All Forum Posts by: Paul M.

I am always working on projects on the properties to keep them looking good and mechanically maintained. This way I avoid the expense of vacancy. I don't wait until the tenants move out except for really serious renovations. Tenants tend to like that I'm working on maintaining their places.

The idea of having a lease turnover in the winter would be terrible for me, your outgoing tenant might not to move, but if they do move, It would be hard for me to find a new person. In my area, the most popular lease start date is Sept 1st, and in general I try to have all leases start that date because that is where the most demand is.

In my area there are many multifamilies and the landlord lives in one unit, so your tenant is literally in the same building as you. My tenants almost always communicate any maintenance issues via email. Occasionally they mention something in person if I see them, but I take the position that I'd rather know about a problem. They rarely tell me about anything frivolous that I don't want to address.

I find that the acquisition price goes way down but the rents don't go down that much in my area. So I like it for long term income buy and holds. I also make sure it is in good condition so I get a good tenant.

The visibility of for rent signs is not relevant to me as all my tenants come from craigslist and that source yields a better quality tenant and a more efficient experience.

Do you have any knowledge in renovations? People on this site discount the need to know how to renovate, but even if you're paying someone else you still have to have enough basic knowledge to know what needs to be done and how much it is likely to cost. Generally that comes with hands on experience, but it could come with your cousin if he going to be generous with his time and guidance. If he lives far away and can only come once a month, then you have to figure out another way to educate yourself first or I'd be wary of a fix and flip strategy.

Overall I do think you should explore investments though. I initially was like you and wanted to just buy a condo and pay it off. However while you might be debt free in that scenario, there are still taxes, insurance, maintenance costs and your personal expenses. If you could create an income stream in addition, you could have your properties pay for you and in some ways that can be a more conservative route.

I've worked to improve the community by attending meetings and participating in various neighborhood improvement activities organized by local community groups. I try to shop local.

I also help by renovating my property, thereby bringing in good tenants to the neighborhood. Such is the beauty of the private sector in achieving public good.

Another thing I have done is pick up trash on the street of one of my properties. It used to be absolutely *terrible*. I would spend a couple hours doing the whole street, and fill 5 contractor garbage bags. Then later in the day someone would have dumped a Burger King bag on the street. But over time the effort seemed to pay off, we don't have the same problem today. I've noticed some other neighbors also do it now, I'm not sure if they saw me do it first but I never noticed that behavior before. Perhaps people litter because they see litter already there, so if you reduce the volume, it slows down new littering. Perhaps a few bad apples moved out. Probably some combination of all of the above.

Is real estate something a stay at home parent can manage (assuming spouse works full time)? I understand that young children are demanding, but presumably if babies can be pushed in a stroller on walks and driven on errands, they can also be taken with you to show your rentals and do very light tasks. Maybe more heavy tasks would have to be done on weekends when your spouse was home to watch the baby.

Anyone have any experience with this kind of arrangement?

I don't really understand the people who say that their time is worth more than a plumber or electrician and an investor has to "learn to delegate". Maybe it is a regional thing? Those folks are super expensive in Boston. Or maybe those people are lawyers? I can understand hiring one because they would do a better job than you do, but not from an economic standpoint.

If a light switch needs replacing, it takes me less time to do it myself. It is an easy task, and if I do it myself, I do it when it works for me. If I hire someone, I have to find one, talk to them, meet them at the property, wait for them to arrive, let them in, and wait till they finish. Also it is likely they will want to come during the day, when I have to be at my day job.

One thing about real estate though, is everyone has their business model, and I've also found that real estate investors have a hard time relating to other people's business models.

Regarding bookkeeping, I just use QB and Excel. Though I only have 8 units. Specialized software might be useful if I had 25+ units.

Reason #17 that I learned how to swing a hammer.

For properties in college towns, repurposing would be difficult.

One other thing I would add is if you have a situation where roommates are paying with separate checks, picking up the envelope with all the checks might be the best idea, because it keeps the roommates accountable to each other.