All Forum Posts by: Eric Skiba

That’s absolutely my thinking  i guess I was hung up on the “definitions” of doing a repair such as buying a machine isn’t a repair per se, however if it’s needed to restore a unit back to what it was prior to you smoking in it, it’s absolutely a repair in my mind  within reason of course  

Thank you for your response. I did not own any type of air remediation equipment. Never had a need to until now. I did do inspections and I did not pick up on as strong of a scent as I did at final walk through. I have documented conversations of warning him and his admittance to smoking indoors. 

I would assume my action of an air purifier and paint would be more reasonable as opposed to professionally hiring a team to do it which would be more costly for both parties. Connecticut tenant/landlord law governing security deposits leaves it so vague, just saying you need to provide an itemized list with amounts “of repaired damages, not including normal wear and tear”

In my eyes, he signed the lease saying no smoking, the smoke smell wasn’t there to begin with, and in order to remediate it back to move in condition I have to incur a charge to get the proper equipment. Just my opinion and I’m not the judge! 

Hi All,

Real estate investor here from Connecticut

i have a situation i have never encountered before. My rental unit is non smoking, and upon lease termination the whole apartment smells like smoke, as well as dried up nicotine spots all over the walls. Aside from the deep cleaning and painting, i read that to really remove the smell you need an air purifier with carbon filter, both of which i dont own as of now. The law is very vague in what is allowed to be deducted. Considering i do not own this equipment and its a direct relation to the smoke damage, am i able to deduct this from the security deposit? (purchasing an air purifier and carbon filer)

Any insight would be extremely helpful!

Hi All,

i bought my first rental property in June of 2017. its a 2 family home, bought for 165k. Due to it being my first experience i thought FHA was the best way to go, due to the low down payment option. However, now that im in it for 2 years im realizing its no longer a benefit as i am paying $120 a month for mortgage insurance. Couple that with the fact that i cannot ever remove this on this FHA loan, its erking me paying that every month. The rental across the street from me just sold for 290k, granted its about 300 SF larger, i assume this will boost my valuation a bit. It currently is valued at 200k and i owe 155k, so i have some equity there. I wonder if a cash out refinance to a conventional loan would be a good bet. I currently have a 4% interest rate on the loan. Any insight from guys who have done this before would be greatly appreciated.

Hi all, 

First time posting here! Some good information on this site. 

I have a question I would like to get everyone’s opinion on. I have a tenant who will be going on 2 years living at my rental. For the first year he was always paying on the first of the month. Now, he’s been 2-3 days late and currently still hasn’t paid for this month. This is after numerous emails, and texts to him that have gone unanswered. I know he reads the emails and texts because he has answered them in the past. 

My question is, how do you guys judge when it’s time to tell the tenant to hit the road? I feel like this is one of those “what you feel is right, is right” moments, and I have been increasingly feeling like it’s time to say see ya, but the data doesn’t besides this one month. 

Side note, the guy is an emotional roller coaster sometimes. It seems like he try’s to “show me a lesson” by not paying the rent on time if he finds out I was on vacation, or finds out I bought a new home. He has made comments in the past that paint that picture so it’s not a full assumption. Thanks for the input!

I believe LLC would be the easiest route. However not all banks allow LLC's to be the one they lend to (if you're financing) I tried putting my rental in a LLC and I was told by the lender that they won't due it. It was "too risky" for them