We recently got a property on Park Street which had been sadly abused.  The once fine structure had eviction after eviction, and the resulting damage was terrible.

When we gave the estimate to the owner, we had counted on replacing the rugs.  But when we removed them, we found hardwood floors.  They were in rough shape, but after sanding and applying poly, they came out fantastic!  It was the same cost as getting cheap ugly rugs and really enhances the value.

I'll have to put up before and after photos of this project.  They look like totally different properties.

A Complement that Made My Day

What an incredibly different feeling I have about owning that town home. A year ago I wanted out badly because of the tenant situation and the constant worry not to mention the expense of covering the constant rent gaps. I do not feel like that any longer. You have taken a huge amount of stress and burden from my mind. 

The person who wrote this owns a townhome which has had a bad rental history.  When I took it over a year ago, one tenant paid rent late, if at all, every month.  At this point, we have replaced a tenant who paid rent late (if at all) and took bad care of the apartment with a great tenant who takes pride in keeping her apartment nice - and her rent is mailed to me before the first.

Please call or email if you are interested in replacing problem tenants with awesome tenants.

Melissa 315-908-2287

Kitchen Rehab - with Cost in Mind

Before - what a mess!

After - nice and clean!

This is a property built in the late 60s.  It still had the original kitchen!  Lower cabinets were a mess - water damage, drawers inoperable, and the previous management company had removed a dishwasher and covered the empty space with plywood.

I've never been a fan of that late 60s/early 70s dark walnut look.  It's especially unattractive when it's in bad shape and in an otherwise light colored kitchen.  My first instinct was to say all the cabinetry had to go!

But on examination the upper cabinets were actually in good shape - they were just ugly and dirty.  We could re-use them.  That would save the owner over half the cost of the job, as it's much more labor intensive to put in upper cabinets, and there are more of them because they're over the stove and fridge.

So we put in new lower cupboards and reused the sink and counter.  We cleaned and painted the upper cabinets to match the lower level.

The backsplash was old Formica, which was stained and had many nail holes.  We used textured vinyl wall covering painted to match the cupboards.

The end result is a bright and pleasant kitchen at less than half the cost of replacing all the cabinets.

Should I take Section 8 for my Syracuse Rental Property?

Section 8 is a Federal program administered on a local level.  Sometimes it pays the whole rent, and sometimes it pays a portion and the tenants pay a portion.  It was designed to get people out of housing developments.  Instead of going to a housing project, people get a voucher to use with a private landlord.  There is a long waiting list for people to get Section 8.

Section 8 screens people for economic need.  It does not screen people for being good tenants.

Before a Section 8 tenant can move into a property, it must be inspected.  Sometimes this is a very fast inspection and sometimes the inspector will spend a long time scrutinizing every bit of the house and writing a long list of infractions.  You may get an inspection scheduled in a few days, or it could be up to a month.  You just never know!  It's this type of uncertainty that makes it hard to do Section 8.

Many landlords look at Section 8 as a sure check every month.  This is sometimes true.  However, if the tenant complains about something in the rental, the property is written up, and the rent stops until the problems are fixed.  This can be legitimate complaints, like heat not working or roof leaks.  It can also be things the tenants caused themselves like holes in the walls.  It doesn't matter, the rent stops until it passes an inspection.

There is a yearly inspection too, and rent will stop for problems no matter who caused them.  For example, one apartment was written up for mold in the bathroom.  This was not a ventilation or leak problem.  The tenants had simply never cleaned the bathroom for the year that they had been living there.  In fact, there were no cleaning supplies in the house at all.  So the owner had to pay someone to clean the bathroom for them.

Another time we had to replace the stove grates - the metal things that go above the gas pans burners.  They were there when the people moved into the house, but the owner had to buy new ones.  Perhaps the tenants sold them for scrap metal.

Sometimes the tenants won't pay their share of the rent.  The landlord gets a check each month for Section 8's share of the rent, but nothing from the tenants.  Before the tenants leave the rental, if they want to stay on Section 8 they must have moving papers signed by the landlord stating that they do not owe any rent. 

There are cases where the tenants move in and everything goes smoothly with rent being paid and the property being kept up nicely.   As in all rentals, the main thing is to screen the tenants well.

I get calls all the time from people looking to rent a Section 8 4 or 5 bedroom house.  Since there is a huge demand for this type of rental among Section 8 tenants it is possible to get good long term tenants.  If anyone is thinking of investing in Syracuse rental property this would be a great place to start.  Call me at 315-395-7523 and I can send you a list of properties.

Do you have codes issues in the city of Syracuse?

Codes violations are distressing, especially if you are far away from your property and can't see what is going on.  You receive a list of violations that is hard to understand.  You may have your property on a stop rent from Onondaga County, so you are not able to collect payments from your tenants.  In fact Onondaga County may be forcing them to move, even if they don't want to.

We communicate with you about your codes problems.  We send you before and after photos and keep you up to date with what is going on.

Experience makes the difference here.  We deal with codes issues a lot.  Our contractors are used to working from a codes list and fixing violations.  They meet the inspector for the codes inspections and they know what the inspectors are usually looking for.

The stairs pictured here are in front of one of our properties.  It looks like the second photo has snow on it, but that is actually fresh cement.  One of our contractors patched these inexpensively, after the owners had gotten quotes from other contractors who said they would have to be removed and replaced with wood stairs - at a high price.

We can help you with your codes issues whether or not we manage your property.  Call or email today to get started removing your codes violations and getting your property back to producing income.

Responsible Property Management 315-395-7523 or email us

You can also fill out our online form: Syracuse Rental Owner Inquiry Form

What rent should I charge for my properties?

Setting rent prices is a delicate balance. 

If you price them too low, obviously you are leaving money on the table.  What is not so obvious is that sometimes you can scare off excellent tenants with a too-low price.  They will wonder what is wrong with it, or assume that it is in an area they don't want to live in.

Prices that are too high will attract people with no other options.  The good tenants know they can do better elsewhere and you are left with people with a bad rental history who are hoping you won't screen them too much.  They don't mind the higher rent prices because they weren't planning on paying you anyway.

Oddly enough when I have taken over buildings I have found the rents too low more often than too high.  Many owners and property managers have not kept up with rent levels, but will rent an apartment for the same price year after year. 
 
Sometimes it can be advantageous to keep rent a little below market if you have good tenants in a high turnover area.  Rents in these areas are set high because it takes money and time to deal with frequent move outs.  Having someone who stays put and pays their rent at a lower rate will usually save you more money in these cases.

Responsible Property Management

Responsible Property Management - our name is our philosophy.

We are accessible - we answer your calls, emails and texts.
Failure to communicate is one of the most common complaints about property managers.  We will return your calls and calls from your tenants promptly and politely.

We give you an honest accounting of repairs and costs
You will be able to know who called the work order in, who did the work and that we followed up with the tenant.

When a tenant moves out of your property, we do a video walk through with a list of repairs.  We make another video when the repairs are completed.  Don't pay for work that was never done.  See for yourself!

We have developed a lease to protect you
Over the years we have seen many of the problems that can be caused by tenants.  These are not addressed on a standard lease.  We had to write our own lease!

We advertise your vacancies and screen tenants
We market your property so that many people will see it.  Then we select the best applicant. We don't put just anyone into your apartments. Having unscreened tenants is the number one preventable loss of profit for investors.

We deal with codes, lead paint, rental registry
We have experience dealing with governmental housing agencies.  We will get the property repaired and to pass inspection.
We can sell your building or help you select an investment property
We are NY State Licensed Real Estate Agents with experience selling investment property.