All Forum Posts by: Blair Poelman

Don't turn off the utilities or change the locks.   I know it's not right and it's not fair, but this will get YOU in hot water.  You probably need to file an eviction, but check your laws to see if you can do this -  prior to filing an eviction I've always posted a big pink or yellow pay or quit notice on the front door and front window.  basically says if they do not vacate by (however many days you must give them) you are going to file action against them.  You cannot block doorways, egress, etc.

The bigger and brighter the sign, and easier to read from the sidewalk, the better.  This will say to all their neighbors they are dead-beats.  Nobody wants their dirty laundry aired out for all their neighbors to see.

You may also be entitled to collect back-rent, but this will involve you taking the tenant to small claims court - and hopefully when you closed you had an agreement saying they would stay for so long, and then either pay rent or get out.

Personally I would rather own.  You can't always look at your personal residence as an investment property unless you're generating income from said property.  When you buy you're at least building equity in something that will appreciate, instead of paying one of us to take that opportunity from you.

The duplex is a great option, esp. if you're going to live in it - will be a little easier to get a loan if the property is owner-occupied, and then once you've got a bit more cash and resources down the road, you can keep the duplex and get another place to move into -then rinse & repeat.

We should be at 3 million Utah residents within the next year - and it's expected we'll double that by 2050. We're not getting any smaller!

"good idea" depends on what your objectives are, but I'd be happy to help you out!

the purpose of recording is to provide constructive notice to the world of the parties with interest in a property, as well as establish lien priority, secure an interest position, etc. Don't know about your state, but here it's not legally required to record a lien.  However if a lien holder ever wants to do anything with their interest (foreclose), their position will be much more powerful if the position is recorded. 

The car salesman was probably just excited to sell you a car.  He likely had no clue what your house situation was.

I feel your pain.

One of the most common complaints that REALTORS have about other Realtors is that phone calls are not answered or returned.  Kind of ironic.

Detroit proper is a tough spot.  For the amount of $$ you're about to spend you really should plan a trip out there and look at that entire package.  Or better yet, pick another town, split the package in half and diversify.

Having personally done a number of properties in Detroit and other surrounding suburbs in Wayne County, I would say be super careful before you spend your money on a package without doing a bunch of research.  Spend the money to make the trip out there and look at the properties.  Hook up with a local (somebody other than the seller or the seller's agent) and get the real skinny on those streets.  Also, go watch Denis Leary's documentary "Burn".  Don't get scared off, but just know what you're getting into.

I've owned some pretty good properties on pretty good streets in wayne county and have made money. On the other hand, I've owned some "really great" properties on "really great" streets and I lost my ***.

There are enough great MI locals on BP - just find one and have them give you the real story.

Do you have a clause in the lease that allows you to inspect the unit or perform routine maintenance with 24 hours notice?  As Spring is upon us, it might be time for you to go and change out some HVAC filters and get a look (and smell) at what's going on inside

The benefit is that you isolate the liabilty of one property to that one property - so if you're getting sued by a tenant they sue the owner of that property, and if that owner is an LLC that only owns that one property, your exposure is only that one property.

However, there are loopholes that a clever attorney can use to get around or through the corporate veil. As well there are municipalities that really don't give a s**t about LLC's and they go up the chain of ownership and as soon as they find the first human on the papers, that's the guy left holding the bag.

This is really a question for an estate planning attorney.  I have a really good estate attorney if you're interested in a referral.  DM me and I'll connect you.  

P.S.  You should make sure they are operating legally, i.e. biz license, OSHA compliant, etc... (whatever is required for their biz)

what kind of business does the tenant run?  I'm far from a tax guy, but my (painful) understanding is that business taxes are connected to the owner of the business.

If they are running some kind of retail biz or an operation where they have clients coming in and out of the facility / building they should have a liability policy, and you should as well.

a CPA should be able to answer the tax question, and a RE attorney could advise on the liabilty issue.