All Forum Posts by: Nancy DeSocio

Hi Davey, 

You have a variety of responses here (as expected), and I'll add in a different flavor.  I self-manage one multi and just transitioned another multi to a property manager.  From here on, I'll probably have a PM for all of my future investments.   

When you say "I am not even sure how does property management work" that's a good indication (in my opinion) that you should start off doing it yourself.  You'll figure out pretty quickly how to resolve issues, because you have to.  I've learned a ton by self-managing and still have only encountered a fraction of what could happen.  As frustrating and overwhelming as it can be sometimes,  the education has been invaluable.  And as someone else noted, once you've done it, you'll have a better idea of what you want in a PM.

Good luck on your journey!

Hi Joshua,

I think the flaw in this system is that tenants have to pay just to see the property.  So if they don't like it, they just threw away money.  I self-manage so don't know how the property management companies do it, but I don't collect the application fee until after they have seen the property and passed my pre-screening questions.  To me, the fee should be listed after the "After viewing the property" section, but I'm curious how others would approach this.

And because I'm super nitpicky about how things look, I would also note that the steps should be reviewed for grammatical errors, as it comes across less professional when it's not correct (i.e. "first months rent" should be "first month's rent").  Again, that part might not be important to you, but those details matter to me.

That said, having everything outlined clearly for the applicants is a great step to eliminate any confusion, so I like what you've done with that.  Good luck!

If you go with the racist, you'll be thinking about it for a long time.  It will stay with you, because that choice doesn't align with who you are.  If you find someone else, you'll move on from this more easily.

We learn and grow from real estate, but it doesn't change who we are at the core.

Thanks, @Frank Patalano.  We want to expand the parking, but we've only owned the property for less than a year and haven't built up much in cash reserves to pay for it (and prefer not to use our own money).    One of my first BP posts was about this driveway, and now it's coming up again due to my concern with filing the vacancy.  Maybe I shouldn't worry about an issue that doesn't exist yet, but I agree with you that it would attract better tenants, which is high on my list of importance.

I was hoping to get away with leaving it as is for another year or two in case we have some other unexpected (and more important) repair that is needed.  I'm curious as to what you would do in this case where expanding the parking isn't an ideal option right now?

@Joseph Mee, the property is in Pawtucket, and the city does allow parking on one side of the street (aside from parking bans).

Thanks, guys.  I tend to agree with both of you on certain points.  The parking can be expanded back into the yard to fit 4 cars where no one is blocking each other in, and I think it's a bonus when you can offer parking (which is why we lookied into it earlier this year).  At the time, I didn't get a quote for gravel, as I personally just don't like how it looks, but it might come down to that if it's important enough to us.  If we did that, we'd certainly need to look into any zoning regulations around it, and I admittedly have not researched that yet.

Seeing that we want to act on this in the next 3-4 months and knowing we won't be expanding the drieway in that time, I'll probably offer it the tenant who has the parking now.  She hasn't had a rent increase in 5 years, so she's due for that anyway, and it might be an easier pill to swallow if I note the parking as an advantage that she has.  Hopefully we won't have a hard time filling the vacancy due to the lack of off-street parking.  

Thanks a bunch for the input...definitely appreciated!

Hi @Ray Harrell,

Thanks for chiming in!  We would not recoup the money to expand for many years, which is why I don't favor that option.

There is on street parking on one side of the street, and no permit is required.  I have easily found parking when I go to the property.  Tenants have received tickets on trash day, as the cars cannot block the trash bins, so this becomes an issue for the tenants that work off hours shifts and are home during the day (and we have two of those tenants).

I agree with you that having them share the driveway will become an issue at some point.  I could offer the spot to the tenant that currently has it and raise the rent on the her new lease to include parking.  If she chooses to forego the parking option, I can include it as part of the rent when I advertise Unit 2 (and price the rent accordingy).

Happy New Year, BP community!

Hoping I can get some feedback and opinions on how to address parking in our 4-plex.  For this question, it's Unit 1 and Unit 2 that are being discussed.  The property has a narrow driveway that easily fits 2 cars.  Unit 1 has no parking (per the lease) and Unit 2 has the whole driveway (there is no lease for this tenant who has been there for 10 years).  We inherited the property with this arrangement in place.  In case it matters, Unit 2 sometimes uses both parking spaces when the on-again/off-again boyfriend is in the picture.

Unit 1 will be moving out in April, so I'll need to fill the vacancy, and I'd like to offer a parking spot to the new tenant in Unit 1.  Because Unit 2 has no lease, this is a perfect time to get that tenant on a lease with a written agreement (including the parking).

I've considered the following options:

• offer one parking spot per unit, and they need to figure out between themselves and their schedule who parks in front and who parks in back
• offer one parking spot per unit, and designate who parks in each spot (giving Unit 2 first choice.  She is a great tenant)
• let unit 2 keep the whole driveway but charge for it (and what charge is reasonable?).  This may make Unit 1 more difficult to fill...I would think people want a parking space.
• spend the money to expand the parking so that each tenant can park side-by side, and we can then let the other units have parking as well.  We have priced this out already, and the cost makes it my least favorite option.

I'd be interested to hear how others would approach this.  Thanks in advance!

@Mark Green,

Congratulations on your investment!

I'm in a similar situation with a 4-plex in Pawtucket and am certainly interested in this message thread.  

As someone noted, tenants know when they are getting a good deal, so you might be able to get away with an increase without making any improvements.  I just sent my first letter for a rent increase for February, and the tenant signed a 1-year lease right away.  She's been a fantastic tenant for the 9 months I've owned the property, but I agree with the other comments about keep tenants M2M if you just inherited them.

Some small improvements that can be made that are low-cost and not disruptive to the tenants might be updated light fixtures, new mini blinds (they get pretty dusty after 19 years!), programmable thermostats (free with RISE engineering).  These aren't big ticket items, and some folks may have the "don't fix it if it's not broken" philosophy, but are just small steps that show the tenants you care about the property and how it looks.

Keep us posted on how you end up handling this, as us newer investors are learning from each other.  Good luck on your journey!

Hi Kendrick,

Thanks for posting this info! Does the company do “one off” cleanings? For example, we have an apartment turning over in a couple of months and will need it cleaned before next tenant moves in. 

Hi Raymond,

In addition to the ones noted above, I've used Rentometer as well.  Also, if you have a property manager (or are friends with any), they may have software that will tell you what existing tenants are paying for rent for similar properties in the area.  It's not exactly the same metric as comparing to what is being advertised on Craigslist, etc but just offers another gauge as to what people are actually paying.  Good luck with your research!