All Forum Posts by: Troy DeLong

In the grand scheme of things, yes, you should eventually replace the windows so 

1) They operate properly. 
2) It doesn't turn away potential tenants or cause maintenance hassles when a new one moves in.
3) Tenants have proper egress in case of an emergency (like fire).

Now, windows are expensive, so you'll have to decide how much you're willing to spend, based on how much income the property is bringing in. Windows are also a nice value-add to the property once it comes time to sell. 

- Troy 

@Craig Jones 

Reach out to Lima One Capital. This sounds like a pretty unique project, but they're pretty flexible and builders are their main clientele. I believe they go up to a couple million on loan amounts. Can't hurt to do a call with them. 

Contact there is Greg Huegel /  (864) 249-7020  /  [email protected]

- Troy 

@Nathaniel Dean Morrison 

Hey Nathaniel, welcome! I'm a local REI myself in the Lansing area. I'll send you two wholesalers who are GREAT.

- Troy 

@Alexander Rodriguez

Looks / sounds like the main issue is behind the wall / trim. Check outside to see if water is getting in behind the wall / window from the exterior. 

Also, wood trim in a shower window is a terrible idea. Rip that off, treat the wall with mold killer, dry out, then replace the window trim with Azek (or similar) and caulk with 100% silicone. Maybe even slope your window sill to promote proper drainage. 

I would classify this as a Landlord issue, in my opinion. 

- Troy 

@Jon Martin  

IMO, as a renter of AirBnBs and Hotels, I think dressers are a waste of space. Everyone travels with their own luggage and tends to keep their clean clothes in the luggage or hang clothing in a closet. It would be nice to have a large shelf / rack to store your suitcases and bags vertically. Maybe even a nice 'Dirty Clothes bin / basket for guests to use (that is also washable for your cleaning crews. That's what myself and all my friends use the dressers for, dirty laundry storage until it's time to go. 

Nightstands are a must for phones / charging, wallets, lamps, books, etc. BUT, I would keep them simple and cheap. A 3-drawer nightstand won't offer much. 

Hope this helps! 

@David Thomasma Hey David, pleasure to meet you. Sounds like you two were busting butt last year! 

I'm an agent / investor / contractor out of the Lansing area. You should tag along to the monthly REI meetups in Lansing. I'll shoot you the details.

- Troy 

Hey Sonny, 

The Waverly area has a Lansing address, but is under the jurisdiction of Delta Township. Also, Delta Township is within EATON County, whereas the City of Lansing is within INGHAM County. Eaton County is a little nicer to landlords. 

Delta Township does have a Rental Code Compliance department and does inspections every three (3) years with fees to go with it. As far as 'Landlord Friendly', I would say that you would have no problem here as long as your properties are kept up and in working order. 

I'm a local investor / agent in the area so let me know if there is anything else you may need help with. 

- Troy 

@Jay Scott It's good that you've got the gears turning in your head. Without putting too much thought into this, my 'thousand foot aerial view' is this....

It sounds like you are in an expensive / higher end location outside of Seattle. What is keeping you there? Jobs? Family? Schools? 

For that size house for just four people (Wife, two younger kids and you), it sounds like a lot and could be a good opportunity to downsize. Are there more reasonably priced areas in your region that you and the family could downsize too? 

I believe HELOCs are great when...
A) Rates are decent 
B) You have plenty of equity to get you a decent pile of cash to play with 
C) You would like to stay in your house / keep the property long term. 

For your situation, I would lean toward selling your house on-market, cashing out, moving to another region where the housing is more affordable than +$1million dollar appraised homes, pay cash for your new home, then with the leftover cash, buy one rental and see how it works out for you. 

Paying cash allows you to negotiate better on the property and is more enticing to sellers. But you need to make sure you and your agent are confident you're not overpaying.

Now, all that being said, I also think it would be a great idea to do some value add projects to the properties (Personal residence and rental property) and do cash-out-refinances on the buildings when rates become more favorable and you're up and running with the rental. Rinse, repeat for another property. 

All that said, this is just my OPINION without diving too deep into your situation. Best of luck! 

- Troy 
 

@Rowan Gratz What Chris said above. 

Without all the details, I'll bet that those loans you mentioned (SBA & credit card) are personally guaranteed by your friend, the restaurant owner. 

Sell the "valuable real estate" to help offset the business debts while he tries to sell the business. I foresee him losing that battle if he tries to "protect" his real estate from being touched during his bankruptcy proceedings. 

@David Coric This similarly happened at one of our multi-units as well. Our Triplex had two vacant units upstairs with the lower unit occupied. During our remodel, one of the units kept smelling like weed, even after new flooring, cabinets, trim, paint, etc. Near the end of the remodel, we hired a company to professionally clean the ducts. In the smelly unit, the duct cleaning guys found wax cartridges for a weed vape pen in the living room duct. So when the furnace would kick on and heat up, so would these old wax cartridges. 

After the duct got cleaned, the smell went 90% away.