All Forum Posts by: Ben Kirchner

Investors in Durham - Have you found a particular sweet spot in Durham in terms of your price range you'll buy a property to for rent?  $120k? $200k?  Just going of rentometer, it's rare to find something with estimated rent $2000+, therefore it would be difficult to find a 1% rent of a higher priced property.  Obviously there's several strategies, depending on who you're targeting - lower income, grad students, post docs, etc...

I'm currently looking for a new live in residence, which I will later look to rent out.  I've been house hacking currently, and would want to continue that.  Therefore, I had been eyeing a larger property in Durham that could accommodate 2 couples.  For that, it's looking like the prices I'm seeing is nearing the $200k price.  Which for the house hacking situation, would work out well.  My fear is it wouldn't cashflow well when we move out, a year down the road.

On a side note with the house hacking, ideally, I find a house where at least 2 of the bedrooms have attached bathrooms.  This seems to be hard to come by in Durham, particularly with SFHs.  If anyone has any insight on areas that may accommodate, I would appreciate a nudge in that direction.

Thank you

Ben

I'm sorry I didn't specify this earlier. This would be a private lender, not a traditional loan. Hard money to fund a flip or BRRR deal.

I'm looking for a lender who will lend to me individually, without an LLC. Are there plenty out there, or do most require this? What companies would you recommend?

I'm dealing with American Home Shield. The HVAC in my rental property has gone out. Long story short, American Home Shield was told by their subcontractor that there are missing parts - "some wires and the circuit board." Their subcontractor said it looked like someone had removed screws. Admittedly, I'm no HVAC expert, and didn't have the unit thoroughly inspected by an expert. Therefore, I cannot confirm or deny this. However, I have heard a handful of complaints of AHS trying to get out of covering appliances that go out. I cannot help but wonder if I'm falling victim of this, and what I should know, or do for this.

Other issues I've had with AHS throughout this entire process:

- Once the tenant told me the AC was out, I immediately contacted AHS (7/3/17)

- AHS set up someone to come out on 7/6/17

- My tenant said the technician sent out originally said "the unit needs to be replaced."

- I have since called AHS 5 times. Each time I've been on hold anywhere from 25-60mins. When I speak to a person, I had each time been told "we are waiting for the final quote of things that need to be done from Island Breeze (the subcontractor). We will call you back." Each time they assured me they would reach out to Island Breeze and call me back later that day, or one time they said they would call the next day. Not once did I receive a call back. I always had to call them again, just to be told they were still waiting on Island Breeze.

- With the above, I myself called Island Breeze and was able to speak to someone within 10 minutes, who told me they submitted the report to AHS on 7/9/17. I had spoke to AHS 4 times since 7/9/17, and each time told that they were still waiting on Island Breeze.

- Someone from AHS FINALLY calls me, as they were prompted by Island Breeze to call me. The AHS rep said they didn't have a report before, and were just notified of this. They say the HVAC unit is not completely put together, and they are denying the claim for coverage on it. To get a 2nd opinion would cost me another $125(which i paid for the 1st opinion). Given how awful they have been with time efficiency and communication, I do not really wish to pursue this.

- I'm suppose to get a call back from a supervisor, which I requested yesterday (7/11/17), but I am not optimistic I will receive this.

All this time, my tenant has had to find alternative housing, as it's summer in North Carolina. At this point, I need to get the AC back up and running ASAP. I've reached out to a HVAC company. I will likely schedule something with them this week.

I just want to know my options on how to go about things with AHS. Am I simply screwed here?  

An update to the situation: I've enforced the pet fee, and she has agreed to pay the late fee.  While she was reluctant, I pointed out how it clearly states in the lease that any animal in the house, whether temporary or permanent requires a $250 fee.

I may have misspoke on one thing.  In the lease, it states payments are due on the 1st of the month.  The property management company that found the tenant for the house (but not managing the property) said that as of the 2nd of the month, the payment is late, eviction can be filed that very day, or tenant is subject to a late fee.  I've been told and read that in North Carolina, that the payment is only late after the 5th day of the month.  Trying to get clarity on this.  Also, if this is true, does it just apply for the late fee, or apply to the late fee and ability to file for eviction?

Thanks for all help!

A couple months into my tenant occupying my rental property, there have been issues.  This is my first rental property, and I'm learning from my mistakes of being too considerate to the tenant.  I'd like some advice for experienced investors on how to proceed with this one.

- First, I agreed to let the tenant pay the security deposit with broken up payments on agreed upon dates AFTER the move in.  She did not pay what was agreed upon on the dates we set out, and it took some hounding to get, but she finally ended up paying.  She had several excuses which I didn't really buy, but we were square in the end.

- I went to the property to do a 30 day walk thru.  I saw a dog in the house, which I was never told about.  I would require a $250 pet fee for this.  When I contacted her about it, she said she was just "dog sitting fort he weekend."  The tenant was there.  Instead, her Mom (who is an authorized tenant) and a man who I didn't know (unauthorized tenant) was there, with her kids.  An unauthorized tenant again would warrant a $250 fee.  She said he was just a weekend visitor.

- She was late on rent this month.  She ended up paying rent and the late fee on 5/10/17.  Again, this took some hounding.  She is not payed up.

- Today I went to the house to do another walk thru, fix something, and check on things.  This time she was not there, but her cousin and her cousins friend was there with her kids, along with the Mother again.  They let me in.  I saw dog food.  The dog was outside but later let in the house while I was there.  

My questions:

At this point, I certainly do not trust the tenant. She is paid up for May. I can't confirm if the other people at the house stay there or not. However, I think at the very least, she owes the $250 pet fee. My question is how would I enforce this? I see her giving me the run around about "just dog sitting." How can I enforce the pet fee, and are there ground for eviction based on this? Part of me says I need to be ready to push the button the eviction now, but I need solid reasoning, and also do not want to forfeit May's rent when she would end up occupying it for the rest of the month, regardless. Another part of me says wait until next month and file for an eviction if it's the 2nd of the month and she has not yet paid. That would at least start the process, and have her out with some time to start showing the house again in June.  What are my options?  Looking for how an experienced landlord would handle this situation.

Thank you

These offenses and fees are clearly stated in the lease.  The lease is also not incredibly lengthy.

Thanks for bringing that to my attention @Marcia Maynard.  From what I searched, it looks like Landlord entry is acceptable with at least 24 hours notice.  The problem is my concern is that the tenant is being dishonest about having a dog in the house, and that another occupant is living in the house.  These are two things that can easily be removed and "hidden" from me if given 24 hours notice.  Therefore, I'm left with other alternatives to see her bluff.  What would be my options while not violating the Landlord entry terms?

Thank you

The tenant at my property has lived in the residence for 1 month now.  The known occupants of the house is 2 adults (Mother & Daughter) and 2 children (Daughter's children)  Last week, I did a 30 day walk through.  I was in the area and called the tenant to let her know I was going to do a quick walk through of the property, and would be there in about 10 minutes.  She said she wouldn't be home, but her Mother (the other known adult occupant) was there.  She called her Mom to let her know I was coming, and on I went.

I get to the house, and ring the doorbell.  Immediately I hear a dog in the house, which was never disclosed.  Then, a man answers the door.  I introduced myself and just asked if he was the boyfriend.  He said yes and ended up taking a call outside while I walked through the property.  

I talked with the Mother for a bit while I was there.  I asked her if the boyfriend was living there, and she first said "Yes."  then said "Well, sometimes."  I asked who's dog that was.  She said it was her daughters.  One thing to mention - The Mother is on disability.  I do not know the exact details or extent of her disability, but from my interaction with her, I couldn't be confident in what she said to me.  However, I saw a man and a dog in the house, all while the person who's name is on the lease was not at the house.  Not to mention one of the woman's kids was still at the house with this man, playing with the man's child.

I spoke to the tenant about the man in the house, she said he was just a friend visiting for the weekend.  I asked about the dog, and she said she was just dog sitting for the week, and it would be gone by the end of this weekend.  

My lease clearly states there is a $250 fine for an unauthorized pet and a $250 fine for an unauthorized occupant.  If there is an animal living in the house, I would want a pet deposit.  If there was another occupant to live in the house, I would want a background check.  

How do the experienced landlord here respond to this scenario?  My plan was to do another walk through with little notice and see if the dog and other occupant are there the next time I go.  Would an experienced landlord have other suggestions?  If these things are present the next time I go there, how do I proceed with enforcing a fee?

Thank you

Ben

Thanks everyone for your valued input.  @Max T. - these questions were very helpful in pre-screening people on the phone.  I'll continue to ask these type of questions.

I just closed on my first rental property.  I'm now in the process of finding a tenant.  Being completely new to this, I've just done some reading, but still have some questions.  Any advice on a couple things would be greatly appreciated.

Pre-screening:

So the property is a 40 minute drive with no traffic, and much longer if it's rush hour traffic.  Therefore, I'm trying not to have to make the haul out to the property over and over, if I'm not even sure if the person pre-qualifies.  No one wants to fill out an application before they even see the place.  Therefore, perhaps there's a list of questions I need to ask when I'm talking to these people on the phone?  What methods do experience landlords use to pre-qualify applicants?  What questions do you ask and verify before the initial showing of the property?

Also - what sources would one recommend for a rental application and lease?  Right now, I've been using ezlandlord.com.  If I send a potential tenant an application, they have to register on the site to fill it out.  Another thing a potential tenant will not want to be bothered with before ever seeing the property.  

Setting up a hassle free landlord experience:

I, like everyone else, do not want to have to worry about calls in the middle of the night when minor problems arise.  A former client of mine who has rental properties in other states once told me that he avoids this by setting it up in the lease.  He said that he includes a list of venders/service people for the tenant to contact with a plumbing problem, electric problem, etc...  These are companies he trusts.  He has a receipt sent to him, and has the tenant take that amount off the next month's rent.  Also, he said he has something in the lease written that says any minor repair needed for $25 or less, it is to be covered by the tenant, which saves them a handful of head aches.  I think this is smart, but haven't heard of other people doing this before.  Unfortunately, I'm not often in touch with that client anymore.  Does anyone have something like this in place, where they aren't being bothered and tasked by anything that comes up in their rental properties?

Thanks for any help!