All Forum Posts by: Seth Borman

If you have investor's and own the building through an LLC then you have to pay rent, or else it is an example of self dealing.

Look into a construction management degree. I managed to get on with a GC through some family connections, but they prefer people with a CM or engineering background.

My brother has a degree in political science but works for a large GC in the Seattle area. He's a project engineer right now but should be running his own projects in a few years. He's going to have to get a CM degree at some point, while working.

You need to spend a lot of time getting familiar with the cities zoning and development standards. All the answers you need are in there. Print out a copy of everything for a three ring binder and then mark it up, with tabs on the pages you use a lot.

You need to be familiar with permitted uses, setbacks, parking, etc. This is one of the most important steps in the due diligence process.

Also, be aware that this is a land development strategy and it may take years to come to fruition.

We paint everything. We use a premium white paint that looks good and can be cleaned. It's more expensive but it looks a lot better.

We install new lighting. We use all LED or CFL lights.

We've just started installing stainless steel panels in kitchen areas that might suffer abuse. 

Also, we've just started installing ductless units. We put seven into a small apartment building. It had a 47% efficient boiler so we will save a lot of money on gas, along with electricity to run the pumps, window ACs and electric heaters that one of the tenants has been using. The tenants are excited about the control that they are getting along with the AC and I'm excited about saving $4,000 per year on energy.

You need to do the research... in my county sewer is flat rate at $41.19. That is an expense that I can nail down hard in all cases. Property taxes should be easy to estimate as well from public records. 

Nationwide the typical large apartment building or complex shows a 40-44% expense ratio depending on whether the tenant or landlord pays utilities. Newer properties are typically much cheaper, older properties more expensive.

You will want him to pay for the work, to pay the fees with the city, and to insure and indemnify you before he has the tree cut down.

He should be willing to pay you for the tree and possibly to replace it with others in better locations.

I'm looking for a painter for a small job (384 square foot apartment turnover) in Tacoma. Does anyone have a good painter or handyman that they would recommend?

Tacoma, Lakewood, University Place, Spanaway.

Like most everyone else, we view the coin laundry as an amenity rather than a profit center. After repairs and expenses they tend to break even. We are working on a new building now that will have a W/D in each unit as that will drive rent.