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
Seems to me that young people fresh out of college aren’t as neat and tidy as older folks.
A note to anyone who has lead waste lines: Do not attempt to snake them yourself. You could punch a hole in them. We have a reliable plumber with a dedicated drain guy we call for these emergencies. If I remember correctly, they charge $150 for a visit. It might even be less.
Well worth it as far as I’m concerned. If they make a mistake, their insurance pays for it.
*rob* FYI- FICO is a much better overall indicator of credit worthiness. I get $3200. per month for one of my apartments and shame on me if I don’t do due diligence and get stuck for that amount. If you wanted to rent from me and didn’t comply, you would be rejected. It’s that simple. People that are interested -AND CAN AFFORD IT- have no problem with it. Why do you?
Most young females that I’ve had for tenants have been OK, but the very few bad apples I’ve had have all been from that group.
What’s their problem?
FICO score to rent an apartment in brooklyn. puh-LEASE
*rob*
Rob- I never knew that! I`ve been using them for years and get nothing but great results!
Maybe because the apt. I use them for is in Manhattan. In Brooklyn I use craigslist and I always get fresh out of college females. But I`ve never had a problem with that. Except for a lot of beer bottles to recycle. It`s like a brewery in there. Plus they have no idea what a sweater is when it`s winter. They wear boxer shorts and loungy stuff and ask for more heat.
lol,
I put patient instead of tenant in my post.
please disregard.
although you will need patience with some tenants.
For the most part though, tenants are good people,
if they have a concern, hear it out and consider if
their requests are reasonable.
It’s always better to keep up good relations than to
dismiss everything out of hand.
Legion is spot-on. I do a credit check/FICO score; contact previous landlord and verify current employment. If they balk, you don’t want them. Never, never trust a R/E agent solely. They are in it for the commission and will tell you anybody is a good prospect. If your prospective tenant is private (Craig’s list, etc.) perform all previously mentioned steps meticulously. If through a R/E agent, verify (GET COPIES OF)any credit checks or FICO’s; previous L/L’s and current employment. Tell the R/E agent that you WANT those documents from a prospect. If not, walk away. Also, if private, you must perform those checks on your own. There are many vehicles on the Internet for a L/L to obtain credit checks,etc. Good luck.
“Better to rent to an unemployed drunk with a credit score of 800 than a friend ”
I agree wholeheartedly. You can always make a friend out of a tenant, but its really easy to lose a friend over money or business. Do business with strangers, keep your friends out of it.