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All Forum Posts by: Fareen E.

Fareen E. has started 9 posts and replied 39 times.

Post: Expensive lesson by leaving one clause out of rental agreement

Fareen E.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Southwest MI
  • Posts 40
  • Votes 19
Quote from @Stephanie Menard:
Quote from @Jerry W.:

@Stephanie Menard, I have been an attorney for over 36 years with about half of that being a prosecuting attorney.  First I have to agree with @Russell Brazil that you have a lazy cop.  I would definitely go directly into the police department or try to get a call to make a report directly.  Officers all too often think the know the law simply because they wear a badge, when they actually know a lot less than most folks.  It is likely the officer was being lazy, otherwise you wouldn't have the it's not in your lease statement.  It is also possible that either the folks in charge of the station, or the prosecutor have set a policy of not wanting to pursue non violent crimes, or even not paying attention to crimes against folks who are not local residents.  The fact is that anyone who takes, leads, or carries away the property of another with the intent to convert it to their own use or deprive the owner of it is committing a crime.  Saying it wasn't in the lease or @Kevin Sobilo saying it just comes down to one person's word against another would negate virtually every crime.   After all rape is just the word of the victim that it was not consensual sex, breaking and entering, well the door was already broken, every theft, every credit card fraud, well the owner said I could.  Yes, lazy cop and or lazy boss or lazy prosecutor.  I have found the best way to get attention is to go the press and be very loud about the lazy or indifferent system.  I have had several cases where I finally got cops or government officials to only do their job after being very loud to the newspapers, but it does work.  

Make sure they know you plan to publicly point out to the local newspapers, Mayor's Office, and anyone who will be campaigning against them, just how stupid and lazy they are.  I would write a letter to the editor talking about the corruption or laziness of the cop, his boss and the Chief of Police.  I hate to be this way but publicity works.  Too bad the election is over, because loud stinky letters to the press really work well during election season.

Anyway, you have my condolences.  I am ashamed that we have folks like that wearing the badge or holding the office.  Maybe they can get unelected or fired.

Sorry for the rant.  No hehe I guess I am not sorry about it.

Thank you, Jerry. I appreciate your help. I’ve written a letter to the Police Chief Amd the mayor quoting the detective who said, “Well, we gave it the college try” after I told him that the tenant blocked me from contacting him.  I will be going to the news if I don’t get a response. The tenant will likely do it again, and the crime will continue perpetuating because law enforcement looks away. At this point, it’s the principal. I’ll likely never see a dime if I take this up civilly. But saving someone else from this happening would be vindication.  On a side note, should I contact the DA directly? I know the detective didn’t even bother talking to them when I filed my report. 
I feel like social media will be more permanent.. 

Post: Start lease on closing date or the day after?

Fareen E.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Southwest MI
  • Posts 40
  • Votes 19
Quote from @Kyle Mccaw:

@Fareen E.

Great question, and it’s excellent that you’re thinking ahead about this scenario. Based on my experience managing a significant number of rentals, leasing back to a seller can work, but it’s essential to approach it carefully.

  1. Lease Start Date:
    The lease should be signed at closing and start on the same day—Monday in your case. This ensures a clean transition of ownership and responsibility for insurance purposes. As the new owner, you’ll want the lease and your landlord insurance policy to take effect as soon as you take title to the property.
  2. Temporary Lease Considerations:
    While short-term leases can work well, leasing to a seller long-term often leads to complications. Sellers may struggle to mentally shift from "owner" to "tenant," which can create challenges with boundaries and property care.
  3. Security Deposit:
    If you’re doing a temporary leaseback, be sure to collect a substantial security deposit to cover potential damages and ensure they vacate on time. This protects your investment and gives you leverage if there are issues.
  4. Other Tips:
    • Make sure the lease explicitly defines the move-out date.
    • Conduct a thorough walkthrough with documentation before and after the lease period to avoid disputes.

Handling a seller-to-tenant situation can be tricky, but with the right precautions, it can work smoothly.


 KYLE, Kyle, Kyle.......
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆

Your post reply is LITERAL gold. THANK YOU! FTR, I'm doing exactly what you outlined. Signing at closing, it's a short-term lease, sec deposit is a full month's rent, and there is a clearly defined move-out date. 

Get ready -- I'm sending you a connect request! Thank you :)

Post: Start lease on closing date or the day after?

Fareen E.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Southwest MI
  • Posts 40
  • Votes 19
Quote from @Phillip Austin:

@Fareen E. You’ll want to start the lease on your closing day. But following @Kim Meredith Hampton’s advice, do not countersign the lease until you actually close. 

If closing gets pushed, adjust the lease start date accordingly. 


Thank you so much. I agree 100% and appreciate this. I am drafting the lease and planning to take it with me to closing, where we will be executing the document. It's tricky because we are doing the pre-lease inventory of the premises during *my* purchase final walkthrough lol. But it works. Thank you for your advice :)

Post: Start lease on closing date or the day after?

Fareen E.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Southwest MI
  • Posts 40
  • Votes 19
Quote from @Kim Meredith Hampton:

Honestly, I would not sign any lease until you positively close and legally own the property. Anything can and does happen all the time. I have seen these circumstances; people die, go out and buy a car, lose their job, etc… 

Just my own two cents, I’m not an attorney, just play one on TV


 Yes :) but I am drafting it ahead of time. Also, she's my elementary school teacher and I know her well and I'm the agent. 

Post: Start lease on closing date or the day after?

Fareen E.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Southwest MI
  • Posts 40
  • Votes 19
Quote from @Jaron Walling:

Follow your lease. Prorate the rent for the first month.  


 Thank you. Let me clarify. I'm trying to understand if the lease begins on the day of closing or the day after, if closing is at 2pm.

Post: Start lease on closing date or the day after?

Fareen E.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Southwest MI
  • Posts 40
  • Votes 19

*my tenant

Post: Refusing a Tenant Prospect Before Showing/Application

Fareen E.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Southwest MI
  • Posts 40
  • Votes 19
Quote from @Caria Mitchell:
I second this, if asking for the identification is for the sole purpose of verifying one’s identity then it’s not a violation of the fair housing act, however, if it were to verify someone’s citizenship or something that is not required in order to meet the housing requirements then it could be determined as housing discrimination .

Quote from @Steve K.:
Quote from @David Spurlock:

Hey @Fareen E.,

You've gotten a lot of feedback here saying you are in the clear to decline them. However, I would disagree. I do the majority of my leasing on Facebook and Zillow and I never ask for an ID. You need to think about this from the tenant's perspective. While Facebook Marketplace isn't the sketchiest site (craigslist), I personally would never give my ID across it. If the only indication that he is difficult is not wanting to send his ID to a stranger on Facebook, I wouldn't blame him. 

You are more than welcome to decline a showing because he is not comfortable with your requirements, but you are not allowed to discourage someone from applying to your apartment. That is an easy way to get a Fair Housing Violation case.


Lastly, why do you care who is looking at the property? When they apply is when you should confirm their identity. 


 Asking for ID as a requirement to show a rental is not a fair housing violation, and there are plenty of reasons why a landlord should care who is looking at their property, theft and their own personal safety being the first 2 that spring to mind, followed closely by not wanting to waster their time. If someone isn’t willing to provide ID, they are not a serious applicant and possibly a scammer, so it’s a good screening tool to weed out the tire-kickers and sketch balls. My PM asks for ID as step #1 for these reasons. 



 Hi, thanks so much for your reply. Yes of course - I'm not sure how it came about that the purpose of checking ID was to check citizenship. Not at all. It's a process I have always had in place --- as a realtor --- to weed out scammers, protect myself and also protect the property. Absolutely no screening activity involved whatsoever other than these non-fair housing related mentions. 

Post: Start lease on closing date or the day after?

Fareen E.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Southwest MI
  • Posts 40
  • Votes 19

Hi, I'm closing on a property of which the Seller will become by tenant. Our closing is scheduled for 2pm on Monday. Keeping insurance and ownership in mind, what is the correct day to start the lease?

Thank you for the absolute TREASURE trove of knowledge and selfless peer education provided on this forum. 

Fareen

Post: Expensive lesson by leaving one clause out of rental agreement

Fareen E.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Southwest MI
  • Posts 40
  • Votes 19

@Stephanie Menard

As a Realtor and also someone that has worked in a PD, I think it might be helpful to add language somewhere in the lease about not removing personal property, and alluding to a corresponding inventory list since this is a furnished rental. I do agree with the others that the officer doesn’t seem to be doing their best here and further due diligence/follow up on your part might be useful. Hope my two cents is useful and sorry you’re dealing with this.

Post: Corporate Transparency Act -- FOR NOW: Voluntary Submission Only

Fareen E.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Southwest MI
  • Posts 40
  • Votes 19

Note: Short and succinct updates are provided on the https://fincen.gov/boi website but I like to get more context. Something to watch if you are mindful of the government being over-involved in nearly every single LLC registration. If not, the forms are available to submit.

Very brief summary of article: CTA has a issued a nationwide Stay on the January 1, 2025 deadline for beneficial ownership reporting to the (Federal) Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The ruling was appealed.