractor?  Any good tips? 

Any other tricks and tips for a beginner would be greatly appreciated.  

Hey,

Good morning.  Welcome to BP and welcome to investing in the Philadelphia Area.  I am originally from Brooklyn, NY and have moved to SNJ where I also started investing.  Trustworthy contractors are hard to find and usually those on BBB are not as reasonable as investors hope they are.  SJREIA.org is the local REIA that has affiliates.  I recommend reaching out to them.  There are also property managers in the REIA that handle Philadelphia.
Let me know if I can be another resource for you.  I also have a GC that can get work done for you.  He has done work for some other investors in the area and does flips himself.

I look forward to connecting with you.