All Forum Posts by: Bridgette Delva

@Alyssa Lebetsamer we had the same problem with our last tenant where she "claimed" that she and her mom were so severely sick every time they came into the house, that they had to be hospitalized and couldn't go into the house.  We knew they were full of it but this was after months of complaining about every little thing.  We actually offered to let them move out without penalty, because we knew they had an alternative living option.  But after they moved out, we did the right thing and had a professional mold test profile done for about $350 and there was next to ZERO mold spores found. In fact mold levels were so low, the company commented about it.

Bottom line, the professionals decide if there is a mold problem not the tenant or landlord. Get a test and squash it OR worst case, you do have a problem and you get it addressed.

@Joshua Raley if you think the deal is truly going to produce a substantial ROI, then it might be worth it to actually pay a professional to go out there and give you a proposal. We've had to pay for proposals before, just to get confirmation on what we're getting into. Think of it like a step in your due diligence, like an inspection.

Hi @Brian Kmiotek! I don't know much about the Chicago area but for a SFH fix & flip, a few things come to mind:

Look for properties that are in historically appreciating areas.  

Look for the good school zones, they will generally have a healthy amount of turnover, which indicate a healthy market. 

Look for the worst looking houses in the best neighborhoods.  

Check property records in your target neighborhoods to see if there are delinquent taxes or property that hasn't been sold in a long time like 20, 30, 40 years. These would be the houses you could target through direct mail letters & calling to make an offer to buy their homes.

If the area has a lot of homes sitting on the market for an extended period, it might be good to understand why. Reach out to some realtors and talk to them to get their perspective on the current market.  Probe them to find out what areas they would recommend for fix & flip.  Ask them if they have investment properties and where. If there are no distressed homes in an area, that's a good sign but makes the challenge of  finding a deal even greater. 

Of course, when you do find a deal, it may go without saying but make sure you use the analysis tools to thoroughly vet the financial viability of your deal.  

Not sure if this is the type of input you were looking for but hoping this helps.

@Gregory Laroche I think your question may be incomplete: you want to get to know more about how agents what?

Hi @Tiffany Corbin, welcome! Several questions come to mind:

What specific type of real estate investing are you interested in? single family homes (SFH), multi-family homes (MFH), short term rental, long term rental, fix & flip, BRRRR

What market do you live in or want to invest in?

How do you define affordable?

@Byron Kim the move out date was actually volunteered by the tenant so that made it a bit easy.  They moved out on the 7th of the month but had already paid the full month's rent.  We did NOT refund them the month's rent because the lease says they have to give us 30 days notice and they would have had to pay that month's rent anyways. The tenant's situation also made it easy for them because they already had somewhere to go.  In your situation, I would set the firm move out date but holding them accountable for paying the rent might cause friction.  I'd set a move-out date for them that allows you time to find another renter so you don't have much of a vacancy period.

@Joshua Raley I'm no expert but the one question I'd ask, is there an opportunity to raise the house? Just a thought that popped up since it's just a shell. If it's a great deal, it might be worth paying an expert to assess how you can mitigate the flood damage.

@Byron Kim okay, the additional context totally makes sense and sheds some light on your questions.  So I would say that if the tenant wants out, maybe you let them out but before you consider that, what do you plan to do with their deposit? Are you going to give them a full refund? If not, you may want to be prepared for a fight, especially if one A/C guy talked about unsafe conditions.

Personally, I'd cut my losses and give a full refund of the deposit, assuming they comply with the other terms of the lease to clean the place and leave it in good condition.  Then you should strongly consider actually repairing/replacing the unit properly while it's vacant.

We actually had a somewhat related situation back in March. A tenant was constantly complaining and finding things that "needed attention" so the last straw for us was that they basically lied and said they had gotten sick and couldn't stay in the house because of mold.  It was total ******** and we knew it so instead of going back and forth, we basically told them that it seems like this arrangement isn't working out the way they intended and asked them if they would like to terminate the lease.  They ended up taking the offer; we had a mold assessment done after they moved out, which proved no mold, and now we have a happy and low maintenance renter!  It was a win-win decision for everyone.  We refunded their deposit saved ourselves a year of headaches; this happened 2 months into the lease.

@Byron Kim This is certainly an unusual situation so there is certainly not a one right way to handle the situation.  I can't speak to the specifics of the installation or solutions for that but I thought I'd give my perspective on the answers to your questions.

What could you have done differently? Given the issue took 4 weeks to reach a temporary solution, maybe you could have looked into renting a portable or temporary unit immediately after the first expert told you this problem would be difficult to fix. 4 weeks with now circulating air in 100 degree weather is brutal - I know, I grew up in central Florida, where we don't have the luxury of the ocean breeze.  Don't beat yourself up about it, but offering a quick temporary solution will always help ease tension.

Did you concede too much or too little?  I think this can only be judged by you and the tenant: is the tenant happy with the concessions and are they concessions that you can afford to give?  I think it's extremely generous of you to offer 10% discount and to offer buy a portable A/C. 

If the tenant wants to break the lease, how should you proceed?  I would not be obliged to agree to breaking a lease for a problem that has been fixed now. What would be the basis for breaking it?  The inconvenience?  You have a working central system and have offered a portable A/C solution.  Despite this, if that is a route the tenant wants to take, stick firmly with the terms of your lease.  Is there an out clause in your lease and if so, what does it say?  

@Hari Sarvotama to my knowledge there is absolutely nothing that prevents a landlord from selecting the candidate they think is best qualified and also nothing that prevents them from accepting as many applications as they want. The point of an application is to determine if you qualify and it’s not a guarantee that you get the lease.

As a landlord I would assess who has the best history, record and, in present day, who has the most job stability and highest income.

Unfortunate there’s nothing you can do accept wait and see if you’re selected just like when you are making an offer to buy a house; there’s nothing that says a private landlord has to sign the lease based on first come, first served.

I would say you should ask the PM what criteria will be used to make the selection for your own understanding and work on identifying your alternatives.

I know would be disappointing to be rejected but there’s nothing illegal going on.

Good luck!