All Forum Posts by: Brian Lucier

Get a new agent that understands your goals. I am sure there are plenty right here on this web site that know your market. Or, revise your offer price. The asking price is only a starting point. After your underwriting, make the offer that works based on the actual operations of the property, not the pretend proforma.

@Cristina Cantos

Good morning Cristina,

We are still in a seller's market out here west of 495. There are a lot of buyers in the Fitchburg/Gardner area so good deals go fast. One of our owners we manage properties for just cashed out 75% of their buy and hold portfolio within the last year. They had no problem selling at higher prices with the amount of buyers.

Being said, buyers are finding it very competitive in the market. What we have seen this year are a lot of offers, all cash, waiving contingencies like inspections and deferred maintenance. Good for sellers, not so much for buyers. Yes, they get the deal with these terms, but sometimes there may be unseen or unknown factors that can put a bump in your financials when you purchase.

As a buyer, I would still be more careful than ever. Even in these markets where cash flow is the focus, knowing the neighborhoods can make or break your deal. We have been offering market feedback to our landlords to guide purchase decisions based on what we know of the market areas. One area of town may have two deals on the market but being two streets apart can make a difference as to what type of rents and what type of renters may be attracted to that property.

You have to know the neighborhoods when you buy, especially when deals are flying off the market at first showing. You may pay a little more the deal, but a deal on a good street will be worth it. Otherwise you are still going to pay too much and be on a street that will give you headaches and problems.

Right now we are focused on growing the property management side of the business. A lot of landlords need help and we have been in this market going on our 20th year. We love real estate, being landlords, and the great people we get to meet and work with.

We had our portfolio up to 60+ units for our 20 year run as investors and now only own a few of the larger buildings we kept on great streets with solid cash flow. It is enough for us to live the lifestyle we choose and much easier to maintain and manage. Hope this helps.

@Jason Regan

I appreciate the response. What do you need to grow your business? I love building businesses and would like to offer from my experience to help you grow yours.

BP Peeps,

Here is the clause from our lease agreement about resident death or incapacitation. There are some other really great tips in this post you may want to consider adding to it. I know that I am upgrading this clause now.

PLEASE!!! before you cut and paste this into your lease agreements, CHECK WITH YOUR LOCAL ATTORNEY IN YOUR STATE WHERE YOU ARE DOING BUSINESS to make sure you are following the law!

LANDLORD INDEMNIFICATION CLAUSE IN THE EVENT OF RESIDENT DEATH OR INCAPACITATION

In the unlikely, untimely, and unfortunate circumstances should the resident become incapacitated, suffer an unattended death, suffer a death by misadventure or other misfortune, or for any other reason be transferred to an assisted living dwelling, become incarcerated into a military, federal, or state institution, and no longer be able to physically occupy the premise or pay the agreed upon contract rent for the premises; the resident being of stable mind and sound reason at the time of the signing of the written lease contract, does hereby appoint, under the aforementioned circumstances, casualties and conditions, the undersigned executor to be authorized on the resident’s behalf to obtain access to the dwelling space from the property management for the sole purpose to declare rightful possession of the apartment’s contents and henceforth salvage and remove the entire contents the residents’ personal belongings and effects with the sole permission of the resident at the time of the signing of this written lease rental agreement. The undersigned shall also have exclusive permissions from the resident at the time of the signing of this lease to act authoritatively to remove any and all belongings of the incapacitated, deceased, or incarcerated resident as such permission has been given from the resident in writing in the signed rental agreement at hand.

It is also the position of the management, and the landlord, that the resident has previously authorized in advance, the underwritten in this contract to act upon the resident’s behalf to remove the entire contents of the rental property at their own discretion within a reasonable amount of time not to exceed ninety (90) days, or three (3) months, or less time, if agreed to in writing by the named executor. Upon completion of this task within a reasonable amount of time of granted access to the next of kin, successor(s), executor, or otherwise noted in this written document, that the named next of kin, successor, executor, or otherwise noted in this written document shall after that agreed upon period of reasonable time authorize the management, staff, contractors, and other persons involved with clean out of the property after that given grace period, shall be allowed to dispose of the remaining items left behind in the rental premises, no harms hold to the landlord management, employees, staff members or any other related or third-party workers enabled with the task to clear the premises of any remaining personal effects from the incapacitated, deceased, or incarcerated resident no harms hold.


I, Johnny B. Renting, do authorize my landlord and property manager on my behalf should I become incapacitated, suffer an unattended death, suffer a death by misadventure or other misfortune, or for any other reason be transferred to an assisted living dwelling, become incarcerated into a military, federal, or state institution; to appoint the undersigned to have full-access to my apartment for the sole purposes of removing my personal belongings and effects should I no longer be able to physically occupy the residence in accord with the written rental agreement.

I appoint on my behalf,____________________________________ relationship __________________________________,

phone number:, ____________________,
email: ____________________________,
address: ___________________________________________________________________________,
as duly noted to retrieve all of my possessions from the rental unit in the event of my death or incapacitation.

@Frank Rolfe 

Spot on Frank! Similar here in Massachusetts where a court order is needed to remove the contents of the rental unit. We are required to hold in a bonded storage facility for up to 6 months. Lots of great insight in your post! Thank you.

@Nathan Gesner

Hi Nathan. Not sure if you can do this in your state but here it goes. Here in Massachusetts, it may be possible to petition the courts to move out the contents and relocate the trailer. In MA, we would need to hire a bonded move and storage facility, similar to the same process when we have a writ of execution when we can evict someone. Then, that mover comes in packs up everything and places it into storage for up to six months. After that if no one comes to claim the stuff, it goes to auction.

This is just one option. Not sure if it makes sense if you are considering lost rents? Which would cost you more? The move out or the lost rent? You may also be able to file a claim with your insurance company for a loss of rent rider. But that would have to already have been part of your policy.

Looks like you are fanning out your viable options to help the family as best you can. Honorable! This is an interesting post. I will keep an eye on this to see where it goes and chime in if anything else comes to mind. Wishing you the best on this journey.

WOW! Who knew? I actually wrote a blog post on this in October 2017.

10 Tips for what to do when residents pass on:

The Plan

Contingency Plan Checklist for Death Loss in your rental:

1. Your insurance policy clause:
   Read your insurance policy to know what it covers and what your deductible is. This way you can be better prepared when an event occurs. You do not want to be looking for your policy to find out what it says when time is of the essence. It may also be a good idea to have an insurance adjuster review your policy for your. They read these all the time and can inform you if there are any gaps in your coverage. You also need to know your deductible, just in case.
   .
2. Your rental policy clause:
   By now you should be thinking of possible verbiage to cover any contingencies and have them put in your rental agreement. The basic items would be:
   • The name of resident signing the lease
   • A brief authorization form to cover the details, type of death, permission to enter, etc.
   • The name of the person authorized to enter and remove personal belongings
   • The contact information for the authorized person who may enter and retrieve the personal belongings
   • If possible a time frame in writing to identify the length of time to clear the apartment
     .
3. I. C.E. (In Case of Emergency) Surviving Family Residents:
   It is a great idea from the very start of the rental application process to have the applicant indicate who you should contact in case of an emergency. This has multiple purposes. There are application clauses that even list this I.C.E. person as responsible to pay the rent, should the rent not be paid by the resident. At least, you will have a number to call in the event of having to empty out the apartment in case of death.
   .
4. Unattended deaths:
   There are several scenarios to consider here. Deaths can be natural, accidental, unintended, intended, or otherwise. The emphasis here is to build a contingency plan and an action list in case the worse case scenario happens. If you prepare for the worst and then the worst happens, you were prepared. If nothing happens, you were even better prepared.
   .
5. Deaths from misadventure:
   This is where the death event is caused by some more unfortunate circumstances. We live in a day and age where we are encouraged to carry Zarcan and know how to administer it in case of any emergency. Some neighborhoods are more prone to crime and violence and this can be a negative factor to take into consideration too. In addition to your contingency plan and action list items, you may need to expand the reach of that list to include emergency numbers for overdoses, and other crimes, and illegal activity.
   .
6. Police Department:
   For all of your properties, you should know the phone number for your local law enforcement agencies. These numbers should be presets in your cell phones too. Within one or two clicks on your cell phone or other smart device, you should be in touch with local authorities within seconds. When you are in the heat of any emergency and your nerves may be shot, is not the time to be browsing in a search engine to find the phone number for the police.
   .
   
7. EMT:
   The same holds true for having preset numbers for ambulances and other first responders. Wherever you rental market may be, there are probably two or three ambulance services that respond to emergency calls. Again, it is a good idea to do the research upfront and have the conversation with the emergency personnel before it becomes a time critical situation. It is always easier to ask the tough questions in a relaxed, calm environment, than before time where seconds matter most.
   .
   
8. Fire Department:
   Fire, flood, blood, heat or hot water. These are the major emergencies we end up dealing with in the day to day of property management. Always a good idea to post the number for the fire department at your building and to keep these numbers stored in the presets of your phone as well. Make sure your residents know to call the fire department instead of you if there is a fire.
   .
   
9. Hazmat Teams:
   Blood is a hazardous material and chances are you are not authorized or licensed to deal with the clean up of blood and other human bodily fluids. Have a phone number on hand for just these types of emergencies. Your local police department should be able to provide you with contact information to help you find a reliable, licensed Hazmat team.
   .
10. Insurance adjuster:
    If you have an insurance policy, you should also have a phone number to a good private insurance adjuster. You should periodically have your insurance adjuster review your insurance policy to make sure what you think you have for coverage, it what you really have for coverage. If you are anything like me, I am sure when you bought your property you were more concerned about getting the binder in time for the closing then what the policy actually said it covered.

@Colleen F. Could not agree with you more. I used to think leaving multiple shovels at ALL properties was just the right thing to do. Same thing with Home Depot buckets filled with rock salt. I used to tell the residents to text me if they ran out and I would bring more. I have about a half dozen snowblowers that used to be at the properties too.

But then, there are lawyers. I can't make this stuff up. Atty Mark Burrell actually had the case where the landlord lost for not giving instructions to the resident how to use a shovel. The other presentation linked to the National Weather service which does have a list of case log. She walked through case after case where the landlord just did not do enough to prevent the slip and fall. Again, you can't fix stupid but you can muffle the noise with duct tape.

After riding this horse for 20 years, and near the exit of my journey, I guess I am just working twice as hard not to lose what I worked so hard for. Now, I contract out the responsibility, and a majority of the risk. Gone are those days and nights of plowing around the clock waiting for residents to move snow covered cars. I did the best I could, for as long as I could. Now I have granddaughters and they rule my world. I just can't give up my time I could be spending with them.

Yup, it cost a bit more per storm. But I much rather enjoy sitting by the fire on those nights, safe at home. I pay someone to care for the snow removal, AND assume so risk too.

Property Maintenance Technician

1 Lunenburg St, Fitchburg, MA 01420, USA • Full-Time

Property Maintenance Technician.

Belaire Property Management LLC is a growing startup environment working together as a team to enhance and improve the lives of our residents, landlords, and our properties. We are looking for a Property Maintenance Technician to be a part of our team with a "do whatever it takes to get the job done" work ethic to keep our properties clean and in top running condition.

We are looking for the "right team-member" to join our company culture and for that someone who is committed to helping grow the business to get us to the next level in Professional Property Management.

We are looking for motivated workers who are the "P-E-R-F-E-C-T" candidate:

• Problem solver mindset and ability to communicate ideas.
• Efficient in time management skills.
• Responsible for job planning and inventory needs.
• Friendly, kind, and respectful to our residents and landlord clients.
• Effective in using Mac computers, Gmail, Google Drive, and online apps.
• Capable of creating and managing their own repair, maintenance, and work schedules.
• Tech savvy in creating work schedules from our automated maintenance work order system.

Job Details:

• Computer/Tech Savvy: Familiar with apps like Google drive, Dropbox, Gmail, Zoom, and MicroSoft apps
• Unit Turnover: Cleaning, rehabbing, repairs, and renovations if needed.
• Painting Projects: Painting interior walls, ceilings, trim, and proper care for tools, brushes, and equipment.
• Minor Plumbing: Repairing and unclogging toilets, sinks, bathtubs, showers, and drains.
• Minor Electrical: Installing light fixtures, ceiling fans, plugs, and switches.
• Flooring Projects: Replacing or installing carpets, laminate flooring, tile, and refinishing hardwood floors.
• Groundskeeping: Replacing or installing carpets, laminate flooring, tile, and refinishing hardwood floors.
• Grounds & Commons: Some landscaping to promote curb appeal, bark mulch, trimming shrubs, and bushes.
• Code Compliance: Ensuring that fire extinguishers, hydrants, alarms, and emergency exits remain in excellent working condition at all times.
• Project Prep: Tracking inventory to ensure that you have adequate maintenance supplies for scheduled projects.
• Key Management: Tracking key check-in and check-out system and occasionally assisting residents in lock-outs.
• Time Management Skills: Managing your own schedule and scheduling other needed repairs that warrant licensed, insured tradesmen with specialized technical skills.
• Customer Service: Being responsive to resident's needs and able to communicate solutions

Schedule:

• Typical 8-Hour Shift.
• Monday to Friday.
• Flexible work hour options available.
• May require weekend on-call schedule.
• Overtime available as needed.

Experience:

• Construction: 3+ years (Preferred).
• Property Management: 3+ years.

License:

• Driver's License (Required).

Work Location:

• Multiple locations (Leominster, Fitchburg, Gardner and growing).
• Must have a reliable vehicle for transportation to and from work.

Typical start time:

• 8AM.

Typical end time:

• 4PM.

Belaire Property Management LLC is always looking for new ways to improve and enhance the lives of the families we provide housing for. In this section we encourage you to find out more about our company and our corporate culture. Belaire looks forward to providing all of our clients, residents and vendors in our rental communities a "Beautiful Uplifting Experience".

Worried in a Winter Wonderland

Chilling from Massachusetts staring out my window at about a foot of snow 4 days before our 1st Covid Christmas. We are having a different kind of BRRRR up north right now that requires shovels and salt. Disclaimer: Please check your own State Laws and state Sanitary Codes concerning snow removal. Obviously, some states need not apply. So jealous right now @Brandon Turner  

So here in Massachusetts there are six pieces to this snowflake puzzle. I tried to have six points like a snowflake, a little flaky, but here it goes:

1. State Sanitary Code
2. State Tenant Landlord Law
3. Municipal Code Enforcement
4, The Lease Agreement
5. The "Slip and Fall" Lawsuit
6. Have a Hazardous Weather Plan

State Sanitary Code

https://www.mass.gov/doc/propo...
Here is a link to a searchable document to see what your responsibilities are as the property owner. You can check out this link as a Word Doc and search for "snow" to learn more. In the Massachusetts state sanitary code, the language clearly states:
368 (July 26, 2010) ruled that property owners ARE liable if an injury results due to their failure to remove snow and ice. Further, landlords MUST keep the common areas and sidewalks free of ice and snow accumulation pursuant to the Massachusetts State Sanitary Code regulation 410.452.

State Tenant Landlord Law

https://www.mass.gov/info-deta...
This page sent chills down my spine like a New England Nor' Easter. Enough to make me reconsider buying properties anymore in Massachusetts without a solid snow removal plan in place before the purchase and sale agreement gets signed. It is amazing that most MLS proformas NEVER even mention "snow removal" in their listing expenses! As with most things, if you are prepared, and have a budgeted line item in your expenses, you "should" be okay. But here in MA, there does not seem to be any way to shovel your way out of the responsibility as the landlord to have an adequate snow removal plan in place.

Municipal Code Enforcement

Congratulations!  If you own in more than one town in MA (or possibly your investing state of choice), then you have to check the local city and town municipalities for the "snowball" effect from the different and varying code and policies for each address. Yes, each address! We own several properties in Gardner MA and all of the properties in the downtown area are considered within the business district where we actually are responsible for snow removal from the entire sidewalk so the shoppers can walk the downtown area through the snow to get to local shopping on foot. Whereas other properties away from the downtown area only require a clear path egress from the building to the common way, this means a 36-inch path from the property all the way to the street, not the entire sidewalk in front of the property.

The Lease Agreement

I have seen all types of lease and rental clauses that say this or that about snow removal. Some are really clever and noteworthy. Other clauses are clearly a whitewash of wishes that will never stand in a court of law that will only come back to hit the landlord like a snowball in the face. Here this is a split between SFH and multi-dwelling units. For a single-family home, you should pretty much be able to shift the total snow removal responsibilities to the resident. Again, please check your state and local laws in your area to see if this is true.

Multi-unit dwellings are the bigger issue. ALL COMMON AREAS are to be free and clear of ice and snow, with the exception of exclusive entryways to the building. Not parking spaces, but entryways. Let's say there is an exclusive walkway from the sidewalk to only ONE of the rental units in your multi-unit building. No one else uses that entryway but that one single, "exclusive" resident. Then you could have verbiage in your lease, that the resident signs, saying "all exclusive driveways and walkways are the responsibility of the resident for snow an ice removal". Again, I would say this is a case-by-case basis, exceptions always apply, but should be put in writing before you hand them the keys.

The "Slip and Fall" Lawsuit

So many times our "good intentions" as landlords come back to frostbite us. I've read above, we give them salt bags, shovels, ice melt. I used to do that too. I didn't change because I'm a cheapo. On the contrary. We used to buy ice melt buy the skid, sometimes twice a year and let all the residents know they could use as generously as they like, just let us know if you run out and we will bring more. We don't do that anymore. This past year we have had 2 zoom meetings for our Landlord Association that changed our tune on this.

• Hazardous Weather Preparedness Plans June 2020 Special Guest Speakers is Dr. Alicia Wasula, President of Shade Tree Meteorology, LLC.

Dr. Wasula pointed out that having an alert system in place for foul weather and a written document that explains the landlord/resident responsibilities during hazardous weather conditions is a good start to preparing for that call for an attorney. We also shifted all of the responsibility and hopefully the liability of snow removal, shoveling, salting and sanding to a third-party snow removal contractor with a 9-page snow removal contract. You never know for sure if your plans are going to work until tested in a court of law. Make sure to READ the snow removal contract to see who is liable.

• Attorney Mark Burrell to present: "THE LIST" what every MA landlord needs to know

These two presentations shifted our property management mindset to the liability inherent to these acts of kindness and goodwill. Atty Burrell is a gifted Attorney and amazing storyteller from his vast experience defending landlords in housing court. He cited several instances where landlords were sued for trying to do the right thing. One of his stories revolved around one resident who was given a shovel at the property they could use whenever they wanted in a snow storm. After the resident hurt his back shoveling and missed several days of work, the landlord was sued for not giving proper instructions to the resident "how to use the shovel". I know, this is ridiculous, but I can't make this stuff up. 

The same happened with ice melt. No instructions were given as to when, where or how much ice melt to use. Ultimately ended up with a slip and fall suit even after the landlord took all precautions of "doing the right thing" and providing these amenities. Another attorney we have hired in the past before he retired religiously would preach "NEVER let your residents perform ANY tasks or labor at the property". His point was labor laws and liability of workmen's compensation lawsuits. That is a whole other ball of snow to consider when you drop off that bag of ice melt or complimentary snow shovel.

Have a Hazardous Weather Plan

What can you do if you are buying properties in winter weathered states? You cannot avoid the issue as winter happens and the snow will fly. The best you can do is budget and prepare. Here is a checklist of thoughts we have used in MA to do the best we can during hazardous weather events.

1. Consider the cost as a budget item.
When you are running your numbers BEFORE a purchase, talk to other landlords or similar or like properties to get an idea what snow removal may cost a s a budget line item. Join a local Landlord Association - such a valuable resource!

2. Source out the snow removal to a third party
This will not entirely shift the responsibility from the landlord. But having a methodic list of preparedness will at least give you a leg to stand on if and when you are sued. It may not be a foolproof answer, but it will show that steps and measures were taken to prevent such calamities before they occurred. A great resource here is to sign up for text alerts to providers of salt and sand for spreaders. You may not ever use the service, but when we did this when we used to plow ourselves, it gave us the text and phone numbers to over 20 vendors who buy sand and salt for every storm. Looking for a plow company? This is a great way to get direct text and phone numbers to source out for services.

3. Communicate Policies and Procedures to take during an emergency
The National Weather Service https://www.weather.gov/ has features and services to setup and send text alerts to your residents during severe weather situations. This may not mitigate your risk of responsibility should and accident like a slip and fall occur, but it does show a practice of preparedness which may come under your consideration in defense of litigation. 

It is also a great idea to send out text messages or email alerts when you know the plows are going to the property. You can also provide specific instructions for each property on how to respond when things like this happen. Maybe a brochure or flyer diagram to show them where to park during a snowstorm, emergency numbers to call, or the plowing contractor if appropriate. The more information and communication during an event will only help down the slippery slope of a lawsuit from a slip and fall from ice and snow.

4. Document Everything
As a property manager, more than half of everything we do comes with documentation. There is the documentation for everything we do, then the additional documentation of leases, addendum, contracts, policies, and all of the aforementioned suggestion above. We try to keep a digital backup in AppFolio, Dropbox, and Google Drive as well as a par hard copy of everything we do. We are hedging our bets that all three digital systems are on different clouds and servers to minimize the risk of data loss. Even if you are still going to drop off shovels and bags of ice melt, which I still think is the right thing to do, keep a log of dates, deliveries, and any special instructions needed, with all disclaimers that the resident is not an employee and these are for private use only. The more organized you are, the better prepared you will be when the snow hits the fan.