Fourplex Update - Getting Started

October 17, 2019

I'm currently 5 weeks after closing and there have been plenty of opportunities to learn so far. The first month was a real nightmare with some of the tenants due to a lack of records from the previous owner:

Unit #1: the seller said at closing that the tenant hadn't paid, but they disputed that and refused to pay for the month of September because they said they paid the seller. There are no records so that's chalked up as a loss

Unit #2: the tenant signed the lease but claimed that he paid a deposit of $500 rather than the $250 that the seller conveyed. The seller said that wasn't true, but nobody has any records to back their claim

Unit #3: actual rent was $100 lower than I was told, which made it extremely difficult getting the lease signed. After fighting with the property manager for 2 weeks she finally signed

Unit #4: this tenant was for the most part painless. He was previously on a schedule to pay rent mid-month so we're working on getting that normalized, but otherwise he signed with little hassle

Outside of the excitement of getting leases signed, the first maintenance issues also popped up. The water heater needed repair in Unit #4, and there was a small fire in the oven in Unit #3 (I'm sure it had nothing to do with the oven being filthy). Still waiting to see what the damage is on those repairs.

The good news is we're making progress. Leases have been signed and Unit #1, which is a dump with a difficult tenant, has been notified that their lease is not being renewed and they will be vacating in early November. I will begin repairs on November 15, so stay tuned!

Biggest lesson learned this month:

-Keep records of everything! You won't win against a tenant in a battle of he said/she said