All Forum Posts by: Don Jackson

I have a property in Milwaukee with some good tenants. What I mean by that is they pay their rent on time and I get no maintenance problems. I thought everything was fine until I received a letter in the mail from one of the neighbors. I called this neighbor and she described to me the drug deals going on and the loud music in the cars that pull up to the house at all hours. She tells me that she called the property manager, but didn't get much in the way of warm and fuzzy feelings.

I assured her that I would look into it. Just what "look into it" means, I'm not really sure. I want to do right by the neighborhood. If my tenants are a nuisance I want to get rid of them.  Their lease goes until September. 

Is my best option to tell the property manager that I want these tenants out at the end of their lease?

I will cal the property manager on Monday. What should I say?

As an added note, Renters Warehouse is my PM. I'm not sure what kind of experience people have had with them.

My PM is very willing to send someone in to make repairs on my properties. They generally provide me with pictures of the damage, which I appreciate. 

Is it a generally accepted practice that they send pictures of the repaired item? My PM does not, so I'm wondering what other property managers do.

I purchased a duplex in Saint Paul MN. It is being rehabbed now. I plan to rent it out, then refinance it.

For my last BRRRR I used a traditional big bank. For this property I would like to try using a local investor friendly bank.

Does anyone have a recommendation for one in the St. Paul area? I was referred to a local credit union, but when I went in they told me they can't give me an account because I live out of state.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

I live in California and own properties in three different states. After reading many forum posts I've decided that its a good idea to form one or more LLC's and then transfer the properties into them.

The question I have is which state should I use? The state where the property resides, or in California? Or maybe a third state?

Thanks.

I purchased a duplex in Saint Paul Minnesota sight unseen. The purchase price included rehab and getting tenants in it so it’s basically a turnkey purchase. I’ve decided to go out and visit the property. My wife and I will be there on Saturday September 30th in the afternoon until Monday October 2nd in the evening. My goal is to see the property and meet with the guys involved in the rehab and property management. I also plan to meet with a local bank to talk about a refi down the road.

Can you give me some suggestions on how to best use my time?

I plan to drive around and get a feel for the area. The property is north of the river near the Arlington hills library. I already know that it’s not the best area, so if you have any insights, please be candid.

If there are any investors in the area that would like to have coffee and discuss the area, I would love to meet you. Thanks!

Just had a long talk with my PM. We went through each item on the bill. Some items were reduced to reasonable levels. Some items were taken out completely, and other we agreed were my responsibility and not the tenant.

This may not sound like a win, when we agree that I would pay an item rather than the tenant, but it just makes sense. 

For example: The change lock fee. I've paid for this in other properties and I understand I should pay it here. 

Same goes for the gutter cleaning (at much less than the $200 originally quoted).  This should be considered normal wear and tear on a property.

Thank you all for your excellent comments and suggestions. I feel like this has been a great learning experience.

Thanks for all your feedback. I'm currently trying to reach my PM. They have gone dark.

I have emailed them asking them to explain each item and why they are so high. I've left voice mails.

I'll update this thread after I get more information.  You guys are all very helpful with your comments.

Thanks for all of your input.

Here's what I'm getting so far:

1) The fees seem rather high. I should contact the PM and get justification for each one.

2) Either the PM reduces some fees, or I step up and pay some of them myself, but the tenant shouldn't have to pay all of these egregious fees.

3) I should not contact the tenant directly. I should go through the PM

4) I should consider firing this PM.

Am I missing anything?

This is a first for me. I hope some of my more seasoned BP friends can shed some light.

My SFR is managed by a property manager. The tenant recently moved out. They had $1,050 on deposit.

The property manager did an inspection and then prepared a letter to the tenant detailing all of the charges to be taken out of their deposit. The charges were more than their deposit so they were sent a bill.

I received a letter from an attorney demanding that the entire amount be returned to the ex-tenant. He threatened a lawsuit.

When I look through the list of charges, I am a little disturbed.

$100 to replace the furnace filters

$200 for gutter cleaning

$150 to change the locks

$50 Move out inspection fee

$200 Cleaning fee

$150 Floor cleaning

The list goes on. One large amount is for an unpaid water bill. I understand the tenant needs to pay for that, but I'm not sure if the tenant should have to pay for all of these other fees.

I understand that if the tenant doesn't pay out of their deposit, then I have to pay these fees.

I have two questions:

1) Is it standard for a property manager to charge all of these fees upon move out? Should I try to negotiate some of these fees with them? If they don't charge the tenant, then I end up paying for them.

2) How should I approach the ex-tenant? I thought I could write them a letter saying that I will split some of the costs with them and give them part of their deposit back. (the attorney stated in his letter that I should reply directly to the tenant and not go through the attorney) 

My goal is to avoid a lawsuit, but I don't want to just roll over and pay all of these fees myself.

Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Did my math wrong - meant to say I should owe 4 months and previous owner should owe 8 months...