All Forum Posts by: Brad L.

Typically, to cash a check of that amount, I believe the bank would first make sure he has the funds in his account to cover in case it bounced. I’m not buying the story, but theoretically if he was telling the truth, he should have the funds in his account to make you whole.

I should say I send it to anyone that contacts me about a rental, before the application process. Whether it’s a phone call, email or message from zillow

I have a document titled “Preliminary Rental Questionnaire” that asks a few of the more important questions from my rental application which I send to every single person that applies for my rentals, regardless of criminal history (we can see judgments against any Wisconsin resident as soon as we know their name). I do this to avoid any kind of fair housing violation claims. But if they fill out the questionnaire honestly and have evictions or money judgments, I have just cause to deny. If they fill it out dishonestly, I know they were dishonest and I again have just cause to deny.

You need to take emotion out of the equation. Your last paragraph will be your downfall as a landlord. 

I'm not saying cash for keys is the best option for this scenario, but if it is, you can't let emotion get in the way of your protecting your investment. If you have a tenant that is allegedly purposely causing damage to your property, get them out. Who knows what they'll damage next when maybe you could've given them cash for keys beforehand.

Also, you need to pull prospective tenants' credit reports & do background checks, including calling their employer at a phone number you get from the company website. Do not accept copies of credit reports or employer contact information from tenants, it's worthless.

What are you projecting value to be after bringing rents up to market, and how much longer are the current leases in place? 

I'm admittedly over-paranoid, so I'd have to completely replace the roof (who knows how long until issues start popping up in the other units), and while I don't know all the specific numbers I'm sure the deal doesn't pencil without the Seller paying for at least half of roof replacement.

What else has he just done the quick & easy fixes on? Property sounds like a ticking time bomb to me.

Non-verifiable income is a deal-breaker. That along with the eviction, regardless of the reason, makes it a definite no-go.

Is there any reason for tenants to use the basement; laundry, storage? If not, change the locks and only give the tenant you suspect is allowing entry the key (without them knowing they're the only tenants with a key). If you are still having this issue, it's clear who the culprit is. Then you consult your attorney to evict this clown for selling drugs out of your building and allowing his friends to sleep in your basement.

Only being 38 units doesn’t really bother me if you live somewhat near the facility, but the sizes of the units bothers me. Of course, your market could be completely different than mine, but our 8’ x 10’ units are our most difficult to rent, while the 10’ x 15’ and larger are significantly easier to rent. Again, may not be an issue in your market but definitely something to look into.

@Huy Thai is not saying he thinks Lease Option or Rent to Own are scams, but the way this individual that approached him is going about the process is the scam. No, you should not allow this individual to put a lock box on your property because I also believe it to be a scam in which he markets this property for rent, places a renter, then disappears with first month's rent + security deposit. 

If you'd like to move forward with this individual, and if they really do work in credit repair and are simply trying to help prospective buyers, let him find the prospective renter/buyer and you do the walk-through and everything else in the process as you normally would. Regardless of whether or not his intentions are malicious, a walk-through is, in my opinion, a key part of the vetting process as you should treat it like a walking interview. Get to know as much about the tenant as possible so you can both fact-check the application and learn things not on the application.