All Forum Posts by: Gil Amram

Hello everyone!

I wanted to consult with some experienced landlord on this issue: I am a small time landlord (two rental units) and everry now and then I face situation that I need a legal advice. The thing is, for the most part I just need to ask question or get clarification, and not actually take legal action that will give the lawyer a retainer (after all, I consult in order to avoid having to use a lawyer :) )

So I guess I am curious how do other small time landlord handle this? Should I offer a lawyer some "consultation fee" ? or am I taking it too far? I know there may not be a definitive way but I was wondering what others do. 

Thank you!

Hi,

I have a Landlord questions regarding a roommate situation (young couple) and a request for temporary subletting.

They are an early 20's female couple/partners who moved in from out of state because one of them have found a job with a very large and known company. The other one was planning to get a job after moving in. The one with the job (which was verified by me) had enough income to cover income/rent ratio, and the other one had good previous employment history (verified by me as well) but no current earnings.

Between then and now the second tenant told me she found a job, so as of now they are both employed (to the best of my knowledge)

About a couple of months later, the 1st tenant told me that her work place give their new employees an opportunity to rotate between sites for 3 months at a time, and that she would like to try that, and asks if it will be possible to have someone else stay instead of her for these 3 months during the summer. She suggested that she and her partner attempt to find the replacement, and once they do they will refer her to me so that I can do my own vetting as I do with any prospective tenant.

I have told her that this is something that we can do, but that I will discuss specifics with her at a later date (I was getting ready to head out for a big trip)

I did start to have some second thoughts about my answer. My ultimate consideration was this: It is best for me to try to accommodate, while making sure I am covered as reasonably possible, rather than simply say "no" and end up with a resentful tenant.

I guess my question is, what stipulations should I insist on going forward with this? I know that there are the considerations if this arrangement is to go forward, but I know that once roommate changes start to happen, things can change and situations that I cannot foresee can arise.

I welcome any tips or thoughts on the matter,

Thank you

Thank you both for your replies

Good day!

This is my first post, so I will include a small intro to my question. I want to ask about financing options for an upcoming deal.

My wife and I have been investing for about 8 years. We own 1 Duplex rental and one single family that is our home. Both of those were bought back earlier this decade when they were in very bad shape. We paid all cash, and we did the remodel almost entirely ourselves using our own money. 

We got to a point where we are ready for a new project. We found someone who wishes to sell a package deal of two nearly identical duplexes. This will require more than the cash we have on hand (120K), so we will need more using financing, around 120K-200K more.

While both of our assets are worth around 400K, our income is very limited. We do not have "day jobs", instead we do actual work on our properties, and our income is our rent revenues (about 30K a year gross) so basically we are:

* 400K in equity

* 30K gross yearly income

* Virtually zero existing debt (less than $1000 on consumer credit cards) 

* Excellent credit (slightly higher than 800)

The two ways I know to get financing is either going to my own back (PNC, where we have our on accounts & our LLC business account) and Teacher's credit union. I was wondering if anyone knows of other options, that might be more suitable for our circumstances (very low income, reasonable equity, and ability to put around 50% down)

Thank you in advance!