All Forum Posts by: Rochelle Thea Fabrizio

@Jon Haft it is very hard to tell from the picture, but it looks like you may have 3/4 inch on either side of the existing stove before you start your drawers. If you do and you have room to open and close those drawers, all that needs to happen is the right tool. You need to measure your opening and very precisely cut the new area for the stove. The countertop will also need to be trimmed up. Make sure you tape it off first and trace your cutouts on the tape to ensure you don't splinter the wood to much and use a fine tooth blade for a nice cut. If it doesn't work they do sell 27inch units that you could make work with a little finesse as well. Hope this helps!

@Sebastien Carriere I am also Active Duty and was stationed in San Diego for only one year in 2012. It happened to be the only place I haven't purchased a home (but wish I had). Everybody here has made some fantastic points, the only thing to keep in mind is that the VA loan has a cap which I believe is now at $510,400. In most parts of the country that will take you far, but not necessarily in San Diego. Also keep in mind that it isn't $510,400 for each home but total VA loan usage. If you purchase a home there for $500K you will no loner have an option to use a VA loan at your next location. Best of luck and Bravo Zulu for taking the plunge into real estate early. If you ever move to Pensacola, China Lake, or Great Lakes let me know! I have studied their markets pretty extensively.

I was looking at purchasing a lot with a very similar situation. Two homes with one lot. After speaking with the lender the biggest difficulty is finding comps for the ARV or initial appraisal. They would need to find similar lots with two homes which is relatively difficult. If they are unable to do so, they will only look at the largest home on the lot for value. There may be other ways around this that I am not familiar with, but just something to consider. Best of Luck!

Septic systems can be scary. I bought a home in Florida and was told it was city sewer and water. I later learned after moving in that I had a Septic system that needed to be pumped. Before pumping the company warned me that if this particular septic (made in 1964) didn't have the appropriate bottom that they could not "certify" it and that it would have to get replaced costing over 10K. Apparently the early 60's was when they started installing the proper septic systems in Pensacola. Luckily I dodged a major bullet but will be much more diligent in asking about the septic system in the future. Great Job on doing the due diligence up front and thwarting the potential disaster!

@JD Martin I can't agree with you more. I met with a few for my home in Florida and they were trying to tell me it could only rent for $1,100. I understand where they are getting their numbers as they are looking at a simple 4 bedroom SFH for comparison, but what they aren't taking into consideration are some of the extras that tenants absolutely love. The huge lot, hot tub, workshop, screened in patio, pergola, dead end street all add value. All of the PMs I met with literally laughed at me when I told them I was going to list it for $1,500. I listed it at $1,500 with it being occupied in 10 days and one year later raised the rent to $1,850 and was occupied in 3 days without an issue. I say get your feet wet first before you decide to deal with them.

@Nathan Broschinsky I have a slightly different perspective than most here. I currently live in California and I virtually manage my own property in Florida and have for over 3 years with little issues. I think it truly depends on what you want to do. If you enjoy the ins and outs and want to be hands on than you may consider it. I think it also depends on the state of the property and your flexibility in your current job. I am an Active Duty Nurse Corps Officer and have an office job currently, so if a water leak occurred, I can make the appropriate calls (sometimes this takes at least an hour to get situated) needed to remedy the situation. Also, if the property is older and hasn't been repaired in quite some time, it is going to have more issues, and thus more time out of your day managing. A lot of PM charge 50% to locate the tenants and than 10% to manage each month. Something you can consider is putting your own tenant in initially (make sure you don't make the same mistake I did on my first renter and vet them thoroughly...remember that this is strictly a business transaction) see if you can manage the property on your own and enjoy it. If not, you can always reach out to a PM after the fact and set up a contract. To answer your most recent question, months can go by where my Florida property doesn't even come up, my most recent need was a water leak that took a total of 3 hours to manage and $1,300. I would say in an entire year I spend approximately 14 hours at the most on that property which includes marketing and vetting of potential tenants. Keep in mind most of everything in the home I replaced in the last 5 years so it would be more if the property was older. Best of luck!

@Nathan Gesner Well that's gross but you aren't living in it. I would keep him. He clearly has low standards of cleanliness but if he reports maintenance as you say and is on time with rent with no breach of lease, keep him in there as long as you can with him providing stability. I would just recommend a face mask if you have asthma when entering! Best of Luck!

@Lyndal McMurphy I commend you for being so involved and eager to fix the situation for your tenant. Although I do agree with @Nathan Gesner about walking a fine line with what to do and what not to do. Trying to keep a tenant content and happy vs. loathing you as a landlord can be difficult in these situations. Your relationship can very quickly sour if they have perceived you in a negative light. My tenants wanted me to put them in a hotel for not being able to use the water in the kitchen for 12 hours overnight (still fully able to use all 2.5 bathrooms and laundry facilities). Needless to say I was not going to do so, and they left after a month violating their lease (glad they were gone). I would have done what you did and provided heat to the tenant as well as rent reimbursement if the issue lasted for longer than it should have. Bravo Zulu!

@Ben Hunt I was just speaking to a loan officer about a similar situation for myself. Keep in mind that you should get approved first. If you purchase the MF home before moving out of your current leased location, you have to move in within 60 days for most FHA/VA loans. With that being said they may consider the currently rented out units as income already if you have the specific building in mind. The timing is important because they may count your current rent against you in your DTI Ratio as well which would negatively impact your options. Before investing I would determine which units are occupied and what their current rent is and proof of payments. The last thing you want is for two of four units to be rented out by individuals that have signed a lease (simply stating the amount they should be paying) and not actually paying anything causing you to have to evict immediately which can be timely and costly because of lost rent on units. Best of luck! :)

@William Allen What to do in my life has definitely been a challenging decision for me the last few years. It's hard to deny a retirement (I currently have 8 years of active service), but I can't help but loves real estate more. I'm hoping to become a real estate agent in Illinois just to get my feet wet and see how it goes, but I have to admit it is difficult knowing when to really jump and when to stay steady. I figured I don't know yet because I am not there yet. Thank you for all of your advice!