All Forum Posts by: Cathy B.

Quote from @Tony W.:

Quote from @Todd Wood:

People have missed a few big items.  First you can only remove tenants for very specific reasons.  So for example you can have a lease, but at the end of the lease you can't ask them to leave.  If you sell and the person buying wants to live there you must write the tenant a $4500 check to relocate and then give them 90 days.  If they don't leave you have to go to court to get them out .

Etc..

 So how do the Portland landlords deal with these situations while being aware of this possibility?

 First of all, I have not had to go through this process (yet)  . . . I've been renting out for 5 1/2 year so far.  I try to keep good tenants in place and rigorously screen any potential new ones.

Yes, its a risk, but there are exceptions.  You can lease up your unit for a fixed term if you have other plans for your unit and they are not allowed to stay. (yes, they could still try to, but they would be in violation of the lease)  If you have bad tenants that are violating the lease, and you can terminate for cause, you do not have to pay a cent for relocation. 

Here is a link to the City's brochure that outlines the requirement and the exceptions:

https://www.portland.gov/sites/default/files/2019-11/phb-rso...

Quote from @Tony W.:

Quote from @Jeff S.:

Attorneys suggest and most property managers use what they call low barrier screening which allows people in who can barely afford  your place and they want to house people with criminal backgrounds suggesting you are discriminating if you don't give offenders a chance. There is a movement within business that is giving offenders second chances. Much of this is adopted statewide so there is that. I have turned 2 properties over to management one with good luck and one a little less so.

 Would you say there are no ways around resolving the issues you had with the low barrier screening with rentals in Portland in general

 @Jeff S., I'm curious why your attorney recommends the low barrier screening? 

The landlord choice option seems like the obvious one.  The main drawback being that you have to document, pretty extensively, why you have denied a tenant in writing, if they do not meet your criteria.  Multifamily NW has a good form for this:  https://www.rentalformscenter.com/preview?form=8358

Tony, Definitely look into the screening process for the City of Portland as it is very specific how you address it even down to how you advertise your property.

The State of Oregon has limitations on how much you can raise rent on existing tenants each year.  The City of Portland has provisions where the tenant can request relocation assistance if your rent increase is 10% or more.  I have never felt like I needed to come close to either of those maximums and just raise it to market rate between tenants.  Of course, I only have 1 rental property and don't operate it like some landlords would.

I rented my former house out when landlords were selling in the City due to the new laws that came about.  Most small landlords did not like the new requirements, so there are fewer of them operating here.  I think due to that, rents went up and kind of worked against what the City was trying to do.

Currently it seems like the market here is softening a bit.  I'm not saying rents are going down, but rather, they seem to be leveling off.  Also the pool of quality tenants appears to be smaller.  I think the ones that could afford to buy a couple of years ago, did so, leaving fewer potential tenants with good credit and income.  There are still good ones out there, but its not like it was.

In terms of what neighborhoods to invest in . . . take a look at the property taxes and keep in mind that the valuation will go up by 3% every year.    There are some neighborhoods that were valued really low when the measure to lock in the 3% increase was put in place, they were bad neighborhoods then (1997-ish), but now doing a lot better as they've attracted young, hip home buyers due to their affordability and the taxes are locked in at a lower rate for the 3% increase in valuation.  Some neighborhoods in North and Northeast Portland fall into this category, maybe somewhere like Brentwood-Darlington too.

Hmm . . . my first thought was pet accidents.  This happens in hallways in elevators according to the Owners that I work with on apartment buildings.

Most new builds these days use carpet tiles that can be cleaning or easily pulled out and replaced.

It might not hurt to take a UV flashlight, dim the lights, and see if you can locate any "accident" areas.

If its not pet (or trash as mentioned above), it could be adjacent tenants.

As far as making things smell better, they do make scent machines that hookup to your HVAC system and you get to pick the scent it diffuses.  Not sure on cost.

Quote from @Jill F.:

Generally food doesn't spoil right away. If the tenant reports the outage promptly and leaves the refrigerator door closed they may be fine.

 Only 4 hours for the refrigerated food.

https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/food-safety-during-a-power-ou...

Not enough time to find a replacement and barely enough time to move in a spare, if you have availability to jump on it.

Quote from @Bruce Woodruff:

The licensed guys are licensed for a reason. The unlicensed guys are unlicensed for a reason

Exactly!!!
In my state the contractor's license comes down to them passing and exam which demonstrates some degree of competence, registering with the state, and maintaining insurance. 
That insurance part could be really important for a balcony project! 

Steve,

Unless you have some pressing maintenance items in that unit, I'd keep the good tenants and raise the rent slowly on them.  Then do the renovation after their tenancy ends.  You'll get longer use out of the existing build this way. There is no guarantee that you will be able to keep them with higher rent putting you into a situation where you might have to find a replacement tenant and they may not be as good of a tenant.

I'm also curious about your comparable being high rises.  Are these in your neighborhood?  Seems odd considering how you've described your setup.  My guess is that the high rises might demand higher, or different, rent due to their proximity to other things like coffee shops, restaurants, mass transit, etc.

I'm not super familiar with your market, but would suspect your rent, if renovated, should be somewhere (maybe halfway?) between newer apartments in your neighborhood and single family homes nearby.  Generally, people like the peace of fewer neighbors and more privacy.  I 'm not sure how this will work for your duplex property, but I use the "price my rental" feature under the Zillow Rental Manager portal.  Its free and you can see what other similar units that were rented recently look like. 

Another thought . . . I'm not sure what your intention behind "modest bathroom upgrades" are, but to be on par with new construction, I looks like it might need to be gutted -- all new fixtures and finishes.  You could also aim for a step below new construction if that is what you wanted, but you'd get less rent.

Last thing, check your local laws regarding raising rent.  Do they allow you to raise rent on existing tenants 30%? (what you are proposing) Where I am we are quite limited on the percentage, but can definitely raise them to whatever between tenants.

Good luck!

-Cathy

I'm only going to comment on the black faucet because I work with a door hardware consultant that does not recommend black finishes for door hardware as it is not as durable as other finishes.  I suspect this applies to other types of fixtures that have the black finish as well.

It is a bit hard to tell from the photo, but it looks like the finish has worn off from cleaning.  This could be considered wear and tear on a not very durable finish.  I recommend your that your replacement fixture to have chrome, stainless, or satin nickle finish.

Find a local appliance dealer that sells Speed Queen.  They are hearty machines and they have both residential style and commercial style options:
https://speedqueencommercial.com/en-us/product-type/laundrom...

Quote from @Erin Church:

So, I've come across something I hadn't contemplated. I have someone that is interested in a vacant unit I have that meets the minimum income, seems to meet the minimum credit score, but robbed a bank 5 years ago, served 4 years, and has been out for almost a year. They disclosed right away. 

When I researched the person, they passed a note that they had a gun and would shoot everyone if they needed to. They actually got out of the bank, but were captured later due to fingerprints. I do not know if there was actually a gun. 

I have one other inherited tenant that has a recent felony and they are a wonderful tenant that I will likely keep for many years.

I have other applicants, but but wanted to see what other folks thought - if nothing else, it's a fun thought exercise. :)

First question is:  what does your screening criteria say and what do the laws in your area say about this? 
As an example, In City of Portland where I am, they have very specific screening criteria that you should follow.  The low barrier option, allows for a certain amount of past criminal history.  The landlord choice option, allows you to choose the terms of your screening, but forces you consider situations and additional evidence provided by the tenant to weigh against your screening criteria.
For reference:  https://www.portland.gov/sites/default/files/2020-02/phb-rso...

Here is a screenshot from that link above that I believe outlines some things to consider:  I think from what you have described above, the one that has me concerned, is the time that they have been out of jail has not been that long, so its unclear if there will be a pattern with this person or if it was a one time mistake that they have fully atoned for.

For a commercial lease it is normally on the tenant to make modifications, get permits, etc. as needed.  It certainly would not hurt to know what could be involved so that you could mention what your expectations are around this.  A lease should probably to be restructured to address this issue as well as anything else iffy.  Like  . . . what if their seemingly innocent Etsy shop involved something that had them storing a bunch of flammable materials?!