On Becoming a Landlord
I am seeking advice and insight from people who have had experience owner occupying units in a townhouse/being landlords in nyc. Putting in offers on 3 and 4 family brownstones in Harlem. Will occupy the lower duplex and rent out the other units. One of the renters will be a trusted family member. The other…
I am seeking advice and insight from people who have had experience owner occupying units in a townhouse/being landlords in nyc. Putting in offers on 3 and 4 family brownstones in Harlem. Will occupy the lower duplex and rent out the other units. One of the renters will be a trusted family member. The other unit(s) will need to find tenants. The rental income will be crucial to being able to afford the property. Thanks in advance for your input and sharing your experience on any of the below questions.
Costs
-How many months worth of mortgage payment reserve is wise?
-On a new renovation, given a solid engineer report, how much should we have saved for “just in case”
Finding Tenants
-Vacancies-How long should we
expect it to take to find tenants. Where have people been most successful-friends of friends/craigslist/broker?
Other than credit check, deposits, meeting the people and getting a feel for them, what to look for to (as best as possible) avoid payment issues and other “drama.” I have heard so many horror stories about how hard it can be to evict people.
Managing Tenants-what should we expect in terms of time commitment
Don’t do first month + last month + security – you’re gonna cut your prospective tenant pool in half right off the bat, as it’s typically uncommon right now amongst landlords to require all that cash upfront.
Hey *rob* or butterfly -You seem to have an ax to grind. If you can’t afford the rent and are unwilling or unable to meet the conditions set by the L/L, walk away or don’t even start the process. Your diatribe(s)only accentuate your misery in life. In other words, if you’re in the market for a new car and earn 18k a year, stay out of the Mercedes showroom. No need to picket outside the Dealership.
quote:
Also, get first, last and one month security. If someone can’t come up with that amount right off I’d be worried about renting to them in this economy.
ridiculous. first and one month security is good. where do you think people renting your rinky dink garden rentals are coming from? jeez.
*rob*
Agree about the out of college female tenants. They complain a lot and, from my experience, are complete slobs.
Craigslist has always worked for me. I do credit checks too. Also, get first, last and one month security. If someone can’t come up with that amount right off I’d be worried about renting to them in this economy.
Tax returns going back two years. Phone, utility, etc., bills going back three months to sniff out late payment patterns. The stuff us loser renters have to go through.
***Bid half off peak comps***
bet you 10 bucks *rob* has shitty credit.
“Seems to me that young people fresh out of college aren’t as neat and tidy as older folks.”
No it’s not that the young females are especially sloppy. The problem is that, although they pay the rent with no problems, some of them complain an awful lot. Generally don’t get complaints from other tenants.
Sorry, it’s “Tenant Screening Credit” and I also had great luck with recent college grads fwiw.
I used brokers for a few years, but had a great experience renting out our garden apartment ourselves via craigslist and the nytimes, though craigslist brought much more interest. I had good tenants through brokers too, but you get much better feel for someone by meeting them.
I used Credit Screening Credit for doing my credit checks.
http://www.tsci.com/
They are very thorough. They verify that you are the owner, send a rep to visit your property, make sure you have a shredder, and make sure you have a lock box or locked drawer where any tenant records are stored.