All Forum Posts by: Emily McCabe

Just to clarify, there are no leases. 

I have 2 properties under contract, 6 units total. 3 of the units are occupied, and 3 are vacant. I really want at least 2 of the tenants to move out before closing, preferably all 3, due to liability issues (the properties have lead paint and will need repairs before getting lead certs, plus 1 of the tenants is a drug dealer). Should I offer them cash to move out before closing? How much should I offer, and how would you word the offer? It’s an estate sale, so the seller will not be involved at all, but we are getting a great deal (150k under appraised value) so I think it’s worth paying whatever is needed to get them out, but I know they aren’t going to be excited to leave.

I have a tenant in a 3-unit building who has been having angry outbursts and scaring our other tenants. We sent him a warning letter (at our lawyer's suggestion) after a bad outburst about a month ago. Ultimately we'd like to get rid of him, but our lawyer thought it was best to send a warning first, and then if we get another complaint, we can send him a 30-day notice. We haven't had any other complaints for the past month except for one saying he was "slamming doors". Then today, my husband went over there to mow the lawn, and the tenant came out complaining about one of the other tenants (a young woman) and ended the conversation by saying "This ends today!" and walking away. Would you interpret that as a threat? Should we be concerned? We are giving the lawyer another call today, but I was hoping for any suggestions or reassurance from other landlords as this whole situation is stressing me out (I'm also 9 months pregnant which doesn't help) and we're not really sure what to do.

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for your help. I took into consideration every piece of advice that was posted on here, and I revised my ad, as well as decided to accept pets with an extra fee and deposit. Not only did I get the unit rented quickly after making those changes, but we just finished renovating our other vacant unit, and we got it rented in 1 day. The applicants with pets seemed to be much better qualified than the other applicants we were getting, for some reason. Thanks again to everybody for all the helpful advice!

@Andrew Johnson I hadn't noticed that about the laundry section, I will update right away.. Can't believe I missed that. I originally had a picture of the exterior, but I took it down. The building is a house that was split into 3 apartments, and when I had it up, almost every single person who contacted me thought I was renting out an entire house. This is the building:

Maybe I need to put that picture back up, and change the description to make it VERY clear that it's an apartment. 

As for the pets.. I think you're right, I think we are narrowing our tenant pool too much. My husband is dead-set against pets because he doesn't want calls from the other tenants about dogs barking, and he doesn't want the floors destroyed by cat pee. But we might have to re-visit the issue. Thanks again for the help

@Andrew Johnson you're right about the holidays, and I'll try doing 2 group showings per week and see if that helps. Thanks! One problem I've had is that a huge number of people who have contacted me have pets, and I'm not allowing pets. I guess they don't bother to read the ad. Here is the link to my Zillow posting: 

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/212-Goodwins-Qu...

Any criticism of my listing would be appreciated as well :)

I bought my first property last year, and this is my first time trying to fill a vacant unit. I listed the 3-bedroom unit for rent over a month ago. I think it's priced appropriately, and I posted it a number of places online. I get, on average, 5 messages every day from people who are "interested". We've had 12 people scheduled for group showings, but only 5 have showed up. Of those 5, 3 have filled out applications, and I've approved 2 of them. Both people who were "approved" then failed to come up with the security deposit. What am I doing wrong here? I know it's a bad time of year to fill a vacancy, but is it normal to have this much trouble? I've already lowered the price once and it seemed to make no difference in the amount of interest. I'm getting very nervous, as this property is a triplex and we're renovating another unit, so 2/3 units are vacant right now, and I'm paying electric bills for both of those to keep pipes from freezing. I'm just looking for any advice or encouragement from more experienced landlords. Thanks!

@Jordan Ursino I just found out about the drug paraphernalia yesterday. This was my first deal, there were definitely mistakes made that I won't make again. It's not a cheap property, it's a good property in a good area. The 2 occupied units are in good condition, the vacant unit needed some cosmetic work and that's in progress. The reason his rent was low was because his parents had rented the unit for 5 years, rent was never raised, and the previous owner (who passed away) had cut them a deal for doing yard work, etc. His unit is also the smallest (1 bedroom, the other units are 2 bed and 3 bed). I still think this will be a great property once I get rid of this 1 tenant. The other inherited tenant has been fine so far, and he has a written lease, security deposit, etc.

@Anastasia Jordan lol, I think you're exactly right. When I explained to him that he can't afford the apartment, he mentioned something about "side money". He should never have been allowed to move in in the first place. He definitely needs to go asap..

@Shawn Ackerman thanks! If I try cash for keys, how long do you think I should give him to get everything out? He has a LOT of stuff.