All Forum Posts by: Samantha Klein

Find a better deal. A 115k condo that only rents for 1250 and has an HOA is not a good idea for several reasons. First, does the HOA allow rentals and if so, its likely they will be a pain to deal with if your tenants happen to break any rules. Second, I would do a multi-family instead in a good area. You can either live in it for a period of time and get favorable loan terms or just rent it out completely but that is probably your best bet. Do not forget to factor in vacancy, repairs/maintenance, Property management even if you are going to self manage, Capex. I use 8% for vacancy, 10% each for Capex, PM and repairs/maintenance.

You are going to lose money. Your thinking your gonna pocket the difference without factoring in vacancy or repairs or anything else. You need to learn how to run ALL the numbers.

Niagara Stealth here too. I replaced all of my toilets with these including my personal residence and tenants like them. I've never had any clog issues and I do notice my water bill is slightly cheaper than it was before I installed them. They are only $129-149 at Home Depot. They are only available online. I also do not use wax rings. I use the Perfect Seal by Danco also available at HD and no issues. 

I use the Niagara Stealth 0.8 GPF Toilet from Home Depot in all my rentals. It doesn't not have a flapper and I use the Perfect Seal wax ring by Danco. My tenants love that the toilet has the button on the top unlike most toilets. I install these whether I pay the water or they pay. It has been saving money. They are also fairly cheap less than $150

If you don't keep insurance on the property if its mortgaged, the bank will get insurance for you and you won't have a choice in the matter. Not having insurance is just not smart. The only time you could get away with not having it is if you have many, many units and can self-insure but you'd still want a large liability policy.

I wouldn't expect them to want to do business with you in the future over it. A reliable, good handyman is certainly hard to find. Why are you cancelling? 

I gave them notice because I like to go in and redo all my apartments when I take ownership because then I can address any potential repairs/maintenance that has been deferred. I know its not something most investors do, but it gives me peace of mind and I know what I'm working with. Also, on this particular duplex, one set of tenants were druggies and were paying $350 below market. The other side was completely disgusting, that tenant never cleaned and was also paying low rent. I fix them up right away, factor in the holding costs/vacancy costs and get better tenants paying market rent and that way I offer a quality product and new tenants that are happy to pay my rent price because its updated. I can generally update an apartment for less than 3k doing it myself with the help of a friend in the trade. As I said, not what alot of investors here do but it works for me. 

@Michael Hayes Unfortunately not really, they had no labels and were in poor shape. They were not broken but most were cracked and caked with dirt. 

I've found over 20 intact whiskey bottles from the late 1800s under a duplex when I was repairing floor joists. I just found 3 old newspapers under a carpet in a bedroom closet at another duplex I am working on. They are dated August 28, 29, and 30, 1953. They are in great shape, very little wear. Carpet looked like it could have been that old...

Do you have a move in checklist that documented the condition of the unit at move in? If not, you cannot deduct a penny of damages as you won't be able to prove they didn't exist when the tenant moved in.

When I inherit tenants, I factor in that i will have to rehab the unit and I don't even bother deducting from the deposit since the original intend was to rehab anyway. It should have been included in your original numbers when you purchased the property.