All Forum Posts by: Calla Gruss

Three individuals signed an 18 month lease for my fiancé’s house. Two of the parties have decided to evict the third person because of multiple personal differences. They have changed the access code to the home and the third person does not have the ability to get into the house and has not retrieved their personal belongings. I believe this is a civil matter between the three individuals but I have questions as to how to proceed as a landlord.

1. Am I obligated to return the evicted persons deposit at this time?

2. Do I need to get a new lease signed for just the two remaining tenants.

3. Are the two remaining parties obligated to pay the full rent or just a third of the rent each? ( currently each party pays their part to me individually)

4. What is my role, if any, in trying to help the evicted person to get their things? ( can I allow access to the individuals for the purpose of collecting his things without permission from the other two tenants?)

Thank you for your insight. I think that eventually mixing buy/hold with rehab is an avenue for him(us) to pursue eventually. Atlanta is so sprawled. I would be more comfortable directing him towards OTP, but was wondering if ITP offered more opportunity. From reading through the forums I think we need to get with an agent that's comfortable with investors. 

@Kameon Peavy He will be relocated permanently by October 1 and then will be ready to put his focus into growing his business here in the south. We will definitely need more information before then. A friend of mine rehabbed a property in the 30318 zip code and( IMO ) was Not given very good advice about the area. She listed the house at 250k and had to lower the price 4 times over 4 months time to 189k before it sold. That being said, she did buy it right, so I believe she managed to do OK on the deal. In seeing what she went through, I am wary of using that location. Her house was broken into two different times while she was trying to finish it.

@Chad Daniel I will definitely pass on your information. I did notice all the urban renewal and building in the suburban areas of Des Moines. The market looks great there! Good luck to you

My fiance is moving to Atlanta and plans to invest in flipping some properties in the area. Any advice on areas to focus on? Metro vs suburb? Fulton county? Dekalb County? Revitalization areas? I live in the northern suburbs so I'm unfamiliar with the city, but thinking that better opportunities would be available within the perimeter as opposed to outside the perimeter. While he would be new to completing an entire home renovation, a project such as this is within his scope of expertise since he's a licensed general contractor in Des Moines, Iowa and business owner of a landscaping architecture company in that state as well.

Thank you in advance for any advice!

Thank you for your advice David! I was hopeful that the margin over the mortgage would give me a relatively safe cushion. I know I definitely need to peruse some of the other forums, however I'm assuming having three months mortgage set aside to cover tenant vacancy would be somewhat adequate( I know it's probably not ideal, but I could maintain the additional mortgage short term on my salary if I needed to)? I think I need start another discussion as I now have questions about landlord/ tenant agreements. Thanks again.

Thank you for the advice Nancy. I think I need to educate myself on what a PM brings to the table. Is it feasible to have the PM represent me in court if a situation arose to that degree? Do they function in that capacity for the property owners? Again, please forgive my total naivety if I'm asking elementary questions! I truly appreciate the time everyone has taken to contribute. 

Thank you Maxwell. This sounds encouraging.

This home does have an HOA fee. It's minimal- $300 per year. My thoughts- I'm not looking to make quick money, but I don't want to get into a bad position either. I'd just really like for the property to pay for itself as a long term investment. I have a W2 job( as I've heard it referred to in these forums:) ) and I'm moving for a regular "9to 5" job opportunity. I'd like to pull in some "passive" income either now or as a deferred situation. I'd like to know if I'm safe with that kind of cushion over the regular mortgage/escrow obligations.

Can you state the advantages of the PM? I've lived in this home for 11 years myself and have a network of neighbors ready to alert me of any incidences. However, repairs and emergencies are another thing altogether. I, myself, have not had huge issues requiring immediate attention. Plenty of small annoying ones. But I certainly value the advice and wisdom of a seasoned veteran in this industry.

Thanks to everyone for your quick responses!

I do have the option of selling the home and remaining a "civilian" as opposed to a "landlord'. I'm in the "weighing the pros and cons" of this kind of investing. 

I did check into what the area is supporting for rents and I'm confident I could get around 1300-1500 per month for the home. It has a new roof, hot water heater and is structurally sound (built in 1999). My question is for those seasoned investors, does that sound profitable? I don't have much equity in the home at this point, so I understand this is a long term situation.  But would it be wise to rent the home making only 450-650 per month above the mortgage and escrow obligations?