All Forum Posts by: Duncan Taylor

You know, now that I go back and re-read the first post in this thread, I think we are helping someone with their homework.

I agree. My "spidy sense" says Todd may have really moved out about 9 1/2 months ago.

I'd check the certification on the dog. Certification is not required and many are bogus.

To be considered a service dog, the person using it must have a disability preventing them from handling some kind of life task without the assistance of the service dog or at great difficulty without the dog. The disability must be documented or easily observable and the dog must have received SPECIFIC training to perform the needed task. If those are not met, it is not covered under the ADA nor the ADA Restoration Act.

So, if it is not obvious how this dog is a service dog, I'd ask for documentation on the task the dog performs, the training it received for it and how that task mitigates the disability the person claims.

Legitimate owners of service dogs should have absolutely no problem proving their claims. The bogus ones, well, they are counting on the landlord just rolling over and not doing their due diligence.

I love dogs and I have always held there are no bad or evil dogs, the problem is always the owner and trainer.

Having said that, you must comply with the law but so must the person claiming their adorable pooch is a service dog and not just their pet or watchdog.

It depends on the state and locality but from what you describe here, I'd be surprised of Frank has much if any recourse as long as the new rent doesn't violate the local regs.

I wouldn't discount the rent for a two year lease.

With a one year lease they would likely see an increase at renewal, I might agree to forgo the increase for a two year lease.

I get why some like month to month leases but once you get enough properties the general predictability of leases of at least a year start to make a lot of economic sense.

Tenants do not have any such right. They have to right to know where and how to pay their rent, how to contact someone about maintenance or a problem and where to send or serve legal notice and to live in the property with quiet enjoyment as long as they pay the rent and follow the terms of the lease or rental agreement.

They have no more right to "know who they are renting from" than you have a right to know the details of every single GE stockholder just because you bought one of their light bulbs.

It is a long and contorted road from an apartment complex in Nashville to the partnership we setup decades ago and the trust I originally created in the 1980s. Could it be done? Probably. Would it be easy to do? Not on your life. Would the average tenant have the means to do it? Are you kidding? They rent for a reason for goodness sake!

Large investing partnerships, like the one I sold out of in 2012, do not hold properties in pass-through entities or in people's names. Nor do they engage in vanity naming of their entities.

When we purchased a property it went into a C corp. It could be one set up specifically for that property if the acquisition was large enough or posed some kind of unique risk. You wouldn't need to do a skip trace to find out the owner of the property, the local tax assessor has that. You wouldn't need to do a skip trace to find out who the President/CEO, Secretary, Registered Agent and in most cases the Treasurer of the corporation are, the local Secretary of State in that state would have all of that. You could probably dig up where the corporation has in-state bank accounts without too much effort. But, beyond that you would never get the names of the shareholders of a privately held corporation without the cooperation of that corporation or a court order.

Interestingly, if you were able to get the shareholders of that front line corporation, you'd find yourself chasing another entity in the food-chain.

I am not claiming the ultimate owners can't be found. It is all a cat and mouse game and if someone is willing to spend enough time, effort and money, I have no doubt they could eventually work their way up to the ultimate partners, or at least our family trusts. Since no one in their right mind is the trustee of their own trusts, you would have a big problem with that next step to the beneficiaries without a court order.

I am very old school and you aren't going to like the advice I am about to give you...

You are not ready to invest in anything other than your future. I know the gurus hype you can jump in with no money, no credit and no knowledge and make a million dollars while you sleep.

You need to concentrate on building a solid financial foundation. If you don't have a job you need to find one even if it something like delivering pizzas. If you can find one, you need to create one. No, buying a rental with no credit and no cash to put into the deal is not creating a job. It is probably creating a job for your future bankruptcy attorney.

In Savannah, there is someone I'd recommend you seek out. His name is Howard Spiva and he is a well establish attorney, real estate broker and investor in your area. He is very easy to find on Google or Bing. From time to time he hosts some very good local seminars. Contact his office and find out when the next one will take place. http://www.spivalaw.com/spiva/contact-us

From a maintenance standpoint, brick all the way.

From a repair cost standpoint, if a brick wall was damaged to the point of needing repair, it would cost more to repair or rebuild a brick wall than it would to replace vinyl. But, if you suffer THAT kind of damage, the brick wall is probably the least of your worries.

There is nothing wrong with wholesaling.

The problem is it lends itself to some unsavory behavior from some questionable types.

Used car dealers have the same image problem.