All Forum Posts by: Zachary LaJoye

If he’s paying the electric bill I’d say let him run it at whatever he wants. If the system is not capable of getting the place cool enough for him he can either a) move out or b) convince you to repair the current system or put in a new system capable of keeping it as cool as he prefers. If it was me, I would let the tenant run it how they want but definitely not pay for a newer system. Having an HVAC professional check it out isn’t a bad idea. Perhaps your ductwork is leaking or there is another easy fix. You can always find another tenant who won’t care if the AC doesn’t reach the lower 60’s though.

The fact that you’re on the fence to the point that you’re asking strangers (albeit knowledgeable strangers) for their opinion tells me you might sleep better at night just getting the inspection. Trust but verify! Congrats on the pending deal!

There is no better time to invest than the present and no worse time than tomorrow.

If you are in a higher income bracket and looking for a form of investing/estate-planning I like whole-term life insurance. You won’t get as high a return as in the market but it is a much safer investment and also tax-advantageous.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/low-income-neighborhoods/?utm_source=newsletter Check out this article posted in the blog a couple days ago by Brian Davis. Tailor-made for the deal you are looking at in Cincinnati.

I’m assuming you want to do another house hack which is the reason for the 1 year wait? Nothing will really change from the process that you went through getting your first property. Only possible hang up I can think of is financing. You’ll have to have a qualifying debt to income ratio still with both mortgage payments. Depending on your lender, they may be flexible on using a portion of the rental income from your current single family to offset this. However, some require as many as two years of landlord experience before they will do this.

Patrick M. That looks sharp! Same feel I’m going for.

While the initial numbers look good I would advise you to be cautious investing in this area of Cincinnati. The property could very well be in a D neighborhood as this is one of those areas of the city that can go from D to B- in just a few blocks. For a first investment this would be an extra challenge especially being out of town. While beating the 2% rule is great, it’s not as rare to do in areas such as this and would be a must for me to account for potential higher than average maintenance costs and vacancy rates. Again, not trying to discourage you, just better to err on the side of caution when just starting out. Hope this helps.

Shawn Moser I would say it depends how valuable that $12,000 is to you. More specifically, how quickly can you make it back? If you are a high earner with the ability to save it back up quickly I would say sure. Looking at it from this point of view, perhaps the opportunity cost of spending that $12,000 and not being able to get into a deal for awhile is too high. That’s for you to consider and decide though. Good luck!

@David Fernandez I had no idea about the wear layer. And I’m with you on the snap-together textured flooring. Thanks!