All Forum Posts by: Tony Nguyen

hey Dawish,

I am going to be painfully honest here and say that I did not finish the book. I read about 4 chapters and stopped. The reason why was b/c although i found it informational, his style of writing was not one that I enjoyed reading. maybe i'm not a go getter when i comes to reading books, but i kind of grew up on reading sales books so i like it when authors talk at me like a real conversation and not lecturing at me (i didn't finish college, go figure).

So again, the book was very informative, but I didn't finish it so sorry I couldn't help you out with better advice =)

Chris - good point.

Joel - I agree, the year is the only thing im sketchy on. I'll pay very close attention the property inspection.

I have checked on insurance and it's about 1k per year which isn't too bad. Seller previously paid 1500 for almost the same policy.

You know what, speaking of waived deposits, of the 8 units, 4 are about 3-4 months new which is fine. But the other 4 look below market with No Deposits. What makes it more odd is the leases are years old, like 3-5 years old. Since you mentioned this, I'm thinking she may have kept them there w no deposits to keep them rented? Afraid of vacancy? I've requested for tax returns, but haven't seen them yet.

No I actually don't see it near a corner or a large parcel. It's a good point though, I'll keep that in mind for future reference.

Newer buildings are metered out, I agree. I like that much better due to the inflation of commodities point you mentioned.

Laundry on site I am not sure of yet either, i'm going to inquire it w the seller.

You know, I'm going to post up a deal analysis for this property. All the things you're pointing out is making me have 2nd thoughts. To me the cash flow is good, but the potential of vacancies, the C property status, utilities etc is starting to make me question it. Please analysis it when you see it up =) thanks Joel

Aaron,

Electric stoves - simple, yet genius! That should help trim the expenses a bit. If only there was something I could do about the water.

10k-25k for a 4 unit is heavy. If it takes you 3+ years to recover, I might not even look into that route as I'm just looking @ a 2-3 year hold.

ok gotcha Chris, I'll do that. thank you

Chris,

Thanks for your advice! How would you go about finding out if the neighborhood has individual meters or not?

Joel,

Thanks for always being so cool man.

I am not sure about the deregulated for natural gas.

How would I find out if other landlords/properties in the area have individual meters or separate? Would a big apartment with hundreds of units be a good comp? Because I can always just call them and do a little role playing =)

The building was built in 1925 which honestly is one of the things thats making me think twice about the property. I'm scheduling a property walk through and inspection within the next week. I am sure they'll be deferred maintenance on it which I'm going to let the seller know about and readjust price if needed. What do you think of old buildings like these? I was looking for a 1980s+ building but the cash flow on this one seems very good compared to others I've seen. 155k price, seller carrying 115k @ 4%, 10 year balloon, amortiz 15 years. gross is about 3,500 a month.

For water and gas, I didn't get actual bills, but I got the bank statement bill pay page that showed all her payments within the past 12 months. Will this be ok?

Thanks Joel.

Hi everyone,

I'm under contract for an 8 unit right now and the leases say "LANDLORD PAYS FOR GAS AND WATER".

This isn't something I really like b/c I can totally see tenants abusing this so I wanted to know how do you handle this? Do you just make sure to build in the cost in the rent to cover this or how else?

I've thought about inquiring about splitting it, but am not sure. Do any of you know approximately how much splitting 1 gas/electric meter into 8 would cost? Would it be worth it in the long run?

Reviewing the property, I've built the utilities cost into my numbers and it will still be a good buy for me, but if I can find a way to drop this expense, I'll be able to increase the value of the property so much more. If it matters, the exit strategy on this is a 1031 exchange in 2 - 3 years.

Thanks everyone!

thank you Will. I'll give my Farmers agent a call to see how much it costs, what it covers, etc.

As always, thank you for your help!

Tim,

Thank you for the explanation, it's greatly appreciated.

Luis,

Good, I thought it was just me! I'm looking for vacant property insurance. Got any suggestions?