All Forum Posts by: Eddie Lehwald

Thanks for the replies, everybody-been a busy few weeks so I'm just now getting back to this search.

Hey everyone, 

I'm looking to switch accountants next year. My current guy is good but it seems like he's got more clients than he can handle and it led to some frustration this year. My tax situation is slightly complicated-I'm a RE investor but also a self-employed musician and handyman so there's lots of business-related deductions; nothing too crazy but enough that I don't want to do it myself. Sold a house and remodeled another this year as well.

If you've got a great accountant, let me know! If you are a great accountant, then hi! Specifically looking for someone in Austin.

@Peter M. thank you! Just signed new lease today with your language added. Really appreciate the help.

@Peter M. yeah, it's a biggun, 3/2 on each side.

Definitely a pain, but we'll get through this. Do you happen to have an example of some of the language you mentioned?

@Nathan G interesting. We do have the JSL clause, and have pointed it out to these guys. It's one of those things that they don't seem to take seriously until the time comes. The remaining tenant is great and has lived there for 2 years, so I wouldn't feel good about kicking him out. We did decide last night that we're keeping both deposits.

I'm curious about how you have different requirements for unrelated applicants though, can you go into more detail there? Austin is a roommate town, but it would definitely be great to minimize situations like this in the future. 

We're also altering our lease to include clear language and penalties (forfeit deposit + 2 months rent) for a roommate leaving early.

@Caleb Heimsoth Yep, definitely adding that moving forward. I'm torn because roommate B told us verbally he was leaving, but not when. I was under the impression that the new guy was a replacement for roommate A and B wasn't leaving until he found someone. Now yesterday (when I was at work all day long) he tells me "oh wait! I actually did all that work and by the way today's my last day" so I'm a little pissed that he didn't communicate anything to me until literally hours before he left and now we're stuck in a kind of confusing situation.

I think what we may do is keep B's deposit until we find someone to fill that room and then prorate the difference. That feels fair.

2 of 3 roommates in our house-hack duplex left unexpectedly last month. Roommate A gave no notice (to us or the other roommates) and just bounced, Roommate B is moving back to Colorado because he got in a car accident and ended up with a concussion requiring ongoing care, which isn't covered by his insurance in Texas-a crappy situation.

Roommate A has done nothing to fill his vacancy, and no one can get in touch with him. B posted ads and found an acceptable replacement, but those ads had roommate C's contact info so we were under the impression that roommate C had done the legwork. Now we are left with a vacant room and we decided to release A and B from their obligations under the lease, but keep their security deposits. B is complaining "I found a replacement and cleaned! I'm leaving for medical reasons, and A just left one day and hasn't done anything! Not fair!"

My take on the whole thing is that, yep, it's not fair, but the alternative is that we keep both of you on the lease and you pay rent from afar. This way you're free and clear and I'll even give you a good recommendation for another place to live when the time comes.

BP hive mind, are we in the right here? I think that if you break a lease, you should pretty much be expecting to lose your deposit no matter the circumstances.

What say all of you?

Thanks for the recommendations, everybody! I really appreciate it, and I'll be exploring all the options later this week.

@Rick Pozos actually the tenants I inherited in one side of the 78207 duplex are amazing-they take care of the yard and have done some great landscaping improvements, so I got lucky there. There's already been some early warning signs that the management isn't at the top of their game and it's because those areas aren't exactly garden spots that I want management to be strong.

@Sterling Williams thanks, much appreciated!

Hi everybody, I've got two recently rehabbed properties in the SA area-one in Converse (78244) and one on the west side not too far from Our Lady of the Lake University (78207). The Converse is a SF 3/2/2 and the west one is a duplex, 1/1 on each side. I live in Austin, and I've engaged the services of a management company to get these places rented out. Thus far, I am...underwhelmed at best at the job the mgmt co has been doing-(terrible listings, bad photos, spotty communication). So, I'd love some references if anyone has a SA company that they're working with who is doing a great job. Thanks!!!