All Forum Posts by: Andy K

Hello all,

We have a rental property in So Cal, that had an unfortunate fire incident last August. The tenants called the fire department of the same city where the home is located, and the fire was put off. The fire was in the attic, so it caused damage to the roof, HVAC, electrical, etc.

A few weeks after the fire, we received an invoice from Fire Recovery USA for about $3,500 on behalf of the fire department for the services rendered to put out the fire. When we called Fire Recovery, they said that the city passed an ordinance few years ago that any cost incurred by the fire department is to be billed to the owner of the home. We were unaware of this ordinance. We gave Fire Recovery the contact info of our homeowners insurance. The insurance company got back saying they won't be paying anything towards this invoice, since my policy does not cover cost of fire department, when the city where the property is located is the same as the fire department that put out the fire. The insurance company told us that this is the first time they have seen a bill from the fire department of the same city as the property.

Fire Recovery USA called us, saying that since the insurance company is not paying for the invoice, the responsibility of this payment falls on us, and if we don't make this payment, they will send the invoice to collections!

I wanted to ask folks here what our options are. Can Fire Recovery USA send the bill to collections, and can it affect our credit? It's a high amount that we will have difficulty paying at this time, since we also have other expenses due to this fire. Is there any way we can contest this bill, since we were not actually aware of the ordinance passed by the city to bill owners for a fire incident.

Any suggestions on how to handle this situation will be of great help.

Thanks.

Andy.

Thanks @Eric Yow for your reply. It gave us a better understanding of the numbers seen presently in Clarksville.

Hello folks,

We have been considering investing in rentals in the Clarksville area, and came across this thread. I would like to hear the opinion of others investing there. By how much have the prices appreciated in the last year or so in that area? Is it a bit late to invest in Clarksville now, and is it hard to find well-priced properties there? And what would be the approximate purchase price be for a SFH in a "B" neighborhood, and how much would be the rent, property tax, and insurance premiums be? Any input on the above is appreciated. Thanks you.

Andy.

Thanks @Matthew Paul, Pat L., Kim Meredith Hampton and Theresa Harris for your replies. We will try to convince them to move their stuff into storage and help with some of these costs as part of the security deposit refund that we need to return to them.

Hi folks,

We wanted to get some advice regarding a situation we have at a rental property we own. In mid-August, we unfortunately had a fire in the attic of the rental home. The tenants living there called the fire department, and the fire damaged part of the roof structure as well as the electrical in the attic, etc. The city red-tagged the home, and the electricity and gas were turned off. The code inspector informed the tenants that no one is supposed to be living at the property.

The tenants have told me that they have been living at a hotel and with some relatives since that time. They used to carry rental insurance, but they did not renew the policy last year. Now it's already been a month since the fire happened, but the tenants have not moved out their stuff from the home yet. They have all of their big furniture like sofas, cabinets, etc and some of their other belongings still at the home. They tell me that they are not able to find a new rental to move into due to their bad credit and not having enough for their move-in costs. We have told them verbally that the existing lease has been terminated since the home has become inhabitable.

My insurance company tells me that they or I are not responsible for any costs for tenant accommodation. The renter's insurance policy is supposed to pay for those expenses.

The mitigation company that we have hired for the fire restoration is telling us that they cannot begin any work at the home till all of the tenant's belongings are out of there. Because even if they do the clean-up, the tenant's belongings will contaminate the home again. Also if they begin the work, and the tenants go in and out of there, it can be a safety hazard.

We are seeking advice on what we should do to get the tenants to move their belongings out of the home. Should I send them a written lease cancellation notice? Within how many days do they need to vacate the home after receiving such a notice? I am holding on to one month's rent as part of the security deposit, which was paid at the time of lease signing. I am hesitant to return the security deposit to them before they completely empty the home of their belongings, since that is the only leverage I seem to have.

Really appreciate if folks can suggest what we should do here - how to get the tenants to move their belongings out of the home, so that the work can begin at the property.

Thanks for your help.

Andy.

Thanks @Xinlin Morrow and @Sean Walton for your replies.

I checked on the county assessor's website, and the square footage mentioned there matches with the present square footage of the home. 

Sean, I guess that means the previous owners pulled a new permit for the addition after they abandoned the previous permit. So if the correct sq footage is mentioned on the assessor's website, it means that the addition was permitted and approved by the county when it was made? 

Thanks.

Hi all,

I wanted to ask folks on the forum some advice about an issue we found out today.

We purchased a rental property in Riverside County in Southern CA in 2013. This was a foreclosure, so we never met the previous owners, or get any detailed information about the home from the REO bank that owned it.

When I called Riverside county today for a different issue, I found out that the previous owners of the home had applied for a permit to build a second storey addition to this home in 2006, but the permit was voided. But the home right now is actually a 2-storey home, so it looks like that the previous owners built the second storey addition (it is about 900 sq ft total), even though they did not get the permit approved.

I wanted to ask folks here advice on what we should do now. If I were to approach the Riverside county building code department to get this addition legally permitted, how much would the approximate costs be? Is there a lot of paperwork and other hassle involved in getting this done?

Or should I stay silent on this matter, since this is how the home was when we bought it and were not aware of it till today.

Any advice on this matter would be very helpful. Thanks for your help and suggestions.

- Andy.

Hi all,

We had to recently file for an eviction of a tenant in Southern CA. When the unlawful detainer was served to the tenants, they responded back to the court saying that the unit had habitability issues. This seems like a common tactic used by some tenants to delay the eviction process by going to trial.

In response to this, our eviction attorney sent them "Discovery" paperwork to respond with all the details and proofs of the habitability issues they are claiming. The tenants did not respond to the discovery request.

The trial is set for next week. Our attorney is saying that he would like to file a "motion in limine"/trial brief with the court to explain to the judge all the details of the case so far. He says that should help winning the case in our favor.

My question is - do we really need to file the "motion in limine", or just the fact that the tenant did not respond to the discovery request with proof should be enough to win the case? The attorney charges $350 for the "motion in limine", hence the question whether its really needed. We have already spent on the unlawful detainer charges, the discovery, and the trial fee (in addition to the lost rent), and hence would rather not spend on the "motion in limine" if its not needed.

Thanks for your advice.

- Andy.

Hi all,

I would like some advice on an issue we are facing at our rental right now.

We have a 2-storey rental home (built in 2005), where the tenant called us in early January saying they are seeing a 2ft by 2ft wet spot on the ceiling and adjacent drywall of an upper storey bedroom. Thinking that this was a leak in the roof (since we were having some high winds and rains at that time), I immediately sent a roofing company to take a look at it. The roofing company said there was a leak, and within few days the leak in the roof was fixed. I asked the roofing company at that time if there was anything more I need to do, since the area inside the roof must have got wet due to the rains, and they told me not to worry and to paint the discoloration on the drywall that happened due to the water, after the drywall dries up.

The leak had happened in the ceiling of the room, which is the tenant's child's bedroom.

Few months have gone by, and I get a call from the tenant yesterday that the child has been having breathing problems and issues with the lungs for the past couple weeks. They tell me that the child has always been very healthy and never had any issues like that before this. No treatment is working so far, and the doctor adviced them to see if there was any mold in the home. Now the tenant is saying that at the time the roof was fixed, the wetness inside walls and ceiling was not removed and has now become mold, which is affecting their child. I asked if they see any black growth on the spot where the leak happened, or any odor in the room, but they said both those things are not present.

They are saying they are concerned and not very happy right now, and are hiring a mold inspector on their own to see if there is mold growth that happened due to the roof leak. Yesterday's phone call was the first communication with them regarding the roof leak issue, since the time the roof has been fixed. Its not that they told me anything about this before and I did not take any action on it.

Can experienced folks suggest what I should be doing now? Should I be sending a mold inspector on my own to the home to inspect it as well? Or wait for them to do the inspection and see what they find? From your experience, is it possible for mold to grow inside the walls and affect people inside the home, due to a roof leak about 5 months ago, that was fixed pretty quickly after it was reported?

Any advice on how I should handle this urgent matter is much appreciated. Thanks.

Hello all,

I mentioned on a post today morning regarding sewer line backup that happened 2 times in a year at a rental property we own.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/294...

I would like to ask if there are any mechanisms available that can be installed in the sewer line, to prevent backflow of the sewer water into the home? If so, how do they work and what would be an approximate cost to install that?

Thanks.

- Andy.