All Forum Posts by: Aly W.

No need to defend yourself, @Jennifer T. You seem like a seasoned investor/landlord, as am I. Rob seems to have missed the point of this thread :)

My husband and I have a 2/2 for rent in Florida. As always, I 'm very specific in the listing requirements, the first or second line actually says "Please read ALL rental requirements", and the security deposit is clearly described.

Today's applicant through Facebook Marketplace:

Applicant - We make more than 4 times the rent, do we still need to pay a security deposit?

Me: Of course. If you make 4 times the rent, why would that be a problem?

Applicant: The income isn't a problem, but we'd rather not to pay a security deposit because we're having a baby.

Me: It's not a choice. 

No response.

Also me, to my husband - why are people like this breeding??

Always check the addresses on the applications against the public tax records to make sure the "landlord" really is the one. 

I have a 2/2 condo for rent in Melbourne, FL. The listing (on craigslist, Zillow, Zumper, Realtor.com, etc.) specifically says at the top to read all the requirements. The requirements are at the top and the bottom of the listing, and includes "no criminal background".

In addition to those who email asking how much is the rent, how many bedrooms, and where is the condo (all in the listing) - today I had this exchange:

Applicant: I have a misdemeanor for stealing a shopping cart. I don't steal shopping carts. Would that disqualify me? Also, do you take Section 8?

Me: Um, I'd have to ask the Association about the misdemeanor. How much is your voucher for?

Applicant: A one bedroom, but I'll need a 2 bedroom once I go to court to get back custody of my kids. 

Me: Your voucher states the amount of rent, and if it says one bedroom, you'll need to get a voucher for 2 bedrooms. 

Applicant: Ok I'll ask, and I know you mentioned it, but how much is the application fee and how much money do I need to move in?

Me, (thinking about my future book about tenant applicants as the reason for continuing this discussion): It's all in the listing, but here is the info again....

Applicant: No, I mean what about the misdemeanor? 

Me: You just asked about the money. I'll get back to you about the misdemeanor.

And then there were the applicants calling from Canada, saying they can't get back to FL right now, but they'd like to move in on October 1st, but that's for another post :)

Hi all! This thread has been very informative, thank you all! My husband and I just closed on our first rental in Brevard, a condo in Melbourne. We've have rental condos in Ft. Lauderdale going on 10 years, but condo Associations have become extremely restricted as far as rentals go now. Hence - the Space Coast. 

We are using the Space Coast Credit Union for a Heloc on a condo in Ft. Lauderdale, and they are a pleasure to deal with, great rates/terms, but quite slow. It's been almost 6 weeks and we still don't know when we're closing on the first Heloc, and they are processing 3 for us. They are very investor friendly.

"7 year draw/repayment. No app or origination fees. Rate is fixed for a one year introductory period at 1.99 % and after the expiration the rate will adjust with Prime Rate; rate will be Prime -.50 % margin. Prime Rate is set by the Federal Reserve and Prime rate is 3.25% today."

Re: renting to Section 8 - we had rented to a Section 8 tenant, and a tenant on rental assistance at our SFR's in NJ, and did not have good experiences. It didn't occur to me to consider tenants on rental assistance for condos, since the tenants have to be approved by the association. I realize they probably cannot discriminate against the source of income (at least they can't in NJ), but has anyone had experience with this?

Thanks! 

We just closed on a refi/Heloc on our primary residence with Affinity Federal Credit Union (in NJ), 10 year interest only, 10 year draw, 75% LTV, 2.99% for the first 6 months, then 3.25% or so for the remainder. No closing costs, but if I close the line within 3 years, I owe the $275 appraisal fee.

This is our second refi with Affinity. Super nice people, but very slow process both times. Over 2 months, and the first time was 8 years ago, so not COVID related. But a good experience. We have investment condos in FL, which they do not work with.

Previously, we'd had several Helocs on those FL rentals with TD Bank, and will be paying off the final one in October, when the interest-only 10 year term expires. They were great to work with during the recession, but the last few years now they have *not* been investor friendly, in our experience.

Hi Jonathan, did you ever move forward with investing in this areas? 

Hello BP'ers! We've invested in the Ft. Lauderdale area for the last 10 years, and our realtor has now relocated to Titusville, FL, where she grew up. She's getting to know the area again, but does not yet have a handyman to work with her clients. I'll be in the area in mid May to look at properties with her and would like to meet up with potential handymen/women. 

Thanks!

Aly

One of our tenants called me yesterday - not to say he's out of work (yet), but to see how my husband and I were doing. We are close to most of our tenants, and this one in particular. We've worked with him through job losses and temporary disability. We hope he never wants to move. We know he'll always pay what he can, and he knows we wouldn't take any action due to a temporary situation. Thankfully, we are fully rented with good tenants. I reached out by text to all of them today, and they thanked me for checking up on them. So far, they are all either working from home, or able to go to work. We're not worried about April's rent. May, as it's been said, will be the challenge. We have no plans to file evictions or charge late fees, as long as the tenants in good faith try to pay something. If they can't, if it comes to that, I will ask our banks and condo associations about doing the same thing - taking partial payments or suspending them temporarily. 

As for borrowing rent money from relatives, friends, etc., I can only imagine everyone is in, or will be in, the same boat. I really feel for those with difficult tenants, because this will certainly become a nightmare. 

So far, my tenants have not reached out to say they can't pay (knock wood). Two of them did reach out, one to ask if they can renew their lease early (yay!), which I did with no increase. The other, a fairly new tenant couple, had asked if they could get a dog about a month ago. The lease states the increase in rent for a pet, and the condo association also requires an annual pet fee. They paid both without issue, so hopefully they'll be fine with the rent.

The others are all established, multi-year tenants and I would work with them if something happened to their job. We've been down this road before with one of our excellent tenants, so I would be fine if one or two just needed help they couldn't find elsewhere.

They all know that my husband and I have mortgages, maintenance fees (all our rentals are condos), property taxes and insurance to pay. My husband has a full time job, but I am self employed, and at the moment, basically unemployed.

I'm not going to open the door to offer a rent break; if they ask, it will be on an individual basis as to what they need. We're not unsympathetic and want to keep them all. I actually rent a photography studio so I'm a tenant as well, and with no one coming in or booking, I asked my landlord not to increase the rent as per the lease. I'll continue to pay in full, but I hoped he would not require the increase - and his office agreed. I'm also a good, long term tenant. Hopefully we'll all get through this safely and quickly. 

On another note, I saw a friend's post on Facebook about her "a-hole" landlord, and how she and her roommates were considering not paying the rent in April. They had it, but because she had lost her job and didn't want to spend her savings, they were all considering not paying. I explained her legal obligation and his position (being an a-hole is not relevant to paying rent), and what would happen if they didn't pay it. Namely, an eviction filing that would be part of the public record, even if they can't be evicted for at least 60 days or more. Future landlords would see it in a background check. That made an impression - she said they would pay, but likely have to move in May.