All Forum Posts by: Aimee Knier

You seem to have had a dream tenant. Are you sure she couldn't just cough up the extra rent?

The responses from my friends and family have been along the lines of, 'oh, so now you're a slumlord.' I'm actually offended by their responses, and so we've primarily kept it quiet.

We've made quite a bit of money in the 3 short years we've been investing and I want to share that opportunity with friends, but it gets hard to know who to talk to and how to pitch it because their gut reaction towards real estate investing has been negative.

Just to be clear: I wasn't planning on going to coffee with anyone! It just seemed like a bad idea from the start and was wondering if I'm missing something that more seasoned landlords would see. 
Good to hear that my instinct was correct. 

I actually worked for a bank that helps people finance solar panels. 

There are two possibilities going on here and you didn't specify which one you're dealing with. 1: they work with a company that installs the panels, gives them free solar energy, and then sells the excess. They are leasing the panels from this company. You won't own them. I *do* believe, however, that this company will repair any damages and maintain the panels for you.

Another option is that they purchase the panels and leave them behind for the next tenant. This *can* raise the desireability of your property, especially if you're in a state like California where the electric bills are really high. I believe in this scenario you would be the one who collects the tax breaks, since you're the one who owns the property.

There is a third option, and you should make sure you don't fall into this one. That is that they 'finance' the solar panels with a PACE loan, where the panels are paid for with the property taxes (i.e. you pay for it). It doesn't happen often, but it can happen that the contractor and the bank don't due their due diligence and they are able to get the financing without being property owners. This is the bank I worked for, and we were constantly kicking contractors off the program for not ensuring the people creating the loan were actually authorized to do so.

I'd say it can be a good investment if it's something that your market can support, but in general think of it like a pool. Is it worth the extra hassle, repair, etc.? Will it be a big enough draw to offset all of the issues it may have and the amount of research you should do just to make sure you're not left holding onto something you don't want? If so, go for it. If not, I'm sure your tenants will understand.

@Thomas S. We can't charge a late fee over a certain amount and we have to cap it out at a certain amount a month. $190/day would never pass in Portland. We just initiate the 72hr notice at 72 hours, the eviction would be happening after that... by the book, exactly as we stated we would. We haven't had to evict anyone yet. 

I even went to the trouble of putting the exact amount that would be due at each day of the month (and what actions we would take when) in the lease so there's no confusion. 

@Joe Splitrock I will have to remember to hire you if I ever need to coax a tenant out! I don't know if I could have that conversation diplomatically. I would be what @Neal Collins would probably call 'too overly cold'. It just seems like it's so dangerous to even attempt a friendly conversation about someone else's financial situation because of the potential for stepping into a hot mess legally. I feel like if someone's headed down that road through their own choices, who am I to interrupt a life lesson in the making? 

@Thomas S.Portland's rental laws are particularly crazy right now. We can't just 'not renew' a lease without a huge penalty. If I had a tenant I didn't want to stay, I'd have to either evict them or hope they wanted to leave on their own or pay them up to $4500 to leave (that is another topic altogether). 

@Dell J. It was for cozy.co. 

Thanks for confirming what I thought. What a crazy idea! 
This was suggested in a blog post by a company that markets services to landlords. I'm guessing the post was written by a millennial who has NEVER owned property.

I just read an article that made a recommendation that I found weird and not a good idea, and want to get an outside opinion. When your tenant has been consistently late in rent and is clearly in danger of eventually being served an eviction notice, they said you should take them out to coffee and warn them of the dangers of eviction, and suggest they move out.

In general, and here in Portland, OR in particular, that seems like asking for a lawsuit. Anyone have an opinion on this? Has anyone done this? What was the result?

Update: Thats what I eventually did. Here in Portland we cannot deny section 8 tenants so I can't simply say 'no section 8'. I told her on the phone that we rejected their application because his background check didn't pass our terms. I have them posted on our website now as well if they want to contest it. We ended up with a great tenant (through section 8). 

We were approved for the program. I forgot to mention that up-front in my post.