While we never thought it would be easy, I also didn't think it would all go so wrong this quickly. We've been working very hard for our money, living on less than half our take home pay to make this happen. I gave up our honeymoon, 2nd car and a bunch of other things.
Hopefully tomorrow turns a corner!
You're a slum landlord now. You will learn some things you never suspected before. You will also learn why those who criticize landlords for being greedy bastards are morons without life experience. My advice, repair what you must and no more. Find out which of your tenants will pay the rent, and start getting rid of the others (which can be a nightmare, by the way). To own the kind of building you bought, you must possess a very thick skin. Otherwise, your tenants will eat you alive.
Find out which of your tenants will pay the rent, and start getting rid of the others (which can be a nightmare, by the way).
If you need to get rid of them all, have the place develop even worse problems so they just leave on their own. It's already half way there.
Excellent advice.
I made a priority list and am going to start from the top down. If the Tennants don't like me ignoring small problems they can leave.
I'm a previous landlord.... I recommend clearing out your second story tenants asap. Make that a priority. After it's empty, you and hubby buckle down with YT DIY vids and make any repairs you guys can, then bring in pros to make the ones you can't. Bring your rental unit into compliance to start financing this investment. Clean up your living space the best you can. Seal off unfinished rooms, and 'camp' if you have to while you focus on the upstairs... you've made an investment decision and now it's time to find out if you have what this takes... RIDE OR DIE, BABY.......
you can pm me for anything specific. I've got decades as a many unit landlord.
I hate to be a bearer of even more bad news, but if they are illegal unemployed Pageets, you now have squatters that you will be paying a hotel bill for until they can move back in and continue to not pay rent. I feel sorry for you because this purchase decision was a financial disaster. If you did not purchase this home with an LLC or S-Corp in place you are most certainly heading for personal bankruptcy. Have your lawyer immediately sue the Home Inspectors Errors and Omissions policy.
This assumes no framing issues are found during the process below.
Priorities:
Lawyer
Evict
Prepare your Anus
Get a dumpster and strip the upstairs unit of cabinets, carpet, drywall, insulation, and toilets. You may need to remove and throw away the interior doors. Possibly resilient flooring (linoleum)/tile depending on filth/damage level. This is necessary to remove the rat's nests/feces, to bait the insides of the wall cavities for roaches, to make repairs to the electrical and plumbing, to inspect for dry rot, and remove any contamination that is in the drywall/insulation. Failure to do this will leave you with reoccurring stank that fresh paint will never get rid of.
Get a pump sprayer that can handle bleach. SPRAY ALL OF THE EXPOSED FRAMING with 50/50 bleach solution. Then do it again. Mind the ventilation.
Everything below this point may (probably should) take a professional.
Plumbing repairs. This includes the main line in from the street, with a new shutoff. Brazed copper is best, but more expensive then PEX, which is cheaper but sucks for reasons. A compramise may be PVC for cold and CPVC for hot. Check your local building codes if you try to do this yourself.
Electrical repairs. May require new wiring if a branch circuit is fried inside the wall. Also allows for code updates/more plugs in the kitchen/bathroom(s). Might as well pull any sub-panel if it does not take modern breakers. The old style of breaker costs nearly 100/each and suck.
Insulate the walls. Use the white fiberglass, it has no formaldehyde and is less itchy. Check youtube for instructions and WEAR A RESPIRATOR if you do this yourself.
Drywall, taping and textureing. Again check youtube. It's heavy, dirty, and awkward, especially overhead.
Insulate the attic. If you do this yourselves, don't step through the fresh drywall.
Paint. Can be reversed with 13.
Trim, cabinets, and interior doors if you chose to toss them.
Top out the plumbing and electrical
Second round of painting for the trim/doors.
Floor finishes. Probably should be done by a professional.
Get drunk and christen the repaired unit by shagging on the new kitchen cabinets.
Rent out to employed people with decent credit.
Start over downstairs.
OR: Burn it down and pay to get a new building built with the money from your lawsuit.
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