All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

I agree with my namesake @Robert Steele the lease is a contract that clearly states they are to do certain things and act as mature responsible adults. I have a moral and ethical issue with rewarding people for doing exactly what they agreed to and are supposed to do.

Late Fees are there for a reason. I enforce them immediately. I have evicted a tenant for failure to pay a late fee. They then had to pay damages, court costs, attorney costs, etc.

They can order it only if they first reported it to you, gave you ample time to correct the problem and you failed to do so. But, if they failed to communicate their concerns to you IN WRITING, they are not entitled to be reimbursed.

Now, do you have a copy of the "report"? I would have that report reviewed by someone else and if verified. CORRECT THE ISSUE.

Have your tenants been complaining about other items? Have they recently lost their jobs, etc? Sad to say, but these are common issues that tenants bring up. "MOLD" is the hot button topic. They like to use it to get out of a lease, out of paying, etc.

If there is mold, you need to get it corrected. But if they didn't raise the concern with you prior then you do not need to "reimburse" them for it. Get the report, have your own person review it.

Offer them the chance to move out and break their lease without penalty. If they really feel there is mold, they should jump at this chance.

Yeah, this is the cynical side of me coming out.

The area of Allen has been pretty solid. I tend to view things long term. The people I know with properties there have all done well and have solid rental histories.

Texas is good to landlords and the economy is stable there.

@Brian Sabet I am glad you finally "joined the ranks", my question is, what was preventing you from contributing and joining for the last year? Are we that "intimidating" of a group?

Happy you are willing to take the next step!

Good luck to you and happy investing!

I have several contractors I use on a "retainer" basis for maintenance. Like anything else, there are good, bad and in the middle. You will have to manage them.

I know many people on here have "agreements" for snow removal, landscaping, the like. This is no different in my eyes.

I have yet to meet anyone willing to go that long term that would be defined as HML/Private

I have one Private lender at 5 years. That is it..

Are you going to Mortgage Brokers? This is a common mistake many make. You are now a 'Business Owner'. You need to deal with Business Bankers. My suggestion, head to a smaller local financial lender. Speak with the Business Banker.

Smaller local banks have a more vested interest in the local community. But you need to find a lender that is a Portfolio lender, meaning they keep the loan in house and aren't going to sell it off.

Good luck, and congrats on the properties you do have.

@Devan R. this sounds like a sticky legal issue here. Let me just start by asking a couple of questions

1. Do you own the land and hired the builder? or is it a new development you simply have a contract on?

2. Is it in a "Sub division" of homes that are also being built? Or a one off construction project?

This is a simple thing you can do. Type the post completely in MS Word, then copy and paste it into your BP Blog.

Congrats on starting to blog and sharing your experiences @Ben G.

You would have to deal with this as a builder would. Contract price needs to be agreed upon, they can choose upgrades, if they PAY for them, from a base you intend to install.

Without a contract, builder base level finishes agreement, earnest money, etc. I would keep moving forward. DO NOT STOP or DELAY your rehab putting all your eggs in this basket. They are the ones that need to act quick in order to control the finish, but they need to pony up a contract, and funds!