All Forum Posts by: Ryan Cash

I just bought a duplex here in Lebanon, Oregon. It currently has 1 water meter for the duplex. Water rates in Lebanon are among the highest in the state and one tenant has been watering dead flowers since we took over 2 days ago. It is obvious they are not concerned since they dont pay the water bill. They are out at the end of the month!!! My question is should I submeter the property or pay the city to install a second meter? I dont know costs of submeter but to install a new meter is $917.50 plus an obligatory one time fee of $2,420 (gotta love government). I plan to have the property long term. On a side note. Can I go and remove plants/trees at will since I am the owner? The property has a ton of crappy vegetation that os wasting space and I want it gone even though these outgoing tenants like them. Thank you

Thank you both for the insight. You have pointed me in the right direction!!!

I recently purchased my first investment property. The current tenants are HUD and are on a month to month lease. Their rent is about $400 below the market value of the area. The unit needs to be updated and I would like to evict them so I can update the property. I am going to raise rents once the remodel is done and I know they cannot afford to pay what I will be asking. They are currently looking for another place to move but I need to have a definite end date that they move out. I know for HUD in Oregon there is 60 day notice of eviction. My question is, can I give notice of eviction to the tenant on the grounds of doing an update on the property? While I am certain they are going to move, I just need to have things on my end in order in case they don't and want to follow any and all tenant laws in the process. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

IMHO don't mix business with pleasure. Give people an inch and they take a mile. Just my opinion though!

@dustinlavender that's interesting to know. In Oregon I have been told by lenders that we cannot purchase properties in an LLC. We have to purchase as an individual and then transfer to LLC once we possess the property. I wonder if each state is different?

As Kathy Henley said LLC can define partner roles if you have them. If its just you (single member) an LLC is beneficial in my opinion to keep the business separate from personal (its taxed the same as the individual but i like the idea of my business being a separate entity as an LLC. You cannot buy properties with an LLC but can transfer ownership from your name to LLC after purchase. A nice thing with LLC is you can Setup basically the parent llc and then have sub llc's for your properties to keep them all separate.

I look at the LLC as a cost of doing business that gives a layer of protection/other business/tax benefits. Its my opinion that if you are going to eventually have an LLC, might as well do it right away and start running your business. I own another LLC and have a W-2 job so i like the idea of separating my now 2 LLC businesses and my personal income/assets. Regardless, you will/ should get insurance protection whether you have an LLC or not. Just my opinion but if its in my personal name it feels more like a hobby. If its in an LLC its more of a business which for my mindset I prefer!

wow! Thank you all for great insight and recommendations!  All of you make valid points to think about. I believe I will interview the PM and see where that goes per @steve rosenberg. @Patrick Liska your points on liability and separating myself are what I am leaning on as that is my mindset as well. Time is important!  Again thank you all for your time and insight! 

We are going to close on our first rental property this week!  A year and a half of analysis paralysis is coming to and end!  My question is would it be best to hire a property manager or manage ourselves.  Here is our scenario.

With property management, vacancy, maintenance, cap ex accounted for, we will net roughly $350/mo.  We won't rely on any of this money for living expenses, it's purely for reinvesting.

We live 35 miles away from the property.  My wife and I have full time jobs and I also have a seasonal business during the winter/spring that keeps me very, very busy (70-80 hrs/week with full time job).  We have two young kids and I am a football coach!  My wife is going to go part time next year to be able to spend more time with the kids while they are young/work on building our RE business.  I have been working on putting systems in place to help us streamline our business but this is all new so there will undoubtedly be bumps in the road.  Would it be wise to hire property management to take care of our investment leaving us more time to focus on acquiring new assets or should we save the roughly $200/mo in PM fees and manage ourselves?  My only hangup is that during my seasonal business I have to focus on that as much as possible and am worried about added stresses that may arise with the property.  I know it's a to each their own question but just looking for some insight from those that have experience.  Thanks in advance!

I rented a place for two years.  We signed a lease the first year and the lease stated that after a year it could be renewed or you could go month to month with a 10% increase.  When the first year came up, my landlord did not approach me about a new lease or going month to month.  We continued to pay the same rate that we paid for the year long lease for the next 12.5 months with no issues.  We just moved out and now he is saying I owe him the 10% difference for each of the last 12 months because we went month to month for the last year.  Can he do this?  I would think it is the responsibility of the landlord to 1) communicate after a year lease has come up about renewing or going month to month 2) Correct me right away when I pay the same rate as we did when in our lease letting me know that I owe 10% more or need to sign another lease.  I live in Oregon.