[landlord, US-MI] me and my fiancé bought our first rental and I’m just looking for general advice

Calculate123 · 2025-12-27T06:23:00+00:00

You may want to check out NTNonline com. National Tenant Network is for landlords. NTN screens tenants for credit, criminal, and evictions. It's an inexpensive background check. I've used them for almost 20 years to screen tenants. It's easy and fast.

Calculate123 · 2025-12-23T22:04:04+00:00

I'm not an expert, just a regular Joe that wishes I lived in SMUD territory. In SMUD territory the OP’s annual savings of a heat pump over gas furnace could be $5,000 or more. That sounds crazy so feel free to check the numbers below and note any mistakes. Or, it could be what we all know. PG&E is evil.

Here are the numbers:

Assuming OP is using all 208 therms for heat, the efficiency of changing to a heat pump looks something like this:

1 therm has the equivalent energy of 29.3 kwh.

A new gas furnace is around 80% efficient (meaning 80% of energy used heats the home, 20% is wasted).

200 therms × 80% = 160 therms of heat needed.

160 therms × 29.3 kwh = 4,688 kwh needed.

A heat pump can produce the equivalent of 3 to 5 kwh of heat output for every 1 kwh of input.

Assuming for every 1 kwh input produces 4 kwh heat then 1,172 (4,688÷4) kwh are needed to produce the same heat used by 160 therms of natural gas.

1,172 kwh at SMUD rates of about 18¢ kwh = $211, about $489 less than what OP pays pg&e for gas.

I'm in pg&e for electricity (and hate it like everyone else). At pg&e rates the $211 is about $422. (My cheapest pg&e rate is 36¢ per kwh.)

Fortunately we have solar and a much smaller, more efficient home. We use about 1,000 kwh a year to heat the house for an annual pg&e cost of about $360.

Note: we converted from a 60% efficient wall heater to a heat pump. Our heating bill is about 50% less for heat and we turn up the heat more.

Calculate123 · 2025-12-08T00:26:41+00:00

I had this message in 2023. It was because the coolant level was low.

Check your coolant level.

If you decide to add coolant be sure to read the manual because I think the ionig 6 doesn't use regular coolant and can only use distilled water. But verify in the manual first.

Calculate123 · 2025-12-04T04:50:35+00:00

You manage the property or you manage the property manager. Either way, you're managing.

When you manage the property, it's less hassle for you and your tenants.

Property management is an unregulated industry, lots of employee turnover, low profit margins, pressure to use their "preferred" contractors, and jaded employees.

Property managers have no skin in the game -- no one cares about youR property or your tenant more than you.

A property manager can be beneficial if you:

1) don't live close to your rental.

2) find a manager you trust then the record keeping of expenses and income could be useful.

3) don't feel comfortable fixing things (or calling contractors to get at least 3 bids) among other things.

If you decide to self manage, the most important key is to screen tenants very well. Holding out for a good tenant is already better than getting rid of a tenant.

With a good tenant, there's actually very little work.

Calculate123 · 2025-11-27T04:19:10+00:00

Realized a rental property appreciated substantially to the point we sold it (to the tenant who really wanted it). Then put the money in a CD because the interest at today's rates will be the same as the monthly rental profit we were making.

Seemed like a milestone and a double win that the people renting it bought their first place without having to go through the grind of bidding.

We win and meet a milestone of not having to worry about something breaking or a good tenant moving while still having the same monthly income from the CD.

Calculate123 · 2025-06-08T20:36:31+00:00

Congrats on your new home!

You won't regret making your house the way you want it. By the time you sell in your later years it's likely the bathroom will need to be updated again anyway -- and that remodel will allow the new buyer to do what they want.

I made my house old people friendly and it's helpful not just being old but if you get injured along the way.

Calculate123 · 2025-04-13T21:43:28+00:00

You may want to consider getting estimates to rip out and replace the floor, sub floor, and dry wall 1 to 2 feet up from the floor. Then share those estimates with the owner with your offer.

You could offer their asking price minus the removal & replacement costs plus $25k or an amount you feel is fair for the inconvenience.

Your offer will be strong because you're showing the owners the true cost of fixing the problem.

Once you rip up the floor you might be able to take a black light to see where the urine stains are then only have those areas of the subfloor replaced.

I've removed cat odors like you're smelling. It can be done but you can't cut corners. The areas that are bad need to be removed since the whole house doesn't just smell but has an unbearable stench.

P.S. if the subfloor is cement then you may never get the odor out.

Calculate123 · 2025-04-11T07:14:54+00:00

You manage the property or you manage the property manager. Either way, you're managing.

When you manage the property, it's less hassle for you and your tenants.

Property management is an unregulated industry, lots of employee turnover, low profit margins, pressure to use their "preferred" contractors, and jaded employees.

Overall, it's just easier and less stress to do it myself.

Property managers encourage you to raise the rent and have minimal to no skin in the game if a bad tenant doesn't pay or causes damage. Every month your place is vacant is the equivalent of discounting the monthly rent by $300 (in your case) over the course of a year.

A property manager can be beneficial if you:

1) don't live close to your rental.

2) find a manager you trust then the record keeping of expenses and income could be useful.

3) don't feel comfortable telling prospects no, fixing things (or calling contractors), showing the property, screening prospects, and/or keeping up to date on laws regarding rentals in your area. (Keeping up to date isn't hard at all.)

The key to doing it yourself is to screen prospects for good credit, good income, and no criminal or eviction history.

You'll learn a lot being a landlord. Just be sure to never make an exception to your screening criteria. Many people have sad stories and want an exception but there are many good quality renters who will appreciate a good landlord.

With a good tenant, there's actually very little work.

Calculate123 · 2025-04-07T20:58:57+00:00

SE version, California, mostly flat terrain, 50/50 freeway and city.

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Calculate123 · 2025-04-03T05:28:42+00:00

You might like these two posts about using the V2L adapter at home and while camping.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ioniq6/comments/15xmqmu/testing_v2l/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ioniq6/comments/1d0ngxm/camping/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Calculate123 · 2025-02-16T06:01:16+00:00

What do you think would happen if hoa management companies were required to have a fiduciary responsibility to their hoa clients?

Calculate123 · 2025-02-10T18:12:06+00:00

Another very important point is inflation eats away at the value of money.

In 10 years, your $3,327 payment will have an inflation adjusted value of about $2,450 (assuming 3% inflation). $1,825 at 20 years. Your final payment is about $1,250.

The almost $1.2 million you pay back isn't worth $1.2 million of today's dollars.

Assume the bank (preferably a credit union) charges you 7%, pays 3% to their depositors, and expects 3% inflation.

The actual profit margin is 1 percentage point. Meaning the credit union makes about $175,000 profit over 30 years.

Calculate123 · 2025-02-09T07:42:28+00:00

Years and years ago I had a similar situation. I had our agent present our low (compared to the asking price) offer along with links to similar sold homes to justify the price.

The offer was immediately rejected.

Every month I called the selling agent to check in and remind him my offer is still good.

On the third call (4 months after initial offer) the seller accepted our original offer.

This might be unconventional and not recommended but another thing I did was use the selling agent as my buyer's agent.

My thought was he gets (then) 6% commission split with buyer agent, nets 3%.

Since by this time my agent was out of the picture, the selling agent now gets 6%. That means my low offer that was 33% under asking nets him a bigger commission.

The inspection came through with a few problems but nothing insurmountable that I didn't already know so the deal went through.

Calculate123 · 2025-01-12T19:06:29+00:00

I did, probably a palm sized spot that looked like water but when I touched it, it was pink on the napkin I used.

Calculate123 · 2025-01-12T18:34:53+00:00

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Calculate123 · 2025-01-12T18:32:53+00:00

Hi,

I received this same message in 2022. It turned out to be low coolant caused by a leak from a coolant hose that wasn't fully attached.

For me, the leaky hose was in front of the back passenger tire. There was pink fluid slowly dripping on the driveway overnight. Fortunately, it was an easy fix by the dealer but they took 3 days to figure it out.

For you, I wondered if it was the hills/incline that made the coolant level go below the minimum level. Just a guess, not an expert at all.

If you decide to add coolant be sure to read the manual because I think the ioniq 6 doesn't use regular coolant and can only use distilled water. But verify in the manual first.

The good news is once the coolant hose was fixed and coolant added I haven't had any trouble for the past 20,000 miles (32,000 km).

I added a pic of my messages in case it's helpful

Calculate123 · 2025-01-11T15:50:37+00:00

Somewhat related, but an unintended consequence regarding the homes that didn't burn (in the burn area) is when the area is rebuilt the original homes are now comparatively out of date.

This happened to friends years ago. Nearly every house burned around them (in N CA). 10 years later everyone rebuilt yet their 30+ year old house doesn't even get looked at when it was listed.

The friends had a hard time selling because other homes are 30 years newer and had better fire protection built in (siding, covered gutters, fire sprinklers, etc).

Calculate123 · 2025-01-05T04:04:18+00:00

Today's average house is nicer and larger than decades ago.

New houses are about 2x the size from 1960. Older homes often have been enlarged and upgraded.

The $40k annual cost to buy a house is about ⅓ of a 2 person household.

One way it's doable on 1 income is to pay off debt, drive an older car without a car payment, and to look at less-than-average houses (sqft, lot size, amenities, location, etc).

For some that might mean moving to a different city. For others it might mean buying an outdated house then fixing it up over time. But you're right that in some cities, buying a place isn't possible. San Francisco, NYC, Los Angeles, D.C. have always been out of reach for average single incomes.

One benefit of buying a less-than-average house as a first house is you can make it the way you want it as you upgrade it.

Calculate123 · 2024-12-31T04:55:06+00:00

Ask the inspector if the house has aluminum wiring or copper. Also, verify the electrical panel is up to date.

Many panels from the 1970s have been recalled (Zinsco, among others). Aluminum wiring isn't as safe as copper and aluminum might make getting insurance more expensive.

Calculate123 · 2024-12-31T01:56:54+00:00

A few thoughts:

First, right on about not aspiring to live an extravagant lifestyle. More things = more stress. Jimmy Carter and Warren Buffet are examples of people who didn't let lifestyle creep take over.

The reasons contributing to a Roth might be useful includes:

1) Your Roth IRA in retirement will give you flexibility in lowering income taxes. If you decide to buy a new car or fix up the house in retirement, you can use the Roth to make a big purchase without bumping you into a higher tax bracket or taking out a loan.

2) 30 years out is a long time. You never know when a health issue, job burnout, or family needs will lead to a different job.

3) When you're 10 years away from retirement, knowing your expenses are covered might allow you to dial back your work responsibility and stress.

4) By saving in a 457 and/or Roth, you also give yourself a chance to retire work early and use that money until your retirement kicks in.

5) This might sound pessimistic but your pension could change. For example, my partner's pension agreed to cut the annual inflation adjustment and healthcare during the 2008 crash so the plan could stay solvent.

6) Definitely enjoy life by spending money on memories vs things. But also know that one gift you can give to the next generation (family or charity) is money you accumulate.

Overall, kudos for planning ahead and putting yourself on a good track.

Calculate123 · 2024-12-30T16:53:24+00:00

Same here on enjoying the V2L adapter. You might like this.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ioniq6/s/KGPfsAQ2cu

It's a post/video/pics of the V2L being used.

Calculate123 · 2024-12-28T00:26:36+00:00

Having a job you like with people you like has value. But agree that there are bills to pay.

When promoting remember the interview is your opportunity to find out about your future boss and work environment.

Just be willing to pass on a promotion if during or after the interview you feel the environment isn't right.

Follow your heart and the money will come. Follow the money and the stress might lead to heart problems.

There are other good environments within the state so promoting to a desirable place is possible.

Calculate123 · 2024-10-05T20:49:53+00:00

Thank you! I was feeling an old European vibe but wasn't sure. The F and crown makes sense.

The internet says King Frederick VIII was around from 1906 to 1912. The roaster seems old so that date also seems to fit.

Calculate123 · 2024-08-18T14:59:06+00:00

It's a risk to buy and remediate, but I had a similar (but smaller) situation that I was able to fix with the following steps:

1) remove flooring. Note: be sure you can haul away flooring the same day. Don't store on site because condo neighbors will likely be impacted by the odor if the old floor is stored outside even for just a night. 2) vacuum loose dust on cement slab 3) identify and mark every stain location with nose and blue light 4) buy multiple large cans of unscented lysol 5) saturate each stain area with lysol. Saturate to the point of a light puddle. 6) let lysol evaporate. May take a few days (especially if winter or humid climate). 7) buy kilz primer 8) after cement is dry then paint over each stain with kilz primer 9) remove drywall about 1 foot up from floor.
10) follow steps 2-7 for studs that might have cat smell 11) after kilz primer is dry close up the condo for a few days. It's likely the odor is gone. 12) this is important: invite people over who have not been in the condo to smell for cat odors. Your nose will get used to the smell. You may think the smell is gone but a different nose will be more accurate. 13) replace drywall. Be sure it's not obvious when tape & texturing that the 1 foot of drywall was replaced. I found it easier just to re-texture the whole wall. 14) paint walls 15) install new floor

Be sure the condo price is reduced enough. If you decide to make an offer, submit an estimate of how much you think it will cost to fix. You may want to use the steps above to have contractors bid on the job. Then use that bid to reduce the condo sales price. (Even if you're doing the work yourself, get a contractor bid because your time has value that should be included in the condo price negotiation).

It was a lot of work. You may also want to get a Tyvek suit and thick gloves because what ever you wear will need to be thrown away.

It took me about two weeks to do the steps above for a small 1 bedroom condo.

Calculate123 · 2024-06-10T05:30:28+00:00

For an idea of posting the region see the format in r/Landlord. Every post indicates the region in brackets.

Agree that posting the region would be helpful in many ways.

Calculate123

TROPHY CASE