All Forum Posts by: Zachary Rymarcsuk

@Michael Plante That does seem to provide good security in terms of turnover and short turnaround, pending any repairs that need to be done in between I suppose.  With the current state of the Fayetteville market, I should also have a quick turnaround, so I suppose it's more about whatever work I might have to put in prior to renting to new tenants.

@Nathan Gesner I certainly appreciate you sticking to your guns and providing the input.  It definitely gives me something to think about and, if I do end up allowing them to renew, if they fail compliance in another area, I'll hear you saying "told you so". Ha  I will at least dig deeper into the financials of not allowing them to renew and instead making whatever repairs are needed which will allow me to rent for top dollar market rent to a new tenant.  My PM informed me that said market rent is about $175 higher than it was roughly a year ago.  Thanks!

Thank you all for the input! =)

@John Underwood No, my lease does not currently say this.  I will speak with my PM about adding it.  Thanks!

@Scott M. When the letter came through for the second occurrence, the tenants took care of it within a day or two.  The lease currently only says that landscaping is the responsibility of the tenants.  It seems they are taking it more seriously since the $100 fine was added to their ledger after the first time.  I like the idea of having a clause in the lease stating that option 2 will go into effect if a notice of potential citation is received, but am curious if the tenants would end up just falling behind on rent because they have already requested that this first fine be taken out of the deposit when they move, due to current financial hardship.

@Colleen F. To your first reply: I could do this, but want to give the tenants incentive to choose Option 2, which is why I would like to provide the "rent discount" with this option.  I would like for them to stay because they have been basically no hassle otherwise and this would reduce turnover costs.  We do not need lawn service year round, but do need it usually for 8-9 months out of the year.  Landscapers have quoted $75/visit.  From roughly June through September, it will require 2 visits/month and the other 4-5 months will require 1 visit/month.

To your second reply: I agree regarding the level of offense.  Sure this has added a little bit of stress to me, but I feel like it is miniscule compared to other things they could be doing and now that I've been through it once, it is an easy message to the PM that won't stress me out anymore.  That being said, I suppose I don't want to come off as so lenient that they start taking advantage of other areas of opportunity as well.  They have requested that this fine be taken out of their deposit when they move out, so that may be a little concerning.

@Michael Plante I do like the straightforward option, but want to provide incentive to stay in order to reduce turnover costs since they have been great tenants aside from the lawn issue.  What are your thoughts on the turnover costs?

@Mason Hickman I'm hoping the other neighbors aren't too annoyed since the next door neighbor is a outdoor hoarder with barely any grass visible, which should distract from my tenant's yard being overgrown. Ha  I will definitely take this into account though when making the decision.  How much of an affect have you experienced annoyed neighbors having on a rental?

@Nathan Gesner I wouldn't say that I'm afraid of the tenants, but rather would like for them to stay to reduce turnover costs.  What are your thoughts on turnover costs, especially with tenants who are great aside from these lawn issues?  That is a good point of non-compliance with various other items, especially since they asked for the fine to be taken from their deposit when they move out.  I may indeed insert that clause in which a landscaper will be hired at the tenant's expense if they fail to maintain the lawn.

@Cheryl S.

I agree with @Danny Kaminsky.  It is very hard to find anywhere in Raleigh that will cash flow, especially without a very significant amount of work.  The surrounding areas are definitely seeing some expansion.  Burlington, Hillsborough, and even Sanford have good upside within the next few years.  I personally invest in Fayetteville and can most certainly recommend that area for cash flow, but appreciation is MUCH slower there and, in my opinion, it is too far away from the Raleigh-Durham area to benefit from the growth expected with Apple, Google, and Eli Lilly bringing many jobs to the area.

Best of luck getting started! =)

So the tenants in one of my Fayetteville, NC units aren't the greatest at keeping the landscaping in check.  I have been threatened with a citation from the city twice and have actually incurred a fine for the first offense, which was not taken care of quickly enough.  This fine has been passed on to the tenants.  I have been discussing options with my PM for when the current lease is up, at which point I intend to raise rent closer to market rent.  I am leaning toward giving the tenants 2 options for lease renewal.

Option 1: Rent gets raised $80/mo and landscaping is still fully the tenants' responsibility (potential to incur additional fines)

Option 2: Rent gets raised $55/mo ($25/mo discount), but PM will arrange for landscaping to be taken care of for me, at an additional $100/mo for the tenants (comes out to total rent increase of $155/mo)

Has anyone had any good or bad experiences with similar situations?  Or found a better route to go?

Thanks in advance for any input!

@Sean Lemon

I second Alotta Properties. I've currently got 2 properties in Fayetteville with them. Best of luck with whoever you go with!

@Sharla P.

Looks like a great deal! If you don't mind my asking, what is your CoC ROI?

@Vijay Anandh

I agree with @Vinay Kolluru that property values will continue to rise, especially with announcements of Apple and Google bringing thousands more jobs to the area over the next few years.

Irene Mistretta is a wonderful realtor to work with and I highly recommend her. She is also an investor herself. Let me know if you would like her contact info. 👍🏻

@Janice Chang

Atlantic Bay is a good option. I recently used them for a rental property. Are you planning on living in one unit of the duplex so that it counts as your primary residence?

@Scott Rivers

Thanks!  What type of property/properties do you have in Birmingham and how is that market doing right now?

I use Alotta Properties (see link below).  They were recommended by my realtor and have been great to work with thus far.  When I closed on the house, they had somewhere around an average of 3.5 days from listing to having a signed lease.  They didn't disappoint!

http://www.alottaproperties.co...

@Grayson Spittel

Thank you! What do you have in your Fayetteville portfolio? All SFH, MFH, or other? I agree that there is most certainly potential there and I don't see it going away, what with the base right there and all.