All Forum Posts by: Rob Myers

Your transaction costs will eat up the additional equity you want to try to pull from this property. $73k invested for $80k appraised value isn't a good candidate for the BRRRR strategy - especially knowing that you only have 15% into it. It doesn't mean it's a bad deal, only that I wouldn't plan on pulling any equity out of this property any time soon.

Hard water creates an additional maintenance concern with tankless water heaters, so if you are in an area with hard water avoid them.  I wouldn't put one in a rental regardless.  Stick with the traditional off the shelf water heater.  

In WI, people don't like to move in winter if they can avoid it.  I setup lease terms to expire May-July if possible.  December to March can be a slow time making it harder to find a renter, so try to setup  your leases to carry through these months even if it means the first lease is not a normal 12 month for the first term.

@Casey Kooiman

I own a couple properties immediately west of this neighborhood and have had a decent experience.  I'm not expecting appreciation in this area, but rents are steady and it hasn't been difficult to fill  vacancies.  It seems to be a decent value vs return area.

Basements are dark places - go white.  Buy about twice as much paint as you think you need as bare wood really soaks up the paint and will need a couple coats to get the appearance you are after.  If you don't have a sprayer, rent one for the day.   You would regret doing this job by hand.  I would go for the cheap 5 gallon pails of contractor grade paint at your local big box home store because spraying is a bit wasteful and the quality of the paint doesn't make that big of difference for this application.  Good luck.

As others have said, don't try to do it yourself.  I'm pretty handy and ended up damaging some nice 100 year old maple floors when I got carried away with a drum sander.  

It's an expensive lesson learned.  Contractors that don't have a big cash outlay for materials shouldn't need any money down - painting, landscaping and floor refinishing both come to mind.  Before you send the legal letter, call the contractor and explain what you are doing and politely ask for your money back.  Figure out what his work in place is worth to you (being fair) and offer him to keep x%.  If you ask for all of it back, you may get none of it.  If that fails, then send the letter drafted by your attorney.  Attorney letters put people in defense mode right away so it's better to try the human approach first before taking that measure.  Good Luck!

As a buy and hold investor, I don't really get "excited" when finding a new potential property.  It's all a numbers game - think of it as a pass/fail criteria.  The properties that do interest me more are those that fit my financial criteria that require less renovation than other properties in the area.  Renovation = risk.  If I can minimize my risk and still hit the same numbers it's a better deal for me.

I've noticed that roofing contractors in the area are pretty busy and they are pushing to get all their projects wrapped up before winter right now which can have an impact on price.  You may be able to negotiate a bit of a discount if it can wait next year and get on the schedule for early spring when they typically don't have as much work.

Not trying to hijack this thread, but if anyone can share the name of a decent roofing contractor in Milwaukee County please message me - Thanks!

I'm going to give another vote for gas.  An electric water heater can cost 2.5-3x more to operate than gas and can be a turn off to a smart tenant.  Also, think about your exit strategy.  Trying to sell a house with electric heat in the midwest is going to be a pain point for many buyers. 

Good luck. 

If not completely occupied already, make every effort to get it rented out in the next two months before cold weather sets in.  It's much harder to rent a vacant unit from Nov thru Mar.