All Forum Posts by: Aaron F.

 Hey Amador, you seem like a nice guy and it sounds like you’ve done good work screening your tenants. At this point it really is time to get assistance with an eviction like Scott M suggested. Now you don’t haaave to go the attorney route if you have contacts with other LOCAL self managing landlords with lots of eviction experience who are willing to walk you through.

You DO need help, though, as the process is tedious with many forms and if you put one thing in the wrong box the magistrate can throw it out and leave you delayed a month. Ours will throw it out if you abbreviate something she doesn’t like. Get assistance for this one and take notes on the whole process. 

One time I blew almost all my reserves to close on a deal that came up and I do not regret it. I had a line of credit if something expensive happened. Control and safety are good but sometimes growth requires taking risk. 

Structure and sump pump projects shouldn’t hold you back from listing, screening, and leasing as long as it’s finished before move in. 

 There are no taxes on the sale of a property for the buyer. As the owner you will pay property taxes and when you sell you will pay capital gains tax on any appreciation in value. Closing costs are not taxes. 

I’m not sure why you would care if the lender has to pay taxes on the payments he receives from you. You as the buyer will not pay taxes on any of the payments you make to your lender, including the final balloon payment. 

Never heard of it. What I’ve heard here is 50% rule. It includes more expenses than the 10-2 such as vacancy and setting aside for capital expenses. The 10-2 might hold up for a few years but not when the HVAC needs to be replaced or when there’s a nasty eviction. 50% rule is more conservative to set expectations for covering those expenses. 

The tenant just calls the utility and tells them to switch to their name like any other utility switch. The utility mails the bill to the tenant. Many landlords wisely require proof of transfer before giving keys. 

If the utility is in the landlords name because of multi unit split there are approaches to dividing those costs and putting it back on the tenant. Search for Nathan G’s posts on that topic. 

Check state law on 30 day notice. Where I am 30 day notice given on Sept 13 means they have until the last day of October. It’s like notice of the final 30 day period. I think that’s pretty common  

Regarding eviction, you will have to pay filing fees up front with the court but will your PM still charge you the full $250 if the tenant decides to pay and stay?

Either way I would file. Better to lose $250 than an extra months rent. 

The thing is the behr probably costs more than a tinted primer. My method only has one coat of expensive paint. 

Cheap paint is expensive, and expensive paint can save a lot of money. Hang with me. Time is your biggest cost for painting so if good paint can cover in less coats the saving is significant. 

What I do is tint match a zinzer or kilz primer to my color as coat one (cheap). After this a single coat of sherwinn Williams super paint covers fully. Per gallon this is expensive paint, but I use less gallons and less time. 

 I would spend some time in the neighborhood at different times and get a feel for the residents of the area. Weekend evenings will be telling. Make sure it’s a demographic you want as tenants, because to some extent the tenants you will be able to  attract will be influenced by the general neighborhood. If you’re self managing that will help with returns as long as you feel good about handling the tenant class. 

If utilities aren’t split, that can be OK. It would good to know if the market can bear a utilities charge to increase your gross and offset those expenses. if not that can really cut into your return. You can create some accountability here by telling tenants the utility fee will adjust up if usage is too high. Nathan G has some good posts about landlord-paid utilities.