All Forum Posts by: Andrew Magoun

@Ryan Murdock, the problem with someone clarifying things like this is it'll probably cost money! Any Maine lawyers on BP want to chime in?

Originally posted by @Ryan Murdock:

I have seen landlords do an "early payment discount" which seems to be an attempt to circumvent the late fee law but I'm not sure if that's legal or not. For example, "$1050 rent is due on the 5th of every month but if you pay by the 1st of the month it will be reduced to $1000....".  I had thought for years this was illegal but I'm curious if anyone else here has experience doing that.

 @Ryan Murdock, why would the early payment be illegal? I would assume if the lease states that rent is $1050/month but there's a discount if you pay early then there's not actual additional fee being imposed on the tenant. The key being base rent agreed to in the lease is $1,050. The landlord might know and plan on the fact that the unit really should only be worth $1,000/month, but if the tenant is willing to pay $1,050 then it's actually worth $1,050. I haven't had any experience with this and do think it's weird that you can evict someone for non-payment before you can charge them a fee for non-payment. But such is life in Vacationland.

One other thing to note. Part 2 of the statute states "2. Maximum penalty. A landlord may not assess a penalty for the late payment of rent which exceeds 4% of the amount due for one month." At one of the investor meet-ups in Portland it was mentioned by a lawyer that if the tenant is late in part of the rent then only that part can be charged the 4% fee. For example, the rent is $1,050/month and on the first the tenant pays $500, but doesn't pay any more by the 16th. Instead of charging $42 in a late fee (4% of $1,050), you can only charge $22 (4% of the outstanding balance of $550). I am not a lawyer, but there does seem to be some ambiguity in the wording of the statute as to whether this is the correct way to go or if you can charge the 4% on the full "amount due for one month". I'd suggest talking to a real estate lawyer if you're really concerned (or curious).

@Jacob R. Crosby, one other thing to think about is insurance. If your insurance in predicated on a non-smoking building, yet you have smokers in there that you know about and don't do anything about there may be an issue if there's a loss from a cigarette caused fire. I've never actually had this issue and am not an insurance person, but I am a bit cynical and wouldn't be surprised if an insurance company refused a claim based on something like this.

Also, I don't know what the legal ramifications of not doing anything to remove said smoker are if there's a fire. Here in Portland there was a horrific fire (six people died) a few years ago. The fire was caused by a cigarette (and made much, much worse by blocked exits, non-working smoke detectors, etc.). I don't know if there would be any ability of another (non-smoking) tenant to come after you if you let someone smoke inside the building despite it being against the lease. Once again, not a lawyer but wouldn't be surprised if this happened.

Good luck!

@Gael Karomba, congrats on closing! I've looked at Lewiston a few times as the Portland market is so expensive right now. I'd be interested to see how you find it over time.

@AJ Cole, I'm looking at the Huntsville area as well and would be interested in any sort of market analysis. My local market is getting too pricey so I have to set my horizons a little broader. I'll message you with some contact info.

@Jon Mccarthy, Where in Maine are you looking to move to? If you're going to be in the Bangor area you should get in touch with @Ryan Murdock (also listen to his story on Show 234 from the BP podcast). Ryan should be able to get you in touch with brokers, etc. up there. If you're going to be in the Portland area I'd suggest getting in touch with the Vitalius Real Estate Group. They focus on multi-families. Also Brit Vitalius is the president of the Southern Maine Landlord Association and does a yearly report on the market in the Greater Portland area (here's the 2017 one).

If you are going into the Portland market, be forewarned, it's pretty hot right now. Prices are high and it seems like some owners are throwing things out on the market at ridiculous prices - and getting them. 

Good luck in your move. Maine's an awesome place to live.

Nick, currently unit registration in Portland is $35 a unit. If this referendum passes it goes up to $60 a unit. The referendum would create a 7 member volunteer board. The text of it states that the city should do its best to have 4 tenants, 2 at-large members, and 1 landlord. This board would be responsible for, among other things, dealing with tenant/landlord disputes, determining whether a landlord can recoup any capital improvements through increasing rent, and levying fines against landlords whit the board thinks evicted somebody improperly (even if the courts don't see a problem). The referendum would also make the eviction process much harder and longer (upwards of 4 or 5 months). All of the above would impact you if you bought in Portland, the only thing that wouldn't is the rent control aspect (it applies to owners of 6 units or more). There's more information at www.saynotorentcontrol.com Good luck!

You might want to wait a few weeks if you're buying in Portland. Depending on how Question 1 (rent control & other restrictions) goes on Nov. 7th, prices might fall over the winter. That said, even with a drop in prices the limitations placed on landlords might make Portland less attractive overall. You'd be exempt from the rent control aspect, but not the increased fees and tenant heavy rent board. Good luck!

It probably depends on the lease the current tenant has and what it says. You may be able to give them a 30 day notice when you purchase the property. Your real estate agent should know or know where the information is on this. It might also be worth checking with an attorney first.

Amy, I'm not sure if you're looking for a new plow guy, but I've been very pleased with Knight Property Services out of Westbrook. They service all of my units in Portland. Last winter one of my tenants wrote me a thank you note because when she left for work at 3am (she's a baker) she was fully expecting to have to dig out, but the driveway was already plowed and the sidewalks were already shoveled. They're also either cheaper or comparable to other plow companies I've looked at. As for expenses that we don't have to deal with up here in the great white north (he says as it's 70+ degrees in mid October still), when I lived in the D.C. area termite control was a must.