33. Dealing With the City as a Landlord | with Ashley Pereira

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by dealing with city inspections, permits, tenant complaints, or confusing housing regulations as a real estate investor, this episode is for you. Violeta sits down with Ashley Pereira, a California-based investor building her portfolio in Rochester, New York, to talk about the realities of navigating local government, certificate of occupancy inspections, property management communication, and the unexpected challenges that come with owning rental properties out of state.

Ashley shares how she went from analysis paralysis to closing on her first rental property in Rochester, why she chose a cash-flowing Midwest market over investing in California, and what happened when she suddenly started receiving scary violation notices from the city. From missing doors and tenant damage to delayed inspection updates and overwhelming paperwork, she opens up about the anxiety that comes with being a first-time landlord learning how to navigate the system.

Violeta also shares her own experiences dealing with trash violations, Section 8 paperwork issues, storm door complaints, and buying properties from slumlords that required major repairs. Together, they discuss the importance of documentation, communication with the city, understanding local landlord requirements, and why learning to work with local government is an essential skill for long-term real estate investing success.

They also dive into:
• How Ashley overcame analysis paralysis and bought her first out-of-state rental
• Why Rochester, New York stood out as a strong cash-flow market
• The realities of dealing with certificates of occupancy and city inspections
• Common rental property violations investors face
• Why communication and documentation matter when dealing with the government
• The hidden challenges of tenant turnover and property maintenance
• Investing in older homes and handling repairs like peeling paint, handrails, decks, and lead safety issues
• Lessons learned from buying properties from slumlords
• Section 8 delays, housing authority issues, and government bureaucracy
• Why beginner investors shouldn’t be afraid of dealing with the city
• The importance of community, mentorship, and networking in real estate investing

Whether you’re a brand-new investor looking to buy your first rental property or already managing units and dealing with inspections, this episode offers practical insights and reassurance that these challenges are part of the journey—not the end of it.

Connect with Violeta:
Latina-focused real estate investing community linked below the episode description.

Transcript

Ashley 0:00

It will fit out all these notices that literally on the top, say the Neighborhood Development Association or whatever of the city of Rochester versus Ashley Pereira. And I'm like, oh my god, I never have like been in trouble with the city before. Like, I don't see that kind of language, you know, like ever, much less in the mail.

Violeta 0:18

Having to deal with the city is something that at some point in your real estate investing journey, you're going to have to deal with. You're going to have to learn how to navigate that. And it sounds scary. I know, like, when the first time I had to deal with them, it kind of, you know, I got scared. But at some point, whether you're doing like an ADU or just getting permits or something for whatever project, you're going to have to learn to navigate the ins and outs of getting permits or just dealing with the city, or maybe the city comes at you for like some violation. And all of that can feel scary and overwhelming. But it's actually a skill that you learn as you grow, as you build your portfolio. And today we are going to just talk about how to deal with the city, a little bit of the ins and outs, and really just share our stories. Because I don't think we see too much of like dealing with the city besides just like getting permits or whatever. Joining me today is Ashley Pereira, a real estate investor out of state. And she's going to share some tips and other tips as a newer real estate investor and how she dealt with the city for the first time. So hola Ashley, thank you so much for joining me.

Ashley 1:30

Hello, it's good to be here.

Violeta 1:31

Yeah, so real quick, where are you investing and tell us a little bit about your current journey, your strategy, and where you at or so far?

Ashley 1:41

So I live in California, very high cost of living area. Even if I did the most amazing house hack, I would still be paying way too much, paying way more in that mortgage than my current rent. And I wouldn't be able to invest at all. So I started looking for markets with a nice cost to rent ratio, stable economies, and just like a little bit of opportunity for appreciation, just in case. And I found that all in Rochester, New York, especially in the more suburban areas where I'm investing. Right now, I currently have like two properties. I say that because the second one I'm closing on the end of this month. But the first one is where I've gotten these fun, interesting experiences dealing with the city of Rochester, which hasn't been traumatizing, hasn't been wild, but it was just more than I expected. I think I have this kind of naive sense that like my property management would take care of everything. And to be fair, they have taken care of a lot. They've definitely like been worth every penny for sure. Where things got complicated though was staying updated with the city that that got a little wild.

Violeta 2:47

So oh wow, yeah. And what made you go in New York? Like, is it just a random or like through networking? Somebody said, like, because that's how I found my market. The first market out of state was that it was somebody that I knew that was investing there. And I was like, okay.

Ashley 3:03

Yeah, I probably did like way too much analysis and got into the land of analysis process for sure. Because I was trying to look for like the most perfect market, which does not exist, does not exist. And with more of the blue states, there's some more like tenant-friendly laws. And so like that makes New York and other places kind of scary. However, Rochester has a really stable economy. It has a lot of kind of like I think people call them kind of like people pullers, where you know, there's like university hospitals, places where people kind of have to go physically to get those services, to have access to resources. And especially with there's like some teaching medical hospitals in Rochester, people have to physically be there for those hospitals to get that experience to you know finish their education. And I had been looking at a whole bunch of different cities. I've been looking in several different states, and I was probably doing that for like a good couple of months. I was looking for how well I'd be protected as a landlord. I was also looking for big economic drivers that would help build that economic stability that I needed. And I was also looking for a good cost to rent ratio where I'd have a nice spread so that I didn't have to start with like break-even or negative. I was really trying to avoid either of those like real estate deal situations because at the first timer, I feel like I didn't have all the skill sets I needed to make something that's like cash flow negative or cash flow neutral positive quickly. I kind of wanted to start with something that was more of a safer bet. And I saw a lot of those deals when I was analyzing deals in Rochester. I also was looking at a lot at Cleveland, Ohio. I still kind of look back into that market too. But at first, I was just looking at, you know, where are all the major bases, where are the major universities, and in those areas like where kind of like the more like mid-sized to small cities, because they do have a way better cost to rent ratio in general. Some of the bigger cities doesn't have such a sweet ratio, like you are gonna be breaking even a lot of the times. So it was just at first casting like a really wide net and then focusing in and focusing in and focusing in.

Violeta 5:08

And what type of properties is it single family homes?

Ashley 5:11

So I really, really wanted to start with a multifamily. And at first I was just laser focused on that. However, the cash flow for the areas I could afford was not so great, and it was just a bit riskier, especially with some of the neighborhoods. So I settled on a single family, and the second one is also a single family. The third will probably be a single family at this rate because what I really want, like in my dreams, is a side-by-side duplex in a nice B minus a C plus neighborhood. And those numbers just don't work for me right now. So we'll see. I'll keep looking. You know, maybe that'll be my third or fourth. But yeah, and they do have those, like there are some really nice side-by-side duplexes. Yeah, I always see them whenever I make an offer. Whenever the offer is already accepted by another property, that's when I'm like, oh my god.

Violeta 6:03

Yeah, that's what happens. Um as soon as I close on this recent one, I saw another one. It's like, oh, I was like, I can't yet. There's this house that I'm just like watching sit, and I pass by it every well, not no more because as much, but I pass by it every day, almost every day when I would go to school. And I'm like, just wait for me, just wait for me. Let me finish this house. Just wait for me, because I have ideas coming up. But I want to before we get into topic, I want to ask you because you did mention how like at the beginning you were just kind of like analyzing everything. And so I feel like a lot of people that are getting started, they get stuck at that point. So I want to ask you, like, how from the time that I guess you decided that this is something you wanted to do, and you got stuck, how how long did you stay in that analysis paralysis before you finally were like, you know what? Finally, I'm gonna go get it, and then you finally did it.

Ashley 6:55

Well, it depends how much you look at it, it depends how you see it, because it could have been like six months to a year, you know, it could have been like six months if you're just thinking, you know, like when did I get like very serious about it? And then a year in that I had been already, even before I kind of started looking at markets, I had been just trying to beef up all my real estate knowledge because I I didn't start with that much real estate knowledge. Um, and at first was just learning the terminology, learning kind of the systems in place, learning the different strategies. And I felt like I had to know everything or else I was gonna like get got, you know. And and then as you see people's stories, you realize that even like seasoned 20 years investors still make mistakes, they still get got and they had all this knowledge, all the experience. So being more aware of that kind of helped me. However, like I mentioned earlier, I was kind of looking for appreciation. So I would track these houses and I would look like, oh, you know, I can see on the record that 20 years ago it was sold for this, and now this is a listed price, you know. So I was like, if I wait any longer, the listed price for these places are just gonna get higher and higher and higher. Like I was starting to see opportunity cost by looking for these markets, these little like niches they're appreciating. And that's when I was like, Oh, like in a way, I'm losing money the more time I wait, you know. So that was kind of what was like, you know, I was already feeling pretty serious about this, and then realizing that there was opportunity cost.

Violeta 8:20

Yeah, yeah, that's awesome. And now you're you're closing on your second one, which is awesome because I feel like sometimes a lot of people get stuck with that first one, and then they just either don't continue for whatever reason. So now you're you're moving. And so now how do you feel that you finally took the leap and now like you're on your second one?

Ashley 8:40

I think it's where I am right now that I feel good about it because when I was dealing with all the certificate of occupancy stuff and dealing with all the city stuff, I did not want a second house. I was like, I don't understand why people do this. This is way too much fift, you know. But now that there's been some time from that experience, and then also kind of like building uh a strategy for yourself, like for me, everything's kind of in spreadsheets. So when I look at the numbers, I can see that like if I want to really follow through this plan, these are just the assets I need, these are the pieces I need in place. And even with like kind of like a moderate, like realistic projection of things, I should be able to like meet my goal, which is like financial independence. If I can keep going. And at this point, like when I was just looking at my numbers, I was like, I am ready for a second property, like emotionally, spiritually, maybe not ready, but financially, I have the down payment, I have the closing costs, I have my reserves. You know, I just I just need to do it. That was it, that was it, that was it, that was it.

Violeta 9:40

Yeah, that's why yeah. I'm glad you say that because I think that's where a lot of those that are wanting to get in, they get stuck in that spot and they're like, but then they realize like you have everything, it's just that that that little step. You just gotta do it. And then, like, once you do it, it's kind of like I did it, and you know, now you're motivated to go and everything. So I I definitely felt that way the first time. But you realize, like you said, you have everything. You did your the work, you researched, you have your reserves, thought about your strategy and everything like that. It's just just getting out there and actually implementing that plan. So, but I want to get into your story of dealing with the government because I I I dealt with the city a few times, and uh it definitely was intimidating. I really thought it was like the end of the world like, I'm gonna lose my property, they're gonna buy me and all this stuff. So, so what's your story?

Ashley 10:38

Yeah, so it was my first property. My first property, now that I think about it in a lot of ways, I got so freaking lucky. Usually, when you buy from an investor, a lot of people get burned sometimes in that situation. However, I got this property from a retiring investor who had taken care of the property very well for about like 20 years, had a tenant in that whole time, was able to list it like the month after the tenant was gone, because the place was in great condition, and had a valid in the city of Rochester, it's highly encouraged to get a certificate of occupancy, which is where they just like double check that everything's safe, they double check that everything's in quality condition. And while I don't think it's technically something you are legally obligated to have, the city will be on you to get this, and they will fine you if you don't have it. So it's kind of like a system of like it's not illegal, but it will cost you not to have it, anyways. So there was already a death certificate of place for my first property, however, it expired in the summer of 2025. And in the summer of 2025, I was already super stressed because there was a layoff at my company, and I was the only surviving member of my team. So, to be fair, I was already just like freaked out in general, and then my property management sends me like an itemized list of everything these fixed. They did like a pre-inspection on their own, and they're like, Hey, you know, this is what we think the city's gonna be looking for, and we're gonna take care of X, Y, and Z. And I was just looking through this list, being like, What the heck has my tenant been doing? Because there were things like door missing, and I was like, What the fuzz does door missing mean? You know, and then I saw later on photos from my property management, and the panels were missing, but the city doesn't consider that a door if the panels are missing. So it was like the lower ones, like obviously, like a little kid had like kicked in the panels and my tenant had not replaced it. I do know she's a single mother, I do know she has several kids. So I was just like, oh, it was like things like that. It was like holes in the wall. I was like, oh my god, these children, you know, like I hope those are children, and just little things that like added up, you know. So I was like, okay, like take my money, please fix these problems. And there were several inspections during all these inspections, too. There's this online portal that I was able to check and that would list on the city side what was happening. And I didn't realize that there was, I mean, with time I realized that there was like a lag between what the city did in person and what they updated online. So online, it would just be like two or three notices behind, and it would it would look like things weren't happening. And then I would check my personal portal through my property management. My property management like lists out the inspection dates, list out what was going on. So I was like, it was just confusing in that like I didn't think that like my property management was lying to me, but because I could kind of trust them a little more than the city. But I was just like, why don't they just update on their end? That way I don't have this like anxiety about like what the city is doing. Like, I know you were there, I know you did the inspection, you know, like tell me what the heck happened in that inspection, you know? And so aside from their online portal, which they didn't update that frequently. So like I would see these inspections, just be like, oh, what is happening? Because the property management also doesn't know. So if I ask them, they're like, Well, I think this went well, you know, they spent a lot of time looking there, but they don't get like the full detail. But they do get the full detail when they mail it out. So they don't update their Gosh on online portal, which will be very useful for me, but they will send out all these notices, these notices that literally on the top say, like the Neighborhood Development Association or whatever of the city of Rochester versus Ashley Pereira. And I'm like, oh my god. That was scary too, like a versus. Yes, yes. And like I don't drive that much. Like I don't get parking tickets. So like I never have like been in trouble with the city before. Like, I don't see that kind of language, you know, like ever, much less in the mail. And then their mailing notifications are also on the lag. So even when my property management had like fixed an issue, they would also send these kind of like automatic letters. They would still have the previous old issues. So the very first time that happened, I had like a half an hour conversation with my property management being like, Are you sure X, Y, and Z and Z got done? Because it looks like to them that they went back and they checked and nothing that hasn't happened. Like, what was going on there? And they're like, No, no, no, no. You know, sometimes they just don't update certain notices. Some notices are automatic. And but when you open it up, it's a first of all, you get like a thick envelope of all the like violations I've seen so far, and it lists all the old things that already been addressed, but they haven't updated on their end, which is great. So that was just confusing, it was weird, it was stressful. And then one week I got four notices in one time. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. So that's four thick ass envelopes. And they were all for different properties that I did not own. Oh. So, like, my blood pressure just went through the roof for like no gosh darn good reason. None whatsoever. And I was just seeing this like stack of letters and just freaking the heck out. So that was such a great experience that I loved dealing with. And then there was another inspection. My property management was like, We have dealt with all the issues. We really think this should be the last one. I was like, okay. And then that, of course, like not heard nothing from the city. Like, no more letters, no nothing. And I'm just like waiting, waiting, waiting. And then, like a month after that, I get one tiny, tiny little letter, and it's just like certificate of occupancy renewed. That's it. That's it. And I'm like, okay, great. I went through all this, and at the end of it, I get like a tiny little letter that's not even on your online website, and just says, like, yeah, I'm good. We're good, you know.

Violeta 16:34

Yeah, I will say, like, as someone that, you know, has been around the government, like, oh, it is just the the worst. There's there's just most of the time it's because just there's just not enough people, and so everybody's trying to like they have so many like cases or whatever, and so paperwork gets lost. So I I guess that would be tip number one. Like, when you're dealing with the city, like keep everything, every email that you send them, make sure you communicate for every everything, everything be like, hey, you know, following up on that you came by and we talked about this, blah blah blah. So document everything so that way if they try to say something else because they lose stuff or they just are just swamped with other stuff, you have all that documentation to protect you. Yeah, because they will yeah, they will lose some stuff, or the documentation gets some stuff wrong or whatever, like uh no, here's a picture or whatever. So exactly, yeah. Dealing with the government is is a little bit um annoying for sure. Yeah. Um, but I will say, since you were talking about the portal, one thing that I've learned to do is, and I'm working on doing it here in this new market. Now I'm moving into the San Antonio market. I was in Milwaukee, and I'm pausing that for now because I'm kind of annoyed in Milwaukee right now. Because uh I gotta fix like a lot of stuff. So, but most of the the government websites, that's one thing I would suggest that you go on there, and a lot of them have like this landlord training thing. I know they have one here, they have one in Milwaukee, and they provide like resources that free, sometimes even workshops that landlords can attend. Usually it's online sometimes. I've seen I haven't caught one because every time I find it, I was like, I get on their email list, but I don't get the email. I don't know, but here I'm gonna like make sure I get on their email list. But that's one thing they you could look at, and a lot of times they'll give you the list of what they look at, like making sure there's screens on the windows, their smoke alarms, blah blah blah. So there's a whole list that they and even the one here even gave like a lease, yeah, a template for here for San Antonio. So I use that for this one right now, but yeah, when I when I dealt with it the first time, I was kind of it started off with the trash violations. I had just turned over this property and there was like trash in the alley. My properties have like an alley in the back, and that's where the trash I guess goes and picks it up. And I got like two or three in a row, and I was freaking out, like, oh, they're gonna get they're gonna get on me, blah blah blah. But I emailed them because the the property manager didn't know like what was the trash because there is apartments behind that property. Oh and I was thinking that maybe their trash was flying over, and you know, I talked to them and didn't really have no issues. He sent me the stuff was like, hey, you know, I'm just trying to make sure that you know my tenants aren't having to pay for the violation of whatever and stuff, so we got that straight away, and yeah, it was my ten well my tenants, but I'm thinking I had a unit turnover at that time, so I'm thinking it was just because that trash was there from the unit turnover.

Ashley 19:43

So was there a fine with that violation?

Violeta 19:46

Yeah, it was like $90. I was like, Okay, not bad. Not bad. Yeah, I think one was 70 and then one was like 90, and then I was getting frustrated because it felt like it was all the time, but then that got fixed, and then just a few other times recently that I've had to deal with is I think one of the tenants notified the city, which there's different like levels. There's one that's just kind of like a warning, you know, before you get like the violation. Because they for this specific example, it was the storm door, it was uh missing a storm door somehow, which I don't know why I was missing a storm door because all of them had it, you know. And I've had that issue too, where like a door was missing on the inside. It's like where where what'd y'all do to the door? Like, did y'all eat it? Like, what happened to it? Why is there no door there? Like, it was there when we gave it to you. But yeah, sometimes for some reason they like to remove. I could see with the children, like maybe don't want them to get locked themselves in, but at least put it somewhere. I've removed doors, I will say I have removed a door that was in the closet that was just annoying to open, and but we put it inside the closet so we wouldn't lose it, and then we installed it back before we left. So I could see why people remove doors, but at least keep them, don't lose them. But yeah, it was a storm door, and I guess she had told the maintenance person that went to go fix some stuff, but that maintenance person is not like the person that like submits the maintenance requests. You're supposed to use the portal, blah blah blah. And so it just went like a month or two that nothing happened, and then she went and told the city that we were missing a storm door or whatever. So my property manager got a like a notification, which then notified me, and I was like, What? Like, you know, you freaked out again. But then I was like, Why am I getting this? And they're like, No, it's just a warning you get, and I looked it up, and yeah, it's just them saying, like, hey, we've been notified, you got X amount of days to fix it or whatever. And so we did. It's like because we finally found out it's like it just got lost in the sauce because she told the maintenance person, which isn't the right person to tell, and then it just got lost. So then that was fixed. I would say the other one that I've still dealing with, you will have to deal if you want to do like like the seed type neighborhoods and you want to do like section eight. That's a whole process as well. I'm glad that I Have my property managers that were dealing with it, although I did have to get on them too because there was like some confusion with some paperwork that the tenant gave them, but we had something signed, like doc. So we have like all the proof basically of when that lease was over. But the one that the housing had. So we're still fighting that fight to get my money back because they pulled my rent money. I was like, no, that tenant was still here. And this paperwork from y'all and our lease is this date. And so they're trying to fix that in June. We're gonna have a meeting and see what's the status with that. But apparently, Section 8 has been behind because with all the government shutdown at that point, they just got so behind that at this point they're just kind of holding like monthly meetings, office hours to kind of like so my property manager has to wait and then go to that meeting and get addressed and blah blah blah. So, like that's another thing dealing with the government, which you you mentioned that it just takes time and patience, yeah, energy impatience. So, yeah, that was annoying. But other than that, yeah, like it wasn't it was scary at first, but then there's lots of like steps, and unless it's something crazy that you you did, which you hopefully you shouldn't not be a slum lord or whatever, like you're gonna be fine. They usually like work with you. Don't be scared to like email them. I did, I mean with the violations, I emailed them and just communicate. That's all they want, really, and be sure that you are trying to get it done. They'll give you some some leeway and help you out too.

Ashley 23:36

Yeah, thank you. Those are all good points. And when you mentioned Slumlord, I think that's why the Rochester City, I think that's why they are so heavy with the certificate of occupancies. I think it's why they like physically overcommunicate and they use really intense languages because I think that's the only way that like slumlords will actually listen. But for newbie investors who I'm like, that is the first time I'm dealing with y'all and y'all are getting so scary. Like, what is this? You know, I did not, I did not like take that super well, you know, definitely drove up the anxiety quite a bit. But to be fair, I was also like in a very anxious period of my life. However, I think that is how they make those slumlords like wake the heck up and do it because that's another thing too. Like in the beginning, I was talking to a lot of wholesalers, and I've pretty much just stopped talking to wholesalers because you see some of these conditions and you see just like you know, like I don't even have like any kind of contracting background. I was never a city inspector in my whole life, but I know when there should be like a window in some places, you know, when there should be a window still and there shouldn't be like peeling paint and there should be handrails and like you see that kind of stuff all the time. You see just like trash in areas like public property kind of areas where like why is there just a whole bunch of trash there? Like you see a lot of in the city of Rochester, these kind of like wholesale deals are like definitely slumlord properties for sure. For sure.

Violeta 24:59

They affect the minorities even more, and especially finding like I see that definitely the minority because a lot of them don't know how to navigate, like to tell the city something, and they don't want to risk losing because then maybe this is the only place that was affordable to them, so then they go say something, they're gonna lose their place, so then they just kind of suck it up. And this property that I just closed on was from Islam Lord, like and I'm fixing all this stuff, like the first thing, like the I don't know how they weren't scared of like liability, but I think a lot of it is because it's a Latino community, and some of them just are scared to go like get the government involved or or don't know how to or anything, so they just suck it up and they had he had tenants there. I the tenants have stayed, and the other one has left, so I'm doing the unit turnover for that one, and I'm just fixing stuff. I tore off the wall, which it'll be in a video on the channel when once I'm done and show everything that I've been doing. But yeah, but I've been sharing it on the Instagram and see I'm gonna post how I I opened this whole wall because what happened is they cut a hole and to put an AC window unit, but on the wall versus the window because the window's too big, I guess. So that caused like water to seep in because they didn't seal it properly, whatever. So then that whole area underneath just got like nasty. And so I just I just angrily took it away yesterday. I was like, God, like why? Like, why didn't you just do it right the first time? Do it right, yeah. Yeah, and the steps. It's cheaper to do it right the first time. The steps was the other things, like these people were just like risking their lives each time they they went downstairs because it was horrible. And then come to find out that like some of the fixes because like in some areas they just like lodged in more like wood to kind of like balance the staircase as they went down, and the rail was just like some random, some random wood, and it comes to find out it's because the other tenant like was trying to you know do something because the the landlord wasn't fixing it, and so it's just like oh no, but anyway, uh that's the first thing we fixed. We built a new stairs and stuff, so yeah, just do it right the first time, which is yeah, the other thing is just do it right the first time, go on the website, see what they look for for the main things, right? To give you a guidance, and then just like do everything at the beginning so that way you don't get the city too much, which at some point you will have to deal with it. But you know, the tenants are the tenants, and you know, they might in my case left trash out and then come over here. So yeah, but other than that, I just wanted to also share your perspective as now you're coming on your second property. We kind of talked a little bit at the beginning. What would you say for somebody that is starting out their journey? Like what's things that you have learned right now, or and what's your I guess what's your next obstacle? Because now you took the leap and now you're on your second one. So what do you what are you thinking is now that is your big worry right now?

Ashley 28:04

So this one does not have a certificate of occupancy in place.

Violeta 28:10

Yeah, it's the number one.

Ashley 28:11

It's a really good location, it's it's a really good location, which is what suckered me in, but it is not an investor special, it's a homeowner and I lived there for 30 years. It's still in great condition. Like it's definitely gonna be a lighter rehab. However, since I do know what the city is looking for, and to be fair, like they do communicate kind of well. So, like, they send out pamphlets to both tenants and landlords of like what a safe place to live looks like. And I'm really grateful that the city of Rochester also puts it in more than one language, so it seems like they recognize the diversity of their communities and they're actually trying to give them resources and make sure everyone has access. So that I definitely love, and it's also giving me a sense as I was kind of like looking for my second property of you know, kind of how much work I'd have to do on certain places to make it past certificate of occupancy. So, like I mentioned earlier, like handrails, peeling paint, windows in certain locations, points of egress, those kind of things. So this place it does have peeling paint, is missing a handrail in the basement. I'm probably looking at like maybe 10k, maybe. And that's so how old is the property? Oh my gosh, it's built in 1930. So she's old, she's old. However, she's in like the more suburban, kind of like B plus, B minus neighborhood, and she's on a dead-end street, very quiet. You know, hoping it'll have lots of appeal to a tenant who wants to stay there forever and ever and ever and ever. That is definitely my market demographic here. And there's just like a really lovely backyard and lots of natural light that comes in. So I feel like, especially for somebody with like a small family, there's a lot that I feel like will root them there for quite some time. Lots of like big communal spaces, like living room, a full kitchen. And the majority of the repairs I think is gonna happen is gonna be on the deck, which I've already like called a couple people about. And some people gave me what I think is kind of like a BS estimate of like 5k. And I say that's BS because that was one person. I think they were kind of just like a little desperate for the work, but majority of people said like eight, nine K. And I've talked to my property management and they think it's more realistic that we can get the deck done for like 7k. And so I have kind of already mentally put money aside from that, and then for all the little fixes in the house, I am just I don't know if some of those windows need like a full replacement or if it's just addressing that paint. So I feel like that that will be a hurdle because City of Rochester is really, really focusing on lead and lead safety. So I know we're not gonna pass a certificate of occupancy without addressing those issues. And honestly, like I wouldn't want to put a young family in that kind of apartment, I mean that kind of property without addressing those issues. So I'm more than happy to be like go, go, go for my property management to like work with all the paint to make sure that the windows are up to code. Definitely want to handle in the basement. Yeah, you know, um let's please not have anyone fall. And now I'm definitely also looking more intensely at umbrella insurance because with my first property, I was like, oh no. But now with my second one, I'm like, yeah, I think maybe I should definitely get it. So I think it's gonna be a certificate of occupancy. I know it's gonna be certificate of occupancy and making sure that I mean there's not much I can really do with my property management to like be on top of price, like aside from like the biggest thing is the deck, I could go with an outside contractor for that. However, I do my do know that my property management is like very good with giving me like their timelines. So for instance, if they say that it's gonna take a month, it usually really just takes three weeks. Not always, but most of the time they've kind of always like underpromised and over-delivered, which I am more than happy with because I feel like that's just a good rapport for us. Like I've never felt like, dude, it's been months, what the heck is happening? You know, which is a good feeling, especially because aside from the deck, I really think that there's just a couple light things internally. So if we can get a tenant who is okay with maybe not being on the deck immediately, and if things in the house will like pass inspection for the certificate of occupancy, however, I know I can move someone in while we're still getting that done. Like I said, like it's not illegal to not have certificate of occupancy, you'll just get fined for it. So if we get the right person in first, I'm totally okay with as long as the tenant's okay with like working on the other things externally because it is a really nice location, and I feel like for the right family, it's a perfect fit.

Violeta 32:33

Yeah, especially right now that it's the summer's perfect time to get that back on the market and stuff. And I think you should be okay with with some of the outdoor stuff. Yeah, that's a lot of the the planning stuff I'm I'm learning as well. Of now pricing things is the is my thing now, is um learning a lot, and now as I'm doing uh this one, I was like, dang, I really should have like asked for got this for lower and stuff. So but I was like, I'm learning this right now, yeah. It's the price of the education because I've learned a lot with just like doing like everything, how much everything costs, and then uh for me, the thing I had to do for this one because mine's just from 1940, it's a 1940 house, so it's kind of it's definitely old, and there's lots of things to learn. It had suspected asbestos insulation, got that removed that cost me $4,700 to get all that removed and stuff. It's suspected because I didn't get a tester or nothing, so like, but I'm pretty sure. Yeah, so but I was like, nope, if it's suspected, I want it out because I I don't want that in there either. And so now the next step is put. So things like that is what like I should have like figured out then the numbers a little bit better and stuff. So but got the house a little bit cheaper. I could have used it to my advantage to bring it down even more, but now I know for the next one that I do, so a lot of lessons learned, and we just continue to learn as we go with our journey. So yeah, but other than that, thank you so much for coming on here and sharing your story. And I hope to have you back when you are kind of like more, you know, on like the tenth or whatever, and or if you have another juicy story to come bring in to share with with new investors, but yeah, other than that, where can they reach you? You say you earlier offline that you want them to follow you on on school, which is a community.

Ashley 34:28

Yeah, yeah. I think it's the platform, but definitely the online community of Aura, one rental at a time. So that's a real estate investing group that I'm in, and it's just a really good circle of folks who have been doing investing at all different strategies, all different levels, and it's just been a great experience for them. So I highly recommend people joining, if not Aura, then some other kind of real estate group because you will definitely learn faster when you learn together and you learn from other people's mistakes. And I think people are also a lot more transparent about what's been going on with them when they actually know you and they feel like there's a connection, so it's worth it.

Violeta 35:02

Yeah, yeah, that's actually where we met. We met at the the Orat conference in Las Vegas, and so and I'm in that group as well, and I definitely enjoy it. But it also inspired me a little quick little plug to to start one for Latinas. So I'm on there as well. It'll be linked down below if you are interested. Same idea, support group, but through the lens and experience of Latinas, because we also need some support and mentorship and all that. So if you are interested, that is down below. Other than that, thank you so much for coming on here, and I will see everyone in the next episode. Bye.