All Forum Posts by: George Paiva

Up here in Connecticut regarding utilities, its so highly regulated on what you can charge tenants and what is tied to a property owner. I am with

@Al Williamson on if you want to provide a value add its more of wifi, laundry, security, garage or storage space, etc...

I used to use Sherwin Williams for years then I got hooked on California paints offered by local supplier that gives good contractor discounts. Good price for good mid-grade paint.

I do flat white for ceilings, egg shell for walls in either a linen or off white, then do semi gloss bright white for trim. I do this in all my rentals. For the first time painting with new turnovers I go in and apply one or two coats of kilz followed up by what I mentioned above.

Here is the breakdown:

Ceiling - Diamond Ceiling white for $19.99.

Wall - CalPro2000 eggshell pastel base for $16.99 gallon when I buy 5.

Trim - CalPro2000 superhide white for $22.99.

I stopped buying paint at HD or Lowes years ago after some bad experiences.

I will have to try the Kilz pro x stuff one of these times.

Welcome, always great to hear more Connecticut investors here.

Reminds me of the Millionaire Next Door book.

Here is a sample garage lease I created for a detached one car used for storage:

We agree to lease to you, and you agree to lease from us. We and you agree to the following terms:

1.TERM. The term shall commence on ____, at $____ per month payable on the __1st__ of each month in full and ends on ____, 20 ____.

2.LATE FEES. In the event rent is not paid by the ____ , __(____)__ day after due date, Lessee agrees to pay a late charge of $ ____ , __(____)__.

3.BOUNCED CHECK. Lessee agrees to further pay $ ____, __(____)__ for each dishonored bank check.

4.UTILITIES. Lessee shall be responsible for the payment of all utilities.

5.SECURITY. Amount of security deposit is $____. Security shall be held by Landlord until the time said Lessee have vacated the premises and Landlord has inspected it for damages. Lessee shall not have the right to apply Security Deposit in payment of any rent. Security deposits must be raised proportionately with rent increases.

6.INSURANCE. Lessee is responsible for insurance coverage for Lessee’s property in the rental or on the premises.

1.RULES.

2.NOTICES. Should Lessee decide to vacate the premises, a __THIRTY__, __(__30__)__ day written notice to the landlord is required. Should landlord decide to have Lessees vacated, a __THIRTY__, __(__30__)__ day written notice is required. Lessee agrees to allow premises to be shown at any and all reasonable times for re-rental.

3.DEFAULT. Should Lessee default on the rent payments of this rental, Lessee hereby authorizes landlord to lock out the Lessee and seize and/or sell Lessee’s property to offset any rent loss suffered by landlord, or agree to a judgment in favor of the landlord for the amount of the debt in addition to collection and legal costs.

4.SUBLEASE AND ASSIGNMENT. Lessee shall not sublease all or any part of the leased premises, or assign this Lease in whole or in part, voluntarily or involuntarily, without Lessor's prior written consent. Lessor shall not unreasonably withhold or delay such consent.

5.ACKNOWLEDGMENT. Lessees hereby acknowledge that they have read, understand and agree to all parts of this document, and have received a copy.

WOW Tom, sorry to hear all your troubles. I hope going forward you treat this like a business as others suggested. I know its tough, I too have 3 properties in Naugatuck which has similar tenant profiles. For last 3 years I have gone through 6 evictions as well. Just have to keep a distance and treat it as a business. I have one property that does not have a owners meter as well but I put an addendum on the lease and give them a discount. The addendum spells out the shared electric.

Now maybe a good time to rethink your tenant screening. Make sure at least 3x income to rent, 550+ credit, verify no evictions, criminal and employment.

Message me if you want any pointers from another CT landlord.

I set it up initially as well but they keep calling every 3-4 months trying to upsell. Not sure yet if DNB actually helps yet. Mines only been reqistered for a couple years.

I would think just cleaning it up and marketing it as a restaurant would be the easiest. How about approaching some culinary institutes and just giving them a share of the restaurant to run.

You mean "Tur-Key" ;)

Congrats!!! Keep up the good work!!!