All Forum Posts by: BOB CRANEY

Who is the Greater fool... the Fool or the person that argues with the fool
Dont be the Greater Fool

@Heather Frusco

Your analysis is spot on, but when the mob is against you, figuring out how to survive and weather the storm is the most important thing. With this situation touching so many people in so many ways, even good tenants will be challenged if it drags on long enough. Limiting your losses without losing your current tenants should be the highest priority. Consider your losses even if you could evict the non paying tenants. Your pool of quality prospective tenants who have a completely safe job is going to be a lot smaller and your are likely looking at 30-60 minimum vacancy.

The way the bailout options are being pitched, the landlord with mortgages will get no relief from eventually having to pay back any forebearance even if it’s at a low rate. Tenants should be held to the same standard and that didn’t make me an Ogre. It has nothing to do with how much cash I have and how much the tenant doesn’t have. They are called basic needs for a reason. Everything that doesn’t keep you alive, is non essential and tenants need to cut out any of these non essential expenses before they ask me to cut the rent.

@Anjali Khetarpal

You need to get your vacant apartments rerented immediately to slow the bleeding. File all the appropriate paperwork with regards to the previous tenants vacating early and document everything. Offer some incentive like 1/2 off 1st months rent to get some call activity and screen for someone with a safe job that has a low chance of getting laid off. Maybe try for a section 8 tenant. Get into those apartments and fix any issues yourself to keep costs down since you have time. Figure out another way to make money or get another job, even if temporarily until your old job starts up again.

Is it an option for you to move into one of your rentals to get out from where you live now? It’s extreme but it will hope only be for a short time.

@Mindy Jensen

About 16 months of cash to carry all 12 units if not paying. I would stop paying my mortgage loans long before I ran out of my cash.

I thinks we would all go into a different mode and figure out ways to incentivize non paying tenants to move out so at least you could try for a paying tenant even if it ended up at a Lower monthly rate. If a non paying tenant is staying because they think they don’t have to pay back the missed rent and can’t be evicted, it will be hard to get them to leave without a sweetener.

At this point I can’t get rid of her if I tried and she knows that. Doubt she would leave voluntarily since she is out of work and wouldn’t qualify for another place. Certainly not one of the scenarios I can plan for. Thankfully I have some reserves and can hold out 6 months or so before it’s real trouble.

Agreed. I had another unit vacant for 2 months and I just placed a tenant yesterday. I had it listed on FB marketplace, Craigslist, Zillow, hot pads, and at least 4 other major sites. We go the most inquiries from GB Marketplace but the pickings were slim and Ended up having to Offer half  off 1st months rent to get some call activity. At least we are full up now and not bleeding out $1000 month.

First tenant called today with a Corona virus related lay-off. She worked for a service that placed nursing and medical personnel in nursing homes and related businesses. Apparently they all cut off outside vendors like her company and are just making due with in-house personnel for now.

Baltimore has halted all evictions and we basically are stuck because the rent courts aren’t taking cases either we recommended she file for unemployment benefits immediately and reach out to church, friends, family and local united way for any assistance they can get to pay her rent. Hoping the other 12 units we have keep paying. Thankfully we have 50% section 8 subsidized rents.

@Kevin Lefeuvre

I have a solid 2BR/1BA that has rented at $1000 Mo to multiple tenants for the last 10 years. I have seen a steep drop off in calls in the last 30 days. Thinking of running a “CoronaVirus Special” with 1/2 off first months rent and a case of Toilet paper and water included

@Robert Kough

Your first mistake was letting the tenant control the water bill and PU it directly. In almost every county in the US, an unpaid water bill can become a lien and attach itself to the property. Smart and deadbeat tenants know this and if they decide to rabbit, it’s the least thing they worry about. My recommendation is to have the water bill in your/your managements name and bill the tenant for the actual usage. This way you can see if there is an unusual spike in usage that could an indicator of a major leak or just a running toilet etc.

Most times property owners responsibility starts on the house side of the meter. If it breaks or leaks and you have a high bill, you should call your water utility and request and adjustment or set a date for a hearing with them to review the usage and present the repair bills. Most times they will make some accommodations to offset the higher cost vs the average seasonal bill over the last year. Most tenants are poor managers of their money and a situation like this is difficult to manage for them. Work with them and the utility company to get the bill reduced to a reasonable level.

Contractors are used to being watched but don’t like to be haunted by a never ending stream of questions from a client. I would make sure you have a clear scope of work that you review with your contractors to make sure the expectations are understood. 
An experienced contractor who has worked with mostly retail type clients will be a lot different from one who works with investors. Guess which one costs more due to the handholding ?

if your new to rehabbing, I would recommend stopping by the job 1-2 times a day to see the progress and make sure the quality is up to your expectations. see what equipment they are using so you can get an idea of what you may need to get if you want to do things yourself. It’s a learning experience that can be frustrating at times but fun also.