All Forum Posts by: Anthony Wick

I bought a duplex recently for $264,500. One of the fastest growing suburbs in the nation. Rents are $1,325 for 3 bed 2 bath and $1,110 for 2 bed 1 bath (discount for recent 2 year lease). On the surface, these numbers may not sound "great". But, that purchase price came with seller paying for egress and basement roughed in bath install ($7k), home warranty ($600), and new furnace/hot water heater/AC on both sides before close (honestly don't know what that cost seller). Roof is 3 years old. Both sides upgraded a bit 3 years ago. So, I net about $525 per month after PITI/PMI, and before expenses. Tenants pay all utilities/yard work/garbage/snow removal. I'm pleased with results. And, as this is a small side gig, we bank all the money for now, with zero cash pulled out on a monthly basis. I wanted to buy close to home, and there were exactly ZERO duplexes available on MLS. Realtor found one anyway.

I am a fairly new landlord as well, as I own a duplex. I have been a landlord in the past when I moved and rented out the house I owned. Hit the forums up here. There are about 1,200 articles related to just land lording. Skim the titles and read what may pertain to your situation. Lots of good info. 

I'd like an attorney to address the "just because the landlord and tenants sign it doesn't make it legal" statement by some. How is this different than any other contract between two parties? If there is nothing illegal in the lease, or the part in the lease isn't directly dealt with in tenant law, how does it not make it a legal contract? For example, my state says that late fees cannot be more than $20 per day or $100 per month. Therefore, it's not binding if I write and tenant signs off on $1,000 per month late fee. However, if I state it's $20 per light bulb to be replaced, and city or tenant law does not state you cannot charge this, it seems to me to be a binding contract. And no, I'm not talking about actually getting payment from that turnip, just judgment. 

Not a huge deal, but my mudd and tape hire that should take 4 days ended up taking 3 weeks. And it "only" took 3 weeks because I bugged and called the guy enough that he would show up at 4 pm and work until 10 pm when I called. And I was living there at the time, so at 10 pm we had to kick him out so we could go to bed. His boss did take 50% off the agreed upon price because the boss admitted he wasn't keeping track of the guy either. The guy actually did good work, when he showed up. 

-A few favorites....

-Landlord reserves the right to hire a recurring Professional Cleaning/Maid Service if Tenant(s) are not keeping the Premises in clean/sanitary order at Landlord’s own judgment. This expense will be the responsibility of the Tenant(s).

-The Lease Agreement may be terminated by the Landlord in the event of the sale of the premises, or in the event the premises must be materially altered or razed, by giving Tenants thirty (30) day’s written notice.

-No smoking, to include cigarettes, pipes, cigars, or any other tobacco smoking material, and/or vapor like products is allowed within the structure of the building; including the rental unit, basement, or garage, either by the Tenants or their guests. Tenants agree to pay any expenses associated with the violation of this paragraph, which could include, but not limited to, replacement of drywall, repainting, and new carpet and floor installation in the entire building.

-Tenant shall refrain from disposing of things such as diapers, sanitary napkins, tampons, paper towels, wads of toilet paper, newspaper, children’s toys, matches, Q-tips, balls of hair, grease, oil, table scraps, clothing, rags, sand, dirt, or rocks into drains. Tenant shall refrain from disposing of things such as grease, bones, coffee grounds, orange peels, celery, corn husks, asparagus, egg shells, fruit pits, potato peels, or the like down the garbage disposal in kitchen. Tenant agrees to pay for cleaning the drains of any and all stoppages, except incidents created by roots or structural defects. Landlord does not guarantee the installation of a garbage disposal. 

I'm in Ankeny. I researched Craigslist, Zillow, Trulia, Facebook. Found similar or like properties, and priced mine the same or just below. Also looked at what amenities they had compared to mine. For example, one place had a two car garage but no patio/deck, while I have a one car garage but a nice west facing deck. I'm thinking; those are comparable, so the rent should be the same. Also, several places do not offer washers and dryers, only "space available" for them. I supply washer and dryer. And then after that, patience. May isn't a real good month to rent, so now that I have a tenant, I'm running the lease 13 months so it expires June 1. I'm also trying something a little different that I don't see around here. I'm offering a $25-40 month discount on units (depending on size) if they sign a 2 year lease. My current tenants are about to take advantage of that. In the areas you mentioned (depending on if you have apartments, townhomes, duplex, or SFH) I'm finding the rates to be about $1,000-1,150 for 2 bedroom duplex/townhome, and $1,300-1,350 for 3 bedroom. And the price goes up much higher for SFH's or high end properties of course.

I purchased a duplex in Ankeny in January. Both sides are/were 2 bedroom, 1 bath, with a finished family room in basement. I house hacked and added a 3rd bedroom and 2nd bath in the side I live in. Inherited tenants in the other side. Remodel is now complete and ready to rent out the 3 bed 2 bath side, while I move into the SFH we purchased. Providing the place rents within the next couple weeks, it will have gone very well!

I'm thinking part of the story is missing here. It sure seemed to go from friendly to adversarial very quickly. 10 year tenant and now it's straight to eviction and not answering texts and emails? I've never read an article on bigger pockets that said start with eviction. Always avoid evictions if you can. Also very odd about the "I'll give him half his deposit back but no more". Do you actually have his 2x deposit in a separate account these past 10 years? 

Of course, Iowa taxes as a whole are ridiculously expensive. I paid way less property taxes when I lived in Sacramento than I do in Ankeny, IA. 

Great job! We just closed on our first investment property two days ago. A nice duplex just north of Des Moines. We will live there to abide by the FHA requirement, then move on when we can to another property. One property per year or so. We both have full time careers, so we have no plans to jump into full time investments.