All Forum Posts by: Jeff Bridges

positive cashflow IS the point of rental property, not a bonus. Buying a cashflow negative property is not a successful tax avoidance strategy. You still are losing money, you're just losing is less slowly due to some tax deductions. when you have the opportunity, you want to be buying cashflow positive businesses, otherwise its just a liability... You do want to increase your income in the long term don't you? Use that up front investment money you would have otherwise spent for these purposes!!!

Follow state rules regarding providing tenant with notice to quit followed by filing for eviction proceedings after the state mandated and lease disclosed notice period. For me, first time a tenant has a personal check bounce, I require cash or money order only for becoming current plus any late fees per the lease language. Then we discuss if money order would be required payment type from then on. If tenant is just looking to stiff you and avoid contact, then payment type wont matter and you continue with your eviction process. You don't want to mess up the procedures because it will result in delays or a judge will allow a tenant to buy more time as in 30 days or more beyond the normal expected process because you didn't follow the correct procedures. They are unforgiving and will always side with tenant if you sidestep the state rules.

Here are some resources to check out on what to expect. You might want to check your county site for county specific instructions if they vary:

https://www.berkeleycountysc.gov/drupal/sites/defa...

http://www.entrerealty.com/eviction-process-in-gre...

We had a bed bug infestation in one of my condo associations that spread across several units on multiple levels. They can and will travel across units through the walls or even out the front door into another unit. Tenants are usually embarrassed to report this issue, so multiply this by an entire building and you will have several units that might not report the issue. Your tenants could for example have gotten them from an adjacent unit due to no fault of their own. In this situation, I would inform your building property manager and see if they offer pest control on the building contract and might even inspect for free. the importance of this is twofold: you might benefit from existing pest control contract used by the building and you can coordinate to find out if other units have been affected and establish a coordinated response to treatment if there is indeed several affected units. If you just try to tackle this on your own, spend $600-$1800 with the standard treatment and then more come from the untreated next door unit that hasn't been treated, it's all for naught. All nearby units would need to be inspected at the same time so that this could be nipped in the bud. association Property manager would be the best resource to help you resolve the issue effectively assuming it is a professional firm. they have likely dealt with this before. Good luck!

 Check the inventory of your local used appliance dealer as another option. I usually buy new, but occassionally have bought a cleaned up fridge and stove in some of my appliance packages from trade-ins/ haul aways. I picked up a fridge for 200 and a late model gas stove for 265 installed.

Used appliance retailers that pop up in your area are NZ appliance and appliance hub (never used these before) . Worth calling and asking for photos of available inventory that matches your criteria after noting that you are a property manager. Just verify their warranty and unit condition/ history before committing. I usually request something 1-2 years old. Sometimes they can source out units from warehouses if they dont have item in stock and you have some flexibility with time.

The appliances look pretty old and dated. That microwave has more than lived its expected lifespan and more. replacement microwaves can be 250 or so plus installation costs. Replacing the microwave appears to be your least expensive upgrade IF you actually wanted appease your tenant with a compromise based on his requests. You'd need to replace that sucker anyway in order to re-rent. The oven comes in a close second for consideration of replacement and it looks old, but it could remain fully functional. The tenant could be grumbling about the oven and just trying to get something more modern installed. The flooring request is pretty expensive and doesn't appear to be a viable option that will benefit you. How long has this tenant been there?  Does he pay on time and generally not cause you any pain? Consider those factors and how much you want to keep him into your decision making and consider giving him a microwave upgrade in a compromise counter offer. Good luck!

Can also lookup reputable used/refurbished appliance retailers in the area. They might be able to send you some photos based on the color/ type/ price range you are looking for and tell you more about the condition of the unit. Then they can deliver, install and takeaway the old and email you a receipt. I find the refurbished appliance retailers can be a bit more flexible with their delivery hours, and processes like requiring physical signature on delivery etc... They can then send you a photo of it installed and show you with the flames all on for example. Just a thought and something I was able to do remotely with a recent rehab. Whirlpool, kenmore, maytag, GE all tend to be good picks for gas ovens.

Gas ovens repair percentages:

electric ovens repair percentages:

Smaller Bar = Better chances you'll get a stove not a lemon...

source:

https://applianceassistant.com/New-Appliances/Most...

@Ben Kirchner Civil/ Small claims court is possible, and a judgement in your favor is also possible if you bring lots of documentation of appliance purchase, move-in condition/photos and move-out condition/ photos. The problem is you have to then collect on your judgement, which either can be via garnishing wages (if allowable in your jurisdiction) or trying to get a collection agency/ attorney to try to collect. So you have to consider your time taking a day off to attend court (or a rescheduled date if tenant tries to reschedule or process wasn't serve correctly). You also have to hire a process server to do skip trace and serve the court summons for proper court service. You also have to weigh if they have a W2 job and if you can garnish/ collect against the deadbeat tenant. Then you weigh all of that against the cost of a new fridge and washer dryer. $1500 or less for a basic replacement appliance package I'm guessing? Up to you...

Check and proactively replace all of the toilet flappers and check flushing mechanism to make sure its flushing efficiently. the flapper(s) could have likely degraded and the bad seal might slowly leak into the bowl and cause a frequent refill of the tank. flappers usually need to be replaced every 5 years anyway since they degrade. toilets have always been a cause for high water usage in one of my condo buildings. Your tenants might not complain about water leaking into a bowl from a bad flapper seal, but it still uses tons of water. worth checking out as part of your troubleshooting...

@Shawn Terrell get a quote from REIguard for vacant property policy while you rehab in your search for quotes from your mortgage broker.  They've helped me out when I had extended rehab projects until I completed, and then replace with a standard landlord/ fire dwelling policy when the tenant moves in and following rehab. They make it easy to insurer a property for a short amount of time, and then cancel the policy when you are ready to convert. Vacant property insurance is more expensive than your normal policy would be but it reflects the higher risk insurer faces with a vacant property. 

http://nreig.com/

@Jen H. This is not a policy recommendation, but for a possible exception to your rule where they move-out at odd hours or you're not available until the following morning, you could have them leave keys on counter and lock the doorknob from the inside.