All Forum Posts by: Gil Wildridge

People in a building, from my experience, chose that buildings because they want certain rental amenities and sometimes have higher expectations. They're also often not familiar with the local area (people tend to find listings for large buildings first and if they're new to the area they're usually more comfortable with large buildings). They are usually more concerned about security and are slightly less likely to have kids. 

Tenants in small multifamilies are often longer time locals of an area and are choosing to live in a specific section of a city, for the schools or for a shorter commute or something. They might have worse credit depending on the owner of the small multifamily and the screening processes in place (larger buildings almost always have better screening). Because multifamilies often have proper back yards and are in neighborhoods built for families, I've at least found that multifamily tenants are more likely to have kids and often that means that they're more likely to know a couple things about home improvement and either have special maintenance requests or want to fix unit issues themselves. 

But these are just my personal experiences. It's worth getting some demographic data on each kind of tenant if you're looking for a full picture, or just visit a couple larger buildings and compare the people you talk to there to people living in multifamilies that you've met or managed.

Yes, buy them. Other local landlords are going to know where to get the best deals most likely. Sometimes, vendors that regularly attend your local REIA will have some solid deals just for landlords.

Regardless of the market it's pretty much a screening thing. Better screening is the easiest way to avoid the problem in the first place, and the problem isn't just eviction. It's unit turns after and often tenants who leave on bad terms take it out on the unit, etc. 

I have always been a believer in getting as much money as possible from the tenant before evicting them to minimize the costs associated with turning a unit because where I work, in an older city with a ton of small multifamilies, those costs can add up even in the best of times. If you're worried about the tenant damaging the unit, you can work out a deal with a landlord/tenant judge where they can pay what they can and leave immediately. In a lot of places, evictions are quick enough it shouldn't be an issue but I do tend to live by the motto "never underestimate how much damage a pissed off tenant can cause in just a few hours."

In those cases where a tenant suffered a minor setback and is back on track, if they are scheduled for a hearing before they're evicted they will often pay before that or when they see the notice on the door, but only if you file relatively soon.

It really is good screening and filing quickly and consistently that minimize nasty non-payment issues in just about any kind of market. 

It depends on management style I guess. If a tenant is being rude just to me, I don't care that much. I don't know what's going on in their lives, and usually if someone is punching up at a landlord or their representative it's because of something in their lives that they're really stressed out about. And as long as they're current and not breaking rules in the lease, they can say rude things to me.

But blasting loud music etc sounds past that. If they're doing anything another tenant would complain about I send them a written warning and the minute another tenant complains is when I'll double check to see if I can file eviction for that specific thing and give the tenant three days to knock it off. 

In general, if I personally don't like something, it's less of a cause for concern than if a good tenant doesn't like it. Always stick your neck out for the good tenants and replace the bad ones as soon as you can.

Yeah I could never ethically tell someone to just buy a property entirely sight unseen, especially if they're counting on the returns for their financial security. 

To be as fair as possible, I'll let everyone know who would have qualified that the unit has been filled and is no longer available. There's no reason to provide details, though I do let people know if anyone asks that we do not accept bulk up-front rent payments or anything like that because I absolutely do not want a prospective tenant to think that someone else swooped in with a bunch of cash last minute. That is not a good look and it isn't fair to otherwise good and qualified tenants. 

Of course, if we have another available unit that's similar to the one they were looking at, I'll pivot to that and offer to move their current application over to that unit as long as they would still qualify under whatever the new unit's rent is. 

Having some experience in NJ courts, I would say file for eviction now. Don't be confrontational about it, but let the tenant know that this is something that has to be done and you still want to work things out with them as much as possible. Let the tenant know this in writing and if you need to, also speak with them, but always in writing first in these situations. 

The VCCO might not give you information outside of how much the tenant should be getting for rent payments, which is why filing for eviction is a good step. the VCCO will be notified and they may come to you, and you can get some answers that way.

Another thing about filing is that the court can enforce a payment plan and a condition of the payment plan could be that you receive your payments directly and that rent is taken out of the tenant's compensation package before the rest of it is given to them. That helps you recover some of the money so if things proceed to a lockout, you're not as bad off financially. It also keeps the door open for a cash for keys situation in case the tenant can't pay all of it. Those are always good because your unit can get on the market again faster and the tenant usually leaves in an orderly fashion.

NJ is an attorney state. If you have your properties LLCs, by law you have to have an attorney. If not, it's your choice but I would recommend looking into it. The fact is that landlord/tenant attorneys and judges know each other and eat lunch at the same places and if you get an attorney that the judge listens to, you're in a good spot. A good attorney can let you know what judges are landlord friendly and what judges are tenant friendly. They can also make sure that your case is scheduled promptly because again, they know people and know how to get things done within the judicial system, which can be confusing on a good day. 

Find someone who's an expert in the market in which you're looking to buy and who has some roots in the area. An agent that helps your portfolio grow should know enough about the local economy to know what's growing and what isn't. More than what you might see on paper, knowing where people work and the places that are hiring will give you a good idea of what rent people will sustainably pay. I'd definitely look for an agent who has either investment or property management experience so that they understand your perspective because they've lived it themselves. 

I also wouldn't necessarily look for an agent one at a time. Get on a few lists and see who wants to bring you the best deals. Pay attention to how they speak about the area and you'll get a good sense for who actually knows what they're talking about. Give each one the same feedback to see who listens best to what you say.

Hopefully everything works out. In the time you've had this tenant, have you or they had any conversations about their actual ability to pay? If not the tenant may surprise you by claiming that they can't. This may or may not be true, but either way it sounds like your best move may be a court ordered payment plan. They will probably stick to that for a short period and then go delinquent again, but it's much easier to deal with if they violate a payment plan in most cases and at least you get some of your money back.

They might be a professional tenant. When you screened them, did their background come up fine except for a couple of evictions or court appearances that they were eager to talk about and had long and detailed explanations for? Because that can be a red flag.  

Definitely a screening issue. Three out of four problems can be solved by screening the right tenants in the first place. Might be worth it to hire a PM, or to look into getting a professional screening service. Hopefully everything works out!