All Forum Posts by: Tim Czarkowski

I had a tenant who was very eager to move in ASAP. I had her fill out an application and told her I would need to review it. She said she was living with her sister and of course didn't have any evictions. When I checked the public records I type her very unique name in and there it was. She had three evictions in the past year, the last of which was just two weeks prior. She was no doubt looking to make me the fourth. What I found amazing was that at least two of them were from large apartment complexes with professional management. I can't believe they wouldn't check that. Thank God I did, I'm sure it would have been an expensive nightmare. Thankfully that's the only experience I've had with a professional tenant.

If I had already decided to evict the time of year would be of no consequence for me. Last year I filed an eviction shortly before Christmas. The court actually postponed the actually eviction until a couple days after Christmas. They don't seem to actually remove anyone in the couple days before and after Christmas here. The guy threatened to shoot my handyman when he asked for rent so I feel no remorse for the piece of trash.

It is a business decision as others have said and I have no remorse about not letting them get a couple extra days of rent for free out of me. I see it as theft like others have said. If you can't pay for something then it has to be returned. If I was in a position where I couldn't pay my rent I would turnover the property well before the sheriff was banging at my door. The ethical thing for a tenant to do is to move out at the time they receive the three day notice if they are not going to be able to pay. You ought to know that your going to be unable to pay your rent well before it actually happens but most people who get evicted don't care and are absolutely terrible with their money. Thankfully most people I have had who could not pay have moved out rather than having to be forcibly evicted.

This may not have been the worst property I have ever seen but it was certainly the ugliest interior paint job have ever come across. The place was apparently owned by a local black panther member or leader. All of the walls in all of the rooms and the ceilings were painted with murals of African kings, lions, some type of African poetry etc. etc. I couldn't imagine the amount of primer it would have taken to cover them up. I passed on the property because although it was not in horrible condition and was in a good neighborhood it just was not a good enough deal. I know my contractor was disappointed. lol

Congratulations, what a nightmare.

Sarah Shockley

I live and invest in Riverside/Avondale and with the amount of businesses opening and homes being rehabbed I think this area is going to see better appreciation that average for the Jacksonville market. Particularly as more people in Jacksonville find out how much the neighborhood has changed in the past 10 or 15 years. I love the small multifamily buildings here and plan to get as many as I can get my hands on, as long as they cashflow well at least.

Murray Hill as you say is not too bad either. I own a duplex up there as well and it has killer cashflow. The tenants are a definite step down from the high quality tenants we get here in Riverside however. I don't see the same growth and revitalization happening there as here in Riverside so it is a straight cash flow neighborhood. There are a ton of rentals in that area.

I also handle some flips elsewhere around Jacksonville but try to stick close to home for rentals or property management. If there is anything I can help you with please contact me, I love to discuss real estate.

I follow the 2% and 50% rule for my investment properties but my home is also multi-unit building and it's not close to the 2% rule. I would never find a place that my wife and I would be willing to live in for any length of time that could. However my mortgage is fully covered and I live in a nicer home than I would have otherwise. If you are planning on buying the place and then moving a year or two I think you should find something that matches the 2% rule. If however you are going to live there for 10+ years I would compare the costs to that of a similar sized SFH and decide which will be better for you.

You would need to add the cost of your unit if you were to rent it out to calculate the 2%. From what you posted above it looks like you would be at 1%. That would be a pass as a straight investment.

Including your $1500 the 50% rule would leave you with $2225 for your mortgage and profit. Since your mortgage is above that you will be sucking money each month. That is how you compare to a SFH. Calculate how much you are going to have to pay each month and compare it to that of a similar SFH. If you feel the savings are worth the hassle of the tenants move forward if not don't.

I personally have been very happy with my decision to purchase and live in a multi-unit property. I never am worried about making my mortgage and I probably would be house poor if I had bought something comparable that did not have the 3 apartments.

On investment properties, even smaller ones, it is very common for them to be occupied when purchased. If it is a property with an obvious "Owners Unit" they will sometimes be left vacant to make it more likely to sell to a home-buyer as opposed to a straight investor.

If I was the seller I would certainly still want to get my cash while waiting to close. Not that I'd be running a half price rent special like this guy. lol I certainly wouldn't terminate a lease just because the buyer wanted it, unless it was negotiated, especially with so much time until closing. Real estate deals can and do fall apart. Then he'd have a vacancy AND no sale. Here a monthly lease can be terminated with 15 days notice, just look up your local laws.

Steve Babiak Wow, that came off little harsh.

Did the buyer have their own agent?

Jake Kucheck Have you spoken to your broker or title company about it? I would think either of them would have plenty of experience with this. Also your broker may be able to put some pressure on the broker for the buyer. As I said before I'm sure real estate board could give you some advise and probably provides free telephone access to a real estate attorney. I'm interested to know how it's handled when you clearly are owed the deposit by the contract but the seller is holding it up. As J Scott said I'm sure there is some recourse. You have to decide whether the deposit is worth the time, hassle, and possibly money up front to get it resolved. Maybe you can make a deal with them and give back a portion of it to get it taken care of now rather than later. You should use the in state resources your license provides. Keep us updated.