All Forum Posts by: Casey Crotty

Hello all - I have a situation and would like some advice. First some background: I own 6 duplexes and 1 SFH in Fort Wayne, IN. Recently a tenant moved into one of the duplex units. Almost immediately there were sewer blockages due to feminine products, which backed up into the basement. The first two times this happened I got notice and had a plumber out within a couple of hours to repair it. The line was cleared, the basement sanitized, and things were normal. The tenants (both) were warned that if it happened again, they would be billed for the plumber visit (note: both tenants are female, but I have my suspicions about who is flushing products).

Well, surprise surprise, it happened again EXCEPT this time the tenant (the one I believe is flushing products) called Code Enforcement instead of calling me.  On top of that, they called CE 3 days ago, letting the sewer continue to back up into the basement AND not notifying me of the CE citation, which obviously also limits the time I have to comply.

Obviously the tenant has rights to a habitable unit, but what if they don't notify me of issues?  What about withholding a legal notice to me from CE for three days?  Can I say that there is "willful damage" due to withholding the notice and not being able to clear the pipe, which also means the tenant could have put the other tenant at risk?

This tenant has been an issue from Day 1 and I expect nothing but more problems.  I want to evict, and will be giving her a 10-day notice due to non-payment of rent (once we can do that due to COVID) but would also like to include some other rationale for eviction so even if she does come up with rent, I can evict.  In IN, "willful damage" is a consideration for an Immediate Quit notice, but I would think that withholding a legal notice from the city would also have some bearing.

Thanks to everyone for your input!

Casey

Hey Hamid,

Sorry to hear about this; what a pain.  I agree with the other posts regarding your state laws, and of course a big consideration is the verbiage in your lease.  Just a quick thought regarding these two items: be sure that your lease does conform to your state laws, or that you have a statement saying that if something is deemed to not follow the law then the invalidity of that portion does not invalidate the rest of the lease.  Just because it's in the lease doesn't necessarily mean that it's legal!  I invest in Indiana, and my lease specifies "If any provision of the Agreement is violated Tenant agrees that the security deposit will be forfeited to Landlord."  Of course, breaking the lease would be a provision violation, and I've had to deal with two tenants who broke their leases just in the past year.  However, and to the point I made above, my lease also reads "Landlord shall comply with all laws, ordinances, and regulations governing the Property and the rental agreements with tenants, including...IC Section 32-31...", which is the Indiana Code governing Property.  Because of this verbiage I was able to keep the security deposits while I looked for other tenants.

Good luck and keep your chin up!

Just providing an update: yesterday I spoke with a friend here who is a very savvy businessman and does out of state RE investment. We have a very good relationship both personally and professionally. He may be willing to do hard money loans on my project until I get a few under my belt; we'll be talking more next week. Moral of the story: where there's a will...

Please keep sending recommendations! Thanks you BP community!

 Please do, Monti.  Those that I have spoken with said we run into Fannie/Freddie issues with the amounts, but I only spoke with a couple. Many thanks for your help. 

Casey

I couldn't agree more, and like you I'm not up on the state specifics. I even thought it might be an agreement among institutions but that would violate antitrust laws. I have a hard time believing they would risk that. But hey- there's a solution out there. I'll find it. 

Hi Chris,

Many thanks for the response.  I understand the compliance issues especially with the Fannie/Freddie loans (though I'm not as versed in them as you are I'm sure).  I called every CU in that area and pretty much got the same response (live, work, worship here).  Thus far my realtor hasn't thrown me a bone for a lender, but then again in all fairness I've not directly asked, either.  That's on me.  Love the Google idea- I'll give that a shot.

Thanks again!

Hello all,

I'm looking for some advice, ideas, heck I'll take general brainstorming at this point from the BP community.  Here's the deal:

I'm a real estate investor in New Mexico.  I'm also a CEO for a small healthcare company.  Real estate in NM is rather pricey, all things considered.  I have a brother out in IN where real estate is about 1/3 the price it is here, and there are PLENTY of opportunities, so I decided to start investing out there.  Here's the positives:

• I have someone on site who can and is willing to manage properties.
• I have money for down payments, outstanding credit, experience, and a plan to purchase properties roughly once every 4 months (depending on various factors, of course).
• I have a target area, target investment type (2-4 unit properties), and target investment amounts.
• I have a realtor who sees the vision and is willing to work with me.
• I'm more than happy to establish an LLC in the state.

You've probably figured out what I'm missing: a lender who I can develop a relationship with, understands the vision, and doesn't mind doing out of state lending.  Here are some of the other issues:

• The market prices are relatively low, which means the "conventional" lenders won't lend since the net loan is very low.
• Credit unions are happy to lend on investment properties, so long as I "live, work or worship in the counties served".

Unfortunately I'm used to "conventional" means of financing, so at this stage I'm asking for help, ideas, and assistance to get my plan going.  Many thanks in advance!

Casey

That's great!  I know I'll be in ABQ toward the end of February for a couple of days but don't have anything scheduled in Santa Fe in the near future.  My travel schedule for the next month and a half is bordering on out of control, but I'll keep you posted.  Maybe I can come up there on my return trip from ABQ; I'll hopefully have some good news from the Ft. Wayne trip.  And hey, even if not, I'll certainly have some learning experiences!

 Hey Tom!  For right now I will continue to work full time while I build up my units. I'm a CEO for a small healthcare company and that income will allow me to expand reasonably quickly. I'm hoping to exit in two years. In the meantime, I will manage my local ones (long time renters) and my brother will manage my investments in Ft Wayne. I've looked at the turnkey solution and haven't ruled it out, but admittedly am not as educated on it as I would need to be to make a decision. I will certainly keep you in mind as I continue with my education in the various options. 

Thanks for reaching out!

 Hi Georgia and thanks! Yes, watched the podcast; very informative. I'll be using those calculators extensively and looks like there is plenty of reading material.  I'll be evaluating over a dozen properties on this coming trip so I've got some work to do!

I do a lot of business in ABQ for my "normal" job and occasionally am in Santa Fe as well; maybe we can grab some coffee on one of those trips if you have time.  Thanks for reaching out!