All Forum Posts by: Rick C.

Thanks everyone for the advice. Very insightful!

I live in New Jersey, but currently own a rental property (single family town home) in Tampa, FL. When I first bought the place in February 2012, I hired a property manager, as most people would who live far from their property. So far, all my property manager has done is collect rent (online), call up handymen when there are a maintenance issues, and charge me 10% of rent in the process. I feel like that is something I could do myself from New Jersey, and quite frankly, I already do those tasks for my property I self manage in Philly (1.5 hour drive from where I live) without much issue. Granted, I know there are scenarios where the responsibilities would get more complicated, such as move outs, filling vacancies, evictions, etc. However for move outs/filling vacancies, perhaps I could hire a local realtor/property manager give the final walk through, then have that same person lease out my property? For evictions, could I certify mail any eviction notice and have a local lawyer handle the rest of process? (I have never had evict to anyone yet, so apologies if I am over simplifying) I am sure a lot of people will be against this idea, so I am curious to hear the reasons why this would not work or not be a good idea in general. Any type of feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Nice. Good luck with your search!

No problem. 6-7% was my experience with the properties I saw, and yes, I believe that is due to the stable rental market and property appreciation. If cap rate is your main concern though, then I would suggest venturing further from that stretch of Frankford Avenue and to the places you mentioned such as Port Richmond and Bridesburg.

Personally, I went the lower cap rate route, because I manage and lease out the property myself. Living 1.5 hours away I wanted to minimize my trips to Philly for showings, tenant issues, etc. However, if you plan to hire a property manager, that could be a different ball game.

Hi Chris - I recently purchased a triplex in Fishtown. I did the renting out of it myself and never had a problem renting it to young professionals, hipsters, etc. I think it is a great neighborhood, but parts of it do vary. If you are concerned with buying in the more stable area, I would stick to locations that are east of the train tracks and under a 10 minute walk from the area of Frankford Ave between the Beer Garden and Pizza Brain. Please note that the drawback to this "more stable" location is that you will not likely be able to to get $900/mo in rent for every $50k of the purchase price. I would expect that to be closer to $900 for every 90k, unless you are doing some serious repairs yourself. Let me know if there is anything I can help with.

Thanks,

Rick

I have researched that, and estimate about $200/month or $2400/year. Assuming that and the $2k/year of savings from not having to pay the heating bill, it would take about 5 years to recoup the investment. What is your rule of thumb for number of years to recoup improvement investments like that?

Total of 8 units for the building. 2 for the smaller third floor unit and 3 each for the first/second floor.

Hello,

I recently acquired a triplex rental property in Philadelphia, PA. The electric is already separated. However, the gas and water are not.

The tenants pay for their own electric usage. The landlord pays for the gas and water. The heat is a gas boiler with a landlord thermostat (does not go above 71 degrees). The building is only one zone. The landlord usually spends about $2k a year for the heating bill. There is no central air in the building.

I have met with an HVAC professional and he suggested that I install ductless units for each apartment, each of which would then become a separate zone. He quoted $21k for this.

Although I think that is a lot of money to spend on this, it would accomplish: 1) getting the tenants paying their own heat/ac via their electric bill and 2) giving the entire building central air.

My question is, would I be better off using that $21k for other real estate endeavors or do you think there would be notable value added in taking on this project?

Thanks,

Rick