All Forum Posts by: Dana Williams

@Dana Williams it really doesn't matter WHAT you are evicting for right now. Whether it be for non payment, lapse of time, nuissance, etc. The issue isn't necessarily that the CDC has halted evictions or that there are moratoriums in place - it's that even when these moratoriums are lifted, there is going to be a heavy backlog of eviction cases.

I'd like to think that there is some protection in having a shorter term lease, but at the end of the day, you're going to be in the same eviction line as the guy with a 12 month lease, so be ready for that. You can evict for reasons not related to non payment of rent (as @Kyle J. said), but even those evictions are going to put you past most eviction moratoriums in place right now anyway.

We're proceeding as usual, and giving special attention to income vs debt ratios and how much a tenant has in savings.

Great info. Thanks for chiming in.

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https://passiveincomemd.com/yo...

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Originally posted by @Kyle J.:

@Dana Williams What your Realtor/ex-wife said makes sense. Longer leases tend to favor the tenant, while month-to-month gives more control to the landlord. That's always been true, even more so now in these times of COVID and eviction moratoriums.

Let me give you an example. Suppose you have a tenant who stops paying rent. I've actually heard some attorneys make the argument that the federal CDC order (which is essentially a moratorium on evictions for non-payment of rent if the tenant claims they cannot pay), would NOT apply if the tenant were on a month-to-month agreement and the landlord chose to terminate the month-to-month tenancy instead of trying to evict for the past due rent. The reason is, the CDC order (and even most state/local orders for that matter) only applies to evictions for the non-payment of rent. You can still evict for other reasons. So if you terminated their tenancy and they refused to leave, you'd be evicting them for being a holdover tenant.

Again, I've already heard attorneys who have been asked about this and they believe it should work. Of course, every jurisdiction is different, and ultimately it's up to the judge and his opinion is the only one that matters.

Point is, I think your Realtor/ex-wife makes a valid argument worth taking into consideration.

Thanks for the explanation Kyle. I think a lot of us seem to only think of evictions in the term of nonpayment but everything you said brings it all into prospective.

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My realtor happens to be my exwife and she was telling me over Thanksgiving dinner with our young adults that other landlords have been changing their leasing to 3 months rent up front and month to month due to the horror stories many landlords are facing now due to Covid.

How do you all feel about that and what are you doing to make sure your rents are paid?

Thanks,

Dana

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Originally posted by @Joshua Howes:

Hi Dana! Congrats on getting started. I look at finding a new tenant the same way I look at hiring a new employee. In my success, I've learned to come to the table with a list of criteria.

My most important piece of advice is to ensure the Candidates meet the criteria rather than making the criteria meet the Candidate.

Also a note of importance, The Fair Housing Act requires landlords to give all walks of people an equal chance of obtaining housing. Just like with regular employment there are protected classes of people. Here is the HUD's breakdown of the FHA if you're interested https://www.hud.gov/program_of... In short, the criteria below will ensure you're making an objective decision.

Here is a dirty and quick rundown of how I approach the criteria:

Minimum Credit Score: 660 (Might vary on your location where you set your standard)

Monthly income: No less than two and a half times the rental rate (3X is even better)

References: Professional, Personal and Previous Landlord. I call their previous landlord and basically ask if they were good tenants, if they were ever late, if they would rent to them again (that's a big one). I call the Professional reference to get a feel for their employment and their standing in the company.

Background Check: I run this and the credit report through Cozy.co.

Feel free to reach out to me personally if you have any questions and best of luck!

Thanks for the response Josh and thanks for your info. I have interviewed folks for positions at my current job so I do have the same questions I ask in general. I have also read through a lot of the things you've called out thus far.

Me being a noob at this, I will definiely want to put some time aside to bounce some questions off of you, primarily, how in the hell do I get set up on Cozy to do all of this? :)

Thanks again!

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My realtor told me she has a friend that owns multiple Mobile Homes and it has become hard to evict people especially if the tenant has filed for goverment assistance duirng this time. What the owner started doing now is making folks pay 3 months up front and putting them on a month to month lease to ensure he doesn't have to keep going to court and having folks living in his property for free.

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Originally posted by @Christopher Anderson:

Hi Dana,

Congrats on getting to this point! We've in contract on our first rental property and I'm nervous about beginning the rehab (even though we've been through many rehabs in our personal residences in the past) and getting the first tenants in place.

I'm following this thread to see what other, more experienced, folks have to share. But a couple of things that I've learned already in speaking with other experienced investors and landlords:

* There is no "best" tool for everyone. You will find the tools that best meet your needs through trial, error, and customization
* Find someone (preferrably a couple) who has a few rentals already in place in the area and ask if they would be willing to share their standard lease form with you, and ask why they like their form specifically.
* Expect and embrace the fact you will make mistakes on this first one. That's the way it works. We all learn from the mistakes we make. The challenge isn't to be perfect, it's to minimize the damage mistakes will cause by having a safety net of resources (financial, material, and people) to fall back on. Even people with dozens of properties and decades of experience are still learning and making mistakes.

Just the fact that you're asking the questions and looking for advice and support is a good indicator that you'll do great. Best of luck!

Chris

Thanks for the response and good luck to you as well Chris. I actually have a coworker and his wife as mentors so they've helped me out a bunch. They own a couple properties in the area.

I've heard the horror stories of landlords not doing their due dilligence and picking the "right" people for their properties. I know it can be tough to make the right decisions on who will do the right thing in the end but I have a situation right now where my neighbor's daughter is looking to move into a new place in Jan. I have yet to interview the young lady and her boyfriend (she's a stay at home mom for the time being and he works, been at his job for 6 years from what I understand). The probably have sub standard credit and don't have enough standard income. They have a 2 year old and another on the way and I remember my parents being in the same boat when I was a kid. I personally experienced eviction while being raised with my parents. From my understanding, the young man works in Knightdale which is 20 minutes from Wilson. My neighbor is also a young guy with a new baby and wife. I think they would be good neighbors for each other. In the end, I need to interview both my neighbor's daughter and her mate to see what's going on and why they need to move. I just don't want to have a bad relationship with someone I've known since she was in middle school.

My mentors told me that they have given people breaks and it's worked out for them thus far.

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Hello Ben, I'm sure you're going to get good answers to your questions but I found over the years and when I got started in building credit, I got low balance store credit cards, I would buy things, pay monthly but keep a balance. After the card's introductory APR would end, I'd apply for another card and move the balance to that card, of course cancelling the old card. I started doing this in my 20s and now I'm in my 50s, my score is where I want it to be. I've had car loans and a few mortgages over the years so that helps also. I think you should sign up with Experian as well because they will help you keep in line with the best type of credit to have to get your score up.

Just disipline yourself while doing this and you'll build a good credit score to get you started. If you can afford to buy property in cash, that would be nice also.

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Hello all, I must admit that this is very new to me so there are all kinds of things running through my head but now it's time to condense and put the pedal to the metal.

I have a fully refurbed house that I purchased in Wilson NC and looking to put it on the market for rent next month to possibly have a tenant by Jan. I've been looking at a lot of the posts here and they've been helpful with resolving a lot of things I've been thinking about.

At the moment, the only thing that is stressing me is the amount of ways that things can be done in terms of managing my property but I'm looking for the best and safest way to do this. Things like "Where do I go to run background and credit checks in the most efficient manner..." and "Should I really use Cozy.co/Apartments to support my property...." has been running through my head. I'm a person who likes efficiency.

Just looking for some answers to help give me a stronger backbone in this time we're living in with things being tougher for some families. I would like to use this thread to bounce questions off of whoever would like to reply and all posts are appreciated and welcome.

Thank you in advance.

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All Forum Posts by: Dana Williams

Dana Williams has started 4 posts and replied 21 times.

Post: Leasing monthly instead of yearly due to Covid

Post: Decision on replacing carpet due to heavy smoker tenants.

Post: Great read for those real estate noobs like myself

Post: Leasing monthly instead of yearly due to Covid

Post: Leasing monthly instead of yearly due to Covid

Post: Uncharted territory for me: New Investor in Raleigh NC

Post: Mobile home park eviction

Post: Uncharted territory for me: New Investor in Raleigh NC

Post: Building credit from no credit history

Post: Uncharted territory for me: New Investor in Raleigh NC