All Forum Posts by: Shannon Sadik

@Rick Pozos, thank you for your advice. Those are helpful suggestions to get to the next level--which I am struggling with. 

@Sam Bates, @Brian Adams The requirements you mentioned aren't an issue. But I have a lender who will lend as much money as I need on any deal if I can show him it's a true deal, etc. However, he won't be second on the loan but my bank won't allow him to be on the loan either. What is a workaround for this? He is a well seasoned lender and must be used to getting this or he wouldn't require it right? 

@Brian Adams So do your investors then sit in first position on the bank loan? 

I have been looking at apartment buildings for sale and am wondering how folks make the 20-25% down payment? I have several other rental properties and have been able to implement the BRRR model in order to avoid large down payments at this stage, but how do you do that with an apartment building? It's a struggle in my market to find one that even cash flows after repairs, let alone is at such a great price to fix up and refi. Other than owner financing, which isn't usually an option, I can find a private lender who will give me the down payment, but at a hefty 10%+ and they won't be in second on the loan. And then the numbers don't look good anymore. Is this normal? How do others make this happen? Anyone use a LOC? Thanks for your input!

I agree with the above. I have no issues renting to mature, responsible students but I require 3x monthly income, good credit, and positive landlord experience and most students don't have any of these things, let alone all three. I actually had some grad students beg to rent one of my houses but since they didn't meet the criteria, I told them their parents would have to co-sign and demonstrate all the same criteria and their parents were not willing to do that. 

I have several duplexes and have found that tenants do not always talk to each other, so it is not like they are very maturely sitting down and working out a schedule of shared plowing like you might hope. I recently acquired a duplex, same as you, where the tenants were used to doing this so I kept it going.  I had an older woman living downstairs and a young man moved in upstairs. I had explained to him that he would need to mow the grass and plow the snow as she wasn't able to and he had been very agreeable to that. However, the older woman moved out and a new family moved in. Now the upstairs tenant all of a sudden didn't feel responsible and I received a citation from the city that the grass had grown too high. It was extremely difficult to get both of the tenants to work it out together, regardless of the suggestions I made. It's just too difficult to hold anyone's feet to the fire because they can just blame each other and ultimately, they won't care about the yard looking nice or not getting a fine like you will (here in Rochester, we can receive a fine if the sidewalk isn't shoveled). It's just easier to up the rent by $15-20/mo if need be and include these things. 

Your insurance policy varies depending on what you pay for but usually would only cover accidents, fires, etc. it's not going to cover the furnace going kapoot just because it's old. 

As with all investments, there are of course risks: vacancies, tenants not paying, evictions, expensive rehabs/repairs that come up, all sorts of things. These risks exist regardless of whether you buy a SF or MF. I always factor out 10% of the rent to cover repairs and save for future capital expenses. This should be taken off the top before you count your cash flow. 

I also recommend you learn this market very carefully before you buy in a town you aren't familiar with and find a property manager you really trust. Those are your biggest risks. 

Continue to do your research, listen to the podcasts, study the spreadsheets they provide on here and just educate yourself as much as you can. Good luck!! 

I am really struggling with this issue. Most renters in my area seem to have pets and most landlords allow it so I have found it almost impossible to say no pets if I want to stay competitive. However, that being said, in EVERY scenario where the tenant had a pet (dog or cat), we found a lot more damage than normal wear and tear (horrible smells, ruined  or scratched carpet, pee smell in the wood flooring that was impossible to get rid of, etc).  This is all from individuals who are well screened, with high rents, educated, good jobs, etc, so I'm not sure why I seem to have so many issues and others do not. 

I recently renovated one of our units top to bottom and it had nice hardwood floors in the LR and DR. We pulled up the carpet and refinished and stained the bedroom floors to match. We were struggling to get a tenant and a couple loved the place, but had two dogs. After reading posts on here, I told her she could move in but would be charged an additional $50/mo in rent for the 2 dogs. This would cover the up front cost of me poly'ing the LR and DR floors to protect them (something i had not planned on doing otherwise). They have been there less than three months and one dog already broke a window trying to climb out (which they paid for immediately) and I just went in today to get our refi appraisal and my brand new beautiful floors are completely scratched everywhere! 

They will have to be re-done when they leave and I'm just sick about it. I am also struggling on how to present this issue with the tenants as she noted on her Move In Inspection that the floors "scratch easily". We have the same flooring and poly in all of our units and have never had any issues before. It's their dogs, not the floors. Should I do something now to prevent further damage or just wait until their lease is up? I had hoped they would renew as they are good tenants otherwise, but at this point, I'm not sure I want them to! I also wonder if she is going to fight me as I will have to take it out of her security deposit to re-do them again. 

Personally, I would say if you can avoid pets, do it. I am seriously re-considering myself, even if it means waiting longer to find a tenant. 

@Rebecca Lebowitz and @Mark Updegraff are both realtors and investors active on this site. 

Yes, you can definitely expect your taxes to go up to match the purchase price.

@Mark W.Yes, that's who I usually use. His brother recently passed away so he's not available. Thanks though!