Need advice, maybe

[northside lurker]

While replying to another thread, I realized that I should post an update to this one.

I looked at the house in question.  I love the house, and would almost consider moving in myself.  But my current house backs into the park, and I don't think I want to give that up.

Unfortunately, this house does need some updating, and I'm not in a position to spend that money at the moment.  I would consider it move-in-ready for myself, but not for a tenant.  The kitchen sink and faucet is original, I think.  There is a partial kitchen on the second floor that the owner says was installed during the depression!  The furnace is probably 50 years old, and the hot water heater is about 25 years old, too.  Everything is in working order, but I wouldn't trust that a 90 year-old faucet or a 25 year old hot water heater will continue to last.  Other than these kinds of issues, the house just needs cleaned, painted and/or papered.

After my mom is better and back to work, if the house is still available, I might go for it.

[ForumManager]

I understand. No apology is necessary. I didn't want you to think I was censoring you willy nilly.

[/quote]

...but I'd like to explain why I removed the name of the business in Westsider's post.

I apologize.  It was unnecessary to my point, and went too far.  I wrote my post too quickly, and didn't really think about what I was writing.

[northside lurker]

Thanks again for your reply Allan!  You've given me a lot of food for though.

[northside lurker]

...but I'd like to explain why I removed the name of the business in Westsider's post.

I apologize.  It was unnecessary to my point, and went too far.  I wrote my post too quickly, and didn't really think about what I was writing.

[ForumManager]

Not to get off topic, but I'd like to explain why I removed the name of the business in Westsider's post.  I did send him personal messages regarding this post.

You might be wondering why I didn't  censor the political chatter about Gilllam on the board.  Well, the other post is the poster's opinion and he can state his opinion, even though it is better suited to the Vindy or Dems17 boards where  politician bashing is a sport.  The mention of this business was something someone told a forum member and there is no way to verify this complaint except to go to the source. It also refers to a part owner which could  lead one to believe it was the other "part owner."

Please always feel free to voice your opinion. For instance: I am upset about this because it happened to me and others I know or this is my opinion of this person's actions.  Please try to avoid posting messages naming someone or a business  if it  is a third party and did not happen to you directly.

[AllanY2525]

Being a landlord has it's ups and downs, but generally speaking you get the kind of tenants
you go out for - MOST of the time.  Always do a credit check (which also verifies the identity
of the person or persons applying for the lease and gets you their social security number,
so you have legal recourse if they do not pay their rent and can turn them in to the credit
reporting agencies).  Always check landlord references - by speaking with their former
landlord in person.

Too many landlords in Youngstown fail to check these things out before renting to
tenants - and often times they are sorry for it after the tenant is already occupying
the rental property.

If you decide to get into the rental business, get yourself a GOOD LEASE agreement
drawn up by someone who knows the local laws and regulations - this makes it MUCH
easier to evict tenants who don't pay their rent on time, don't take care of the property,
don't get along with the rest of the neighborhood, etc.

I know a couple of folks on the North Side that also have their own small business
doing rental properties - and they don't seem to have any problems getting people
evicted when they are in breach of their lease agreement, in fact - they usually
have the tenants out of the property in less than 15 days.

I understand that being a landlord is NOT for everybody, but it is a great way to
generate extra cash every month to pay the bills with, etc - and rental properties
are what is known as "passive income".  This means that they pay you every
month even if you are too sick to get out of bed.  They are also an excellent way
to build your net worth for your retirement, some day.

Allan

[northside lurker]

Thanks so much for the reply!  I am considering rent, but I've heard so many horror stories.

I know someone who owned a house a block over on Lakeview.  She was owed 5 months rent when the tenants finally left.  The tenant's kids were a big problem in the neighborhood. (mostly just being loud, late at night)  The owner had to sell the house (nearly giving it away) to get out from under it.  What she may not have done was some sort of background check on the tenant.  But the tenant was partial owner of the ********, so the owner probably assumed the tenant was an upstanding member of the community.

******* sorry to do this but the name of this business was removed  by the forum manager as this was a third party complaint and we cannot verify its validity  -- 1:29 PM, November 30th

[AllanY2525]

Westsider,

I absolutely understand where you are coming from here.  For the benefit of others
who might be reading this post, I've taken four of the photos from the real estate
listing for this home, adjusted the brightness and contrast (they were too dark),
compressed them a little more and attached them to my reply.

The inside of this place looks really good,  judging from the photos.  One of the
STRENGTHS of Youngstown is the quality of materials and craftsmanship that
went into SO MANY of these sturdy, roomy old homes.

To even TRY to come CLOSE to this kind of architectural excellence at today's
prices would be enormously expensive.  Although the city has roughly 3,500
un-needed surplus living units right now, it makes perfect sense to buy
properties like this one that are still in such good condition and give them
the minor rehab that they might need and return them to service.  With
a little tender loving care, THIS home could EASILY last ANOTHER hundred
years.  These old Youngstown homes were, quite literally, built like SHERMAN
TANKS.  Most of them feature SOLID OAK wall and floor beams, and oak
has roughly TEN TIMES the fiber strength of the cheap, flimsy PINE that is
used in the structural lumber of homes built these days.

The real esate ad stated that with principal and interest, the monthly mortgage
payments on this home should be around $150 per month.  The average rent
in Youngstown for a single family home hovers right around the $450-550 per
month range.

My advice to you, Westsider, would be to BUY this home if it is at all possible
for you to do so, then RENT this home out to a GOOD tenant as a cash flow
property.  If your mortgage payment is only $150 a month (assuming no
down payment required here) you could EASILY generate an extra $300 to
$400 per month in income from this property.  Given your current situation
with your mother being ill, the extra income would certainly come in handy.

Because of the slow-moving real estate market in Youngstown right now,
the best strategy for real estate investment is to buy properties with the
intention of HOLDING them for the long term, while making cash flow
off of them in the mean time.  Bear in mind that, as the Youngstown 2010
Plan moves forward and the neighborhoods begin to improve, property
values WILL go up - just not in the short term.  This is why "flipping" houses
in Youngstown will not bring you a lot of short-term return on your investment
right now.  BUY, RENT and HOLD - that's the way to go in this market.

Don't forget about the tax advantages of owning a rental property, too -
as a landlord, you are allowed to deduct just about EVERY expense
that is incurred in the course of maintaining your property.  If the
property goes vacant for a few months, you are allowed to take a deduction
for lost rent(s), too!  This comes in REAL handy at tax time!

And - as you already mentioned - you would be doing your immediate
neighborhood a GREAT service by purchasing this home and maintaining
it as a "good landlord" and neighbor.

If you do decide to purchase this wonderful old home, I wish you only the
very very best of success - I think that you will NOT regret it.

Allan

[northside lurker]

I already own a house on the west side in the "Garden District" neighborhood.  Since I bought my house 4+ years ago, I've been keeping my eye on other houses that come up for sale in the neighborhood.

Earlier this year, around the end of March, I saw a house for sale on Portland that was a good deal, even for Youngstown.  The property was bank owned, and the asking price was down to $16,000 +/-.  With the idea that I could possibly rehab this house and sell it for a profit, I looked at it.  It looked like it would need a little more work than I was willing to take on at the time.  It didn't even seem habitable, but wasn't ready for demolition yet. (It didn't have a kitchen)  This house sold almost immediately after I looked at it, and people moved right in!   So, I have been kicking myself ever since because it seems like I could have bought it, cleaned it up, made some cosmetic repairs, and sold it for a small profit.  Because the cost of the house was so low, I could have carried the monthly payments until it sold even in our slow market.

So, recently, I saw another house for sale on Portland that caught my eye.  I haven't toured this house in person, but from what I can see in the photos and description, this house may only need the green 70's carpet removed, and some neutral paint to highlight the great woodwork.(off-white walls seem to make woodwork look dull and dark, IMO)  Although this house isn't as cheap as the first house I talked about, it doesn't appear to need as much work, either.

Here's a link to the house currently for sale.
http://www.cutlerhomes.com/listings/detail.php?lid=14545443&limit=0&offset=0&&&posc=1&post=1&cfq=radarea%3D1%26startnewsearch%3D1%26searchtypesent%3D5%26searchtype%3D5%26mlsids%255B%255D%3D1434650%26b.x%3D34%26b.y%3D16%26SRSearchDate%3D1164830503%26SRRecordCount%3D1%26SRPage%3D1%26SRPageCount%3D1%26SRPageLinks%3D6

I can't do anything right now because my mom is ill, and may need my help paying bills while she is off work.  But, when she gets better, I may try to buy this house if it's still for sale.  While making a profit would be nice, I would also like to do what I can to help my neighborhood.  I think AllanY2525 would understand.