All Forum Posts by: Aly W.

If you've checked the property tax records and are confident you're speaking to the previous landlord, that's about as much information as you may get. You can also ask the question, "Would you rent to them again?", and ask the tenants why they are moving. Be sure their story aligns with the landlord's.

Quote from @Aly W.:

Quote from @Sandy G.:

@Aly W.  Hi there.  Thanks so much for your advice.  Agreed, going over the lease in detail is super important but I have found that no matter how much it is explained, they still all act dumb when you try to enforce the terms.  I sometimes feel like I'm too thorough and it just falls on deaf ears.  I also have a list of rules that is pretty much a brief summary of all of the most important clauses (and the ones most violated or conveniently forgotten) in my rental agreement that I have executed by all tenants simultaneously with the RA.  They have to initial each line item but lo and behold, they have amnesia when they violate them.  Here in Miami-Dade County, most people allow a grace period although it is NOT required by law so just about every tenant expects there is one AND they believe it is 5 days.  Nothing to argue about here but they try.  We provide a 3-day grace period but I am starting to re-think that policy since they often wait until the 3rd to pay and act like it is okay since they are not paying a late fee.  I explain the grace period is for unforeseen circumstances and not to be habitual or abused.  There's the old excuse that their payday is Friday and the 1st is not always on a Friday.  Having a grace period just delays you further in serving the 3-day notice as you are that much further into the month.  Hopefully, receiving a 3-day notice right away will wake them up.  I am definitely going to take your advice about explaining we do not accept calls/texts about not having the rent.  That is brilliant! I do have $75 posting fee included in my RA but it is not described as additional rent.  I need to change that immediately for all future RAs.  Thanks for that tip, too.  

I'm preparing all the necessary docs to be ready to file.  I just wish I had planned ahead and had them already drafted long ago so they would be ready to go whenever I needed to use them.  I'm going to hire a process server to serve the 5-day summons as I am sure the sheriff will take too long to serve.  

Agreed, no more phone calls/texts, etc.  There's nothing more to be said AND I don't want to hear it.  

Thanks, again.

You're very welcome, and you've got the framework in place for sure! I'll write more tomorrow, but I use an excellent process server in Ft. Lauderdale who handles most counties in FL if you need one.

 And you're right, most tenants have amnesia about what was discussed or signed :) I have one tenant that pays on the 3rd every month, which is ok. Other tenants over the years have done that as well. My mentor had told me to pick my battles....if they pay on the 3rd, they're not technically late as far as a late fee, so I just let it go. Other tenants pay sometimes a week in advance! So it balances out. I'm a former project manager, so I'm very thorough as well. I once had a tenant argue that she was allowed to use the security deposit as the last month's rent, and the lease didn't say she couldn't. I explained I was looking at the signed lease at that moment, and she continued to argue. On the 4th day of her last month there, I had the 3 Day Pay or Quit posted. I told her the next step is the eviction filing, which would be on the court record should any future landlord check her background. She paid the last month's rent that day. 

Quote from @Sandy G.:

@Aly W.  Hi there.  Thanks so much for your advice.  Agreed, going over the lease in detail is super important but I have found that no matter how much it is explained, they still all act dumb when you try to enforce the terms.  I sometimes feel like I'm too thorough and it just falls on deaf ears.  I also have a list of rules that is pretty much a brief summary of all of the most important clauses (and the ones most violated or conveniently forgotten) in my rental agreement that I have executed by all tenants simultaneously with the RA.  They have to initial each line item but lo and behold, they have amnesia when they violate them.  Here in Miami-Dade County, most people allow a grace period although it is NOT required by law so just about every tenant expects there is one AND they believe it is 5 days.  Nothing to argue about here but they try.  We provide a 3-day grace period but I am starting to re-think that policy since they often wait until the 3rd to pay and act like it is okay since they are not paying a late fee.  I explain the grace period is for unforeseen circumstances and not to be habitual or abused.  There's the old excuse that their payday is Friday and the 1st is not always on a Friday.  Having a grace period just delays you further in serving the 3-day notice as you are that much further into the month.  Hopefully, receiving a 3-day notice right away will wake them up.  I am definitely going to take your advice about explaining we do not accept calls/texts about not having the rent.  That is brilliant! I do have $75 posting fee included in my RA but it is not described as additional rent.  I need to change that immediately for all future RAs.  Thanks for that tip, too.  

I'm preparing all the necessary docs to be ready to file.  I just wish I had planned ahead and had them already drafted long ago so they would be ready to go whenever I needed to use them.  I'm going to hire a process server to serve the 5-day summons as I am sure the sheriff will take too long to serve.  

Agreed, no more phone calls/texts, etc.  There's nothing more to be said AND I don't want to hear it.  

Thanks, again.

You're very welcome, and you've got the framework in place for sure! I'll write more tomorrow, but I use an excellent process server in Ft. Lauderdale who handles most counties in FL if you need one.

We've all learned the hard way ;) Because we wouldn't do the things the tenants are doing, it's hard to believe it when it starts.

If this helps, here's what we learned:

1. Prior to signing a lease with new tenants, I go over the lease on the phone line by line, especially the sections about how to pay rent and what happens when it's late (on the 3rd) or not paid at all. There is no grace period. We do not accept calls about not having the rent. They'll need to ask friends/family for it. Period. I stress this on the phone call.

2. If the rent and late fees aren't paid in full on the 4th day of the month, the Pay or Quit notice gets served. The cost for that is included in the lease as "additional rent" and must be paid along with the rent and late fee. That is all explained in the lease, and on the call prior to lease signing. 

3. After 3 business days from the Pay or Quit notice, without all money due, the eviction is filed. From that day on, no money is accepted, and any payments go to the court registry (our rentals are in FL). 

No more phone calls, texts, etc. The instructions are posted by the process server for the next steps. It's a hard line to take, but this is a business and we've never lost an eviction. 

Your state law will determine what you can do with the items. If they've been on the street now for 72 hours, you can be sure anything of value was already taken. In NJ, you must store the items for 30 days, but in FL - everything goes to the curb once the tenant is removed. It is their responsibility to take what they want. At our last eviction in FL, once the neighborhood, and passing strangers, took what they wanted and all that was left was garbage (the tenant never came back), it was our responsibility to clean it up. 

I'll accept a tenant with a medical bill bankruptcy. Those can be overwhelming, and medical bills aren't something people have chosen to spend money on and then decided not to pay - like houses, cars, credit cards, etc. Do they have a previous rental history? Do they have the full security deposit you're asking? Clean background otherwise? 

All our tenants pay us through Zelle these days. They also have the option to go directly to my bank and make a deposit to our business account, which they all did prior to Zelle. We have never accepted checks and never will. Since we live in another state than the rentals, they cannot hand us cash and we do not allow anything to be mailed. They go to our bank, or use Zelle. All this is discussed prior to lease signing.

You are correct about the water lien. I was stuck twice with water bills from rental assisted tenants (S8 and TANF in NJ). Even the good caseworkers are overwhelmed and can do very little to help you with problem tenants. Their goal is to keep the tenants housed. Some property owners have done very well with S8, but I wasn't one of them ;)

We had a Section 8 tenant in Trenton, years ago. While there were advantages, we found the disadvantages far outweighed them. Proceed with caution.

1. Unless things have changed, your property needs an initial, and annual inspection. Not a problem if your property is in perfect condition (and they'll provide a list of what they'll be checking), but inspections were only done once or twice a month. If you miss that date, or your property failed, you need to wait another month for the reinspection. You will not be paid the rent until you pass, although you'll get all the back rent. But it could take quite a while.

2. In NJ, the easiest eviction is for nonpayment. Since that isn't usually an issue with S8 tenants (unless they have to pay their own portion of the rent), you will have a nearly impossible time to evict for any other reason such as a lease violation. Our tenant had others living in the house (not on the lease), she ran a neighborhood laundry service out of the basement, she got a pit bull, and the neighbors complained she was selling drugs. Her caseworker said the burden of proof was on us for all these things, and we finally just had to wait out her lease, and not renew.

3. Caseworkers do not screen a tenant the way a landlord would. That burden is on you. They only screen them for eligibility to participate in the program. They may do a criminal background check, but that's it. 

4. The program has a vested interest in keeping S8 tenants housed, as opposed to them becoming homeless, so don't expect much if any help if your tenant becomes a problem.

5. If a tenant complains about anything in your property, your rent may be withheld until it's resolved. Tenants have been known to deliberately break appliances or cause damage, to get new items.

6. Often their security deposit comes from government assistance, so they have no "skin in the game", and no vested interest in taking care of your property. 

Our experience was one and done; others have had good experiences, including our contractor. His Section 8 tenant has been renting from him for almost 20 years. 

Quote from @James Wise:

Quote from @Brian Caulfield:

I have a deal where the numbers are good (11-12% cash on cash) but it is in a rough neighborhood of Philly. I am confident in my screening abilities, but still concerned about the tenants and neighborhoods of this area. Does anyone have advice for investing in rough areas? Should I stay away? 

To add, I have been looking all year for properties in better neighborhoods, but with the rates and prices, the numbers don't work in my area. 

 I've made millions investing in rough areas. Several different markets in Ohio. Cleveland, Akron, Toledo, Columbus and some others. It's all about the same so I imagine it's the same in Philly. 

You've got to prepare yourself for battle everyday. A lot of these people are savages who will wreck and destroy everything for seemingly no go reason. They will work 10x harder trying to game the system than they will doing actual work to just pay their bills in an honest way lol.

In these kinds of neighborhoods Section 8 is the way to go. Having the guaranteed rent goes a long way in reducing your evictions and things of that nature, but again, these folks are not easy to deal with.

Section 8 just means evictions are nearly (at least in NJ) impossible, because the easiest eviction is nonpayment, and S8 almost always pays. Unless your property doesn't pass the annual inspection, and then your rent is withheld until it does. And in many areas here, the S8 inspectors only do inspections one or two days a month, and if you miss that date, or you fail, you'll be waiting another month for the inspection. You'll eventually get all your back rent, but you need to be prepared to survive until then. We couldn't evict our first (and last) Section 8 tenant when she allowed other people to live in the property, when she was running an illegal laundry service out of the basement, when the neighbors said she was selling drugs, and when she got a pit bull. The burden of proof was on us. So when her lease expired, we declined to renew. Rough crowd, indeed!