All Forum Posts by: Dewain J.

I'd have to agree with @Dick Stevens. I don't know what your rent is on this but why is your cash flow so low? Did you take out a huge chunk of equity? $50 cash flow and you'll be in the red with one repair and or just brining it up to rental quality after a move out. I think the bigger question should be what can you do to get a better return, or (I know it sucks to say), should you be exiting out of this sooner than later. 

@Jeff B. I've been doing this two years, and I've inherited my worst tenants this way lol. 

But seriously, I think the thing that makes this stand out is his long and current  criminal record. Are you giving people passes on that aspect as well? 

Based on my experience I would highly recommend saying no. I wouldn't allow him in any of my units, let alone one on in the same property I live in. It doesn't sound like you have a large property, so you'd be creating a situation where you'd be pretty much right in the midst of any drama that occurs. 

The other thing is, people that have long records tend to know a whole lot about the law. So if, (most likely when), things go left, you are going to have a tough time getting rid of this guy without incurring time and headaches. He would probably know every right he has as a "tenant". 

But if you ultimately decide to have him in your property, 100% make sure he is on the lease, can show some income, and increase the rent to account for expenses that you'll incur and the additional wear and tear. 

So I'll try to keep this as brief as possible. It’s a long story. Extra credit to anyone who finishes…

We purchased a house to live in, and it was a fixer upper. During the construction phase some materials were placed on the fence in the backyard, (which was on our property). The fence was in poor condition, and succumbed to the weight of the materials. No big deal, we didn't want the fence anymore. Turns out the fence belonged to our neighbor.

Apparently, the previous owner of the property accidentally built the fence over to far and onto the property of the previous owner of our house. They worked it out and no big deal was made of it. The current of the owner of that property just knew it was his fence and didn't know of that arrangement.

Whatever the case, we compensated him for the fence. We also discussed what to do about a new fence and potentially partnering on it. We had some early talks about it, but nothing formal, nothing in writing, (which you would certainly expect from a lawyer like our neighbor).

Next thing you know he’s already having the fence built on our property, without any permits being pulled. He even damaged brickwork while doing it. We didn’t pay him anything towards the fence because of the damage and the fact that we didn’t approve it being done, and were planning to tell him to just move it onto his property to avoid any confusion.

Fast forward, the sewage line in the yard, which is under the fence he installed on our property needs to be replaced. Waste has been backing up into both our yards. Now the fence will be compromised in order to complete the work. We have informed him that he needs to move his fence to his side and he has a problem with it and it’s turned into a big deal. Are we unreasonable for expecting him to move his unpermitted/unapproved fence to his side? It shouldn’t be on our property anyway.

Every time I stop by one of my multi family properties, there is a stack of mail addressed to tenants who have long since moved on, and I do not have any information on there new residence. I don't have there new address to go through the forwarding process if I wanted take on that arduous task. Is stamping it Return to Sender sufficient? I don't think that would help with stopping the mail from even coming in the first place which is what I would prefer. Any suggestions on best practices here? 

As far as the mail I've collected, can I stamp return to sender and just drop off at a post office?

I have a colleague of mine, who has rented out two rooms in his house to a mother and son (adult son). Recently she has decided to start acting out, after 8 years of living there and never having any problems. She's resorted to intentionally running up utilities and running the washing machine and dryer for one item. Leaving lights and things like that running all night and day for no reason. Real weird stuff. 

Over the weekend the mother flipped out and ransacked the place, stripped naked and flashed the home owner. Destroyed property of both the homeowner and her own son. Ultimately she ended up physically assaulting him. He had to leave the home to ensure things didn't escalate.  

They ended up having to 302 her, (involuntary commit her), so she wouldn't harm anyone else or herself. The homeowner went to the courts to file for eviction today, but somewhere along the way, he was told that he had to let her back into his home. I could see if this was just an argument or disagreement, but once things get physical I think there has to be some recourse for him. He probably doesn't feel comfortable going to sleep in his own home because who knows what she might do. Any recommendations, (besides not renting out rooms in your home lol)? 

@James Wise Definitely a valid point. Thanks for the feedback. 

@Kristopher Hanks Very good point as well.Thanks!

@Mark Gallagher @Jessica Zolotorofe

Thanks for such thoughtful and thorough replies. Definitely very helpful. Just to be clear, I'm not a wholesaler. I'm buying and holding. But it's just not feasible for me at my current stage to have my contractor go with me to every property I'm considering putting an offer in, as many of them don't get accepted for whatever reason. But if I get one under contract, would be nice to know that I can have an out if a more thorough inspection uncovers something major I missed. 

Good Morning BP. Quick Question. 

I've been purchasing properties for the past year and waiving all the contingencies on the agreement of sale. I hear people leave themselves different caveats in the contract that could allow them to back out of deals without losing earnest money and things like that. I'm just curious for those who do this, what kind of things are they specifying as a deal breaker? Since the properties are sold as is, what are you finding inspections that leads to you backing out? 

I often hear people use this as a way to send out multiple offers, without having to run around property to property, getting the property under contract, and then doing their due diligence. Is that a viable/ethical approach?