All Forum Posts by: Brian Illingworth

@Ralph R. That sounds safe, heating the apartment with an electrical stove, or not!!!! That's a good point about setting up an inspection if payments come in late, thanks!

As a new landlord I searched around for Michigan Laws on late fees and it appears that there is no statute that covers rental late fees.  So it would be up to the landlord.  It would seem to me that 5-10% of the rent, or flat fees between $50 and $100 would be a practical amount.  However there is a statute for charging fees on NSF checks under, 600.2952, which says you can charge $25 if paid within 7 days, and $35 if paid within 30 days.  I have no doubt that will come into play at some point.

This has been very good reading. I am also a new landlord and closed last week on a house with tenants in the home. Long story short female resident has been open to communication, and very cooperative, the male has yet to talk to me and seems to be avoiding me. The one year lease they had with last owner ended in 2016 and they have been going month to month ever since. The real estate attorney that I talked to, free over the phone that was a bit of a surprise,told me the best thing to do is serve all the tenants with a 30 day notice to quit lease, and then enter into my own lease. He said that clears the air of the old lease, and if male doesn't leave then I can start eviction, hopefully it doesn't come to that. I also didn't want to evict everyone and start with a clear house, because surprisingly they have lived there five years and always paid on time, but it was after closing that I find out they are not getting along and she has made all the payments.

Thank you for the responses. As it turns out the previous owner was on a month to month contract with the tenants which was not renewed for the month of March. So if I am not mistaken it looks like I can just do my own lease agreement with the female and tell the male I am not renewing with him and he has to move on. Hopefully he doesn't force an eviction by staying. I will definitely listen to the podcast thanks.

I just closed on a house in Warren Michigan. The home was already occupied with tenants who have been there for five years and always paid rent on time. I have since spoken with the female resident who states that the male claims that he is moving out, they are not married, and has no intentions of paying rent, however it sounds like he has been saying that for a while. She says that she wants to stay and it's her that pays the rent every month. So I guess my question is can I evict one and keep the other tenant. I don't want to run into a tenant legal issue. So any reputable attorney suggestions that I can make contact with. Thanks.

I just closed closed on my first rental property today that I purchased through my SDIRA.  I must admit I was extremely nervous having not ever done it before, but I was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly the whole thing went.  I almost didn't need to do anything, pretty much all of the transaction took place between the custodian and title agency.  The only downside is that ridiculously long SDIRA name that has to go on all of the documents, but I am already over it....LOL! Even if you don't have enough money to buy the house outright, which I did for now but may pull out a loan on it down the road, you can still do a mortgage through the SDIRA I think its called a non-recourse loan but don't quote me on it.  It would seem to be that if you shop around there is surely a bank out there that will do less than 35% as a down payment, just my two cents.

I haven't invested in Dearborn but I lived there for many years. I lived on the east side, on Middlesex St to be precise which is between Colson st and Michigan Ave. The neighborhoods there are still pretty decent, but have gone downhill since I was kid. I personally would try to stick to the West side, affectionally referred to as westborn, which is west of Southfield road. However there is still some really good neighborhoods and people on the east side, which borders Detroit. Not really an answer to your question but I hope it helps some.

I'm sorry if you have already sent those can you re-send them, I had to switch email accounts.  Thanks.

Please send me the properties that you have available for MI, OH, and IN.  Thank You.

You just have to call your local tow company and tell them you need a car towed off of your property. Make sure it's on your property and not on the street in front of the house that doesn't count. I would call a reputable tow company because after they tow it they will end up calling the local PD to have the car entered into the Secretary of State database showing the car was towed. The tow company will hold the car for at least 30 days and try to contact the owner to come claim the car. If they fail to contact them the tow company will start the procedure to take title on the car and then they will sell it or junk it for a fee.