All Forum Posts by: Raul R.

As another member mentioned $1100 is better than nothing. One piece of advice I do want to give you is I know this was your first deal even though the outcome wasn’t what you expected never lose your temper or get emotional although you had every right.. In this business there will be many opportunities for anyone to lose their compusiere but you can’t. Learn from it and always be Profesional.. Concentrate in getting a better job that pays more than $10 the hour. You should consider going to a Technical School I know some States offer Tuition Reimbursement or Training as part of Unemployment benefits. Good luck

Originally posted by @Russell Holmes:

Sound typically travels through structural members in a wall/structure, not the dead air space (sort of opposite of heat loss). On a vertical wood framed wall, even with insulation between studs, sound will carry from drywall on one side, through the the studs, and be amplified a bit by the drywall on the other side like a crude speaker or like the old tin can and string "phone". I've seen designs for a soundproof wall where top and bottom plates are 2x6 and you put 2x4s on alternating edges every 8 inches (16" on center for each side). Then with fiberglass insulation woven between the studs through 100% of the wall, the sides are isolated, each stud only touches one side.

True office style suspended drop ceilings are tacky and dated, but if you could research a noise isolation product or way to mount ceiling drywall, it may help greatly. It could be As simple as a specialty adhesive cushion/caulking type product applied before putting new drywall up, or maybe rubberized mounting strips or something. As it is, any insulation between joists won't help that their footsteps (and whatever else you hear) sends vibration through joists to your ceiling. Isolate your ceiling drywall and insulate between joists and it should help a lot. If you still hear them too much, a laminate floor up there floated over an acoustic pad/membrane may further separate the surfaces transferring sound.

However, also keep in mind most renters in multi family understand the first floor of a multi story is noisy but they are free to stomp themselves and not worry. Top floor people should be considerate but don't hear lower neighbors. I lived on the second of three floors in a college apartment, that was the worst of both worlds!

 Great details Russell..

@Craig Curelop

My dad consider the foam insulation on his Duplex, but after hearing from other landlords that tried this method and didn't work he decided not to follow thru. I remember he getting some quotes and they weren't cheap..

This seems to be a common issue w old Duplexes... What he ended up doing after pondering on what to do is be more Pro-Active thinking on selecting who lives Upstairs and Downstairs..

Typically families w Kids or pets he rented downstairs, young Professionals he rented Upstairs. He was also not a fan of carpet, so instead he got a nice big rug I guess they are called Oriental Rugs? For upstair apartment  He put in the middle of rooms and it helped with footsteps. After a tenant moved out and stains couldn't be removed just throw out and put a new one.. Over time he also learned not to allowed pets to avoid issues.

Hoping another member can come up with better solutions, mines won't help much with your current situation.. 

@Terry Lao Don’t let the negativity get to you, I do get your point of view. You made some good suggestions in your original post, the way I see it you make the little sacrifices or (changes in lifestyle) at first and in the future once you reach financial independence you don’t have to. Your discussion went from making sacrifices to you not understanding the poor class., that’s quite a turn. It’s interesting how members interpret discussions .. When I read your original post, Poor/ middle class topic did not cross my mind.

Originally posted by @Yinna Wang:

@raulrapalo That's not a bad idea!! I think if there were a Worst Tenants blacklist, it should be privately accessible by Landlords only. Don't want other tenants to get any ideas! Or it could just have basic information, and maybe a short description of what they did. 

 Unfortunately I don't think my idea will fly with most in our local State..To manage the risk some Landlord demand very high Deposits, a Friend once told me he had to fork over about 10K deposit for an apartments in NYC. All I could think about, that can be a good chunk of a downpayment in certain markets.  I also remember seeing a 3rd Party Service ad that collects the rent from tenant and Guarantees payments to Landlords, I wish I remembered the name but I can't they probably charge a fee to Tenant or Landlord who knows..

Originally posted by @Christine Kankowski:

Totally agree.  Young people dont watch tv from cable.  Netflix, hulu, etc is what they want and they can pay for it.

You may want to send out a quick questionnaire to see who wants to keep it for $xX per month, and who doesn't ccare.

True Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, HBO Now (When GOT is on) is what they watch.. I toy with the idea, to include Netflix as part of the rent for a future rental, and have it setup just in Living Room. Not sure how much value that would bring?

Originally posted by @Jessica Zolotorofe:

Always pay an attorney for the first one. $350 is nothing! That's a great deal. NJ is a VERY tenant friendly state, so be careful if you do go at it alone. 

 @Jessica Zolotorofe 

Made a good point, she's from your local market so I would listen to her. I invest Out of State the price seems a little high but she would know better than I would for NJ. You're not investing in a Landlord Friendly State, make sure your lease is bulletproof.

Glad to hear you're doing this with your dad, when investing on Real Estate or anything use any Leverage you might have..

If you and your dad have this experience, take advantage of it..

Something to consider, if it will not affect your Credit Score for your future home loan consider getting a Line of Credit. Some banks offer Personal Line of Credits, the rates aren't great but better than Credit Cards for the most part and are ideal for renovations and if you don't use the Line Of Credit you pay no interest. They have very small annual fee but they are worth it..

I recently ran into the same issue, i have a property next to a major University. When the lease was up I gave all 4 tenants ( I rent out the rooms) the option and told them it needs to be unanimous to go forward. I can remove the cable TV and upgrade the Internet speed to highest package available or leave it as is.. All 4 agree they prefer high speed Internet and told me they rarely watched conventional TV. I removed Cable TV and increased Internet. I saved a bundle because previous landlord had a cable box in each BR and living room so you can imagine it added up. The reason I gave them the option was because I was happy w my tenants if they were knucklehead College Students I wouldn’t have given them the options and just do what I want.

When starting a discussion, it’s important to be clear on title. I learned the hard way :)... I read your post here’s my .02 The price seems too steep for me. I get it, someone starting out wants to avoid making mistakes and figures by getting a service like this will eliminate or minimize mistakes .. Im still starting out..I didn’t spend a dime on coaching when I purchase my first investment property, I probably spend a few hundred dollars on books and audio books about real estate and before purchasing I spend hours online doing research on deciding where to invest because my local market is too expensive. Talking to other investors when starting out all that I met didn’t spend money in coaching services. Im sure there are investors who did I just haven’t met them yet.. Don’t be so afraid in making mistakes, embrace your mistakes and learn from them when they happen because they will and learn from other who made mistakes. I already had to get rid of my first Property Manager in my short career and on w a new one now I know exactly what qualities I need from a Pm and if this PM doesn’t work out I’ll look for a 3rd... I suggest going to meet ups and talking w other investors, if my time permits I might be going to my first one next week. It’s ok to feel like you don’t know what you’re at first, with time that feeling will go away. Confidence will come with experience.. I still consider myself a newbie w a little bit of experience, my confidence is growing and I’m now considering moving to a new market time will tell. Plan your exit strategy, having a good exit strategy in place helps me pull the triggers on deals.. Good luck ...

Unless you have other source of income or large savings will be very difficult to invest in Real Estate.. Banks will not lend to you and if you Partner up with someone what do you have to offer? If you enjoy Real Estate look into a new career in Real Estate? You can get your License or consider to be a Property Manager every state has different requirements to be a Property Manager I was told. By doing that you will gain knowledge, get income and will help you when you are ready to start investing.. Good luck...