All Forum Posts by: Glenn Kopensky

Here is the latest update.  I started the eviction process which my lawyer told me I had to do.  I went to the house yesterday with my property manager and the police.  We went inside and no one was there, but there are definite signs that someone is living there. There is opened food laying around covered with bugs and maggots.  The utility companies turned off both the water and electric for non-payment (of course the tenant is in jail). The doors were locked but the back window was broken and the screen clearly cut to make it easy to get in and out there.  I had the window boarded.

Today, my landscaping guy was cutting the grass and cleaning up the grounds.  He called my PM and said a man was trying to get inside.  He put the man on the phone and he tells my PM that he paid a guy rent to live in a room in the house. My PM told him he can't go into the house and whoever he paid rent to has no right to rent it.

So now I have a situation where the only person signed on the lease is in jail for a very long time. No rent is being paid. Utilities are turned off.  Some unknown guy told some other unknown guy that he will rent him a room in the house.  The guy paid rent and moved in.  So the guy that got paid rent committed theft by selling something he doesn't own or has no right to.

I called my lawyer and explained the situation.  She says I still can't change the locks or keep anyone out until eviction is complete.  I am just supposed to leave anyone have access to the house just as if they have a right to live there.  The house is a total mess with no water and electric.

My landscaper said the unknown guy went into the house after he talked to my PM.  Who said this is a landlord friendly state?

If I change the locks, I can't imagine any judge would not take my side.  It's not like the tenant went out shopping and I changed her locks to keep her out. 

Thanks everyone.  Even if I pay him (not on the lease) to leave, I still have to go through the eviction process against the person on the lease. She is in jail.

I bought a house in Palm Beach County this year and it came with an existing tenant with a lease. The lease has only one tenant's name and says up to 5 children under the age of 18.  After I closed, the county removed the children from her custody because of abuse.  Then the tenant was arrested a few weeks ago and will be in jail for a long time. The charge is about as serious as you can get. 

My property manager went to the house and there is a guy living there (over 18).  We have not seen him before or know who he is.  He may have moved in after the tenant was thrown in jail, or maybe he was there before that.  We just don't know.

My lawyer is telling me there is nothing I can do to get this guy out other than go through the formal eviction process against the tenant that is in jail.  I really can't believe that I have no option but to let some unknown stranger who is not on the lease and not allowed to live there just live in this house until an eviction is complete.  My house could be destroyed by then.  He could have wild parties.  Steal fixtures, plumbing, appliances, whatever and I just have to let that happen?

Are there any others with similar experiences or any lawyers familiar with Florida law that can help me?

Thank you.

I refinanced 14 properties last year with one blanket loan. My monthly payments went down by $5,000 plus I cashed out and paid off other debt and bought more properties. Last week, I told the same lender to start another refinance of 10 properties in one loan. That tells you I was happy with the deal. There are advantages and disadvantages.  The main advantages for me are that I can package properties with almost no equity with high interest seller financed mortgages in with other properties that have equity, and that allows me to bring the rate down on the properties I would never be able to refinance otherwise. The second advantage is the 10 mortgage FNMA limit has nothing to do with this loan.  The lender didn't care how many mortgages I have. This is a commercial portfolio loan and is not restricted by FNMA. The third advantage is the lower monthly payment, which is a huge boost to cash flow. 

The disadvantages are that it would be more difficult to sell one property that is in the blanket. You need to watch/negotiate the terms that specify the requirements to sell a property. This isn't a concern to me because I plan to hold my properties into retirement. Also, if the lender ever has to foreclose, you lose all the properties. That happened to my handyman's father. He had a blanket loan and lost all the properties.

This is done through the commercial lending department at my bank. They weren't my bank until they did the loan last year. My previous bank would not do it. They care about cash flow ratios (a real pain) and the ability for the rental income to pay the property expenses and the loan. They were not much interested in my other income from my job. They seemed to concentrate on the package of properties as a business that could stand on it's own.

There were other hurdles and requirements, but overall I think it was a pretty smooth process. Probably easier than refinancing each property separately, which I couldn't do anyway. @Chris Martin is absolutely correct regarding establishing a relationship with a lender that understands the REI business. I was happy to have that.

I would say it depends on the tenant market your rental properties typically draw from.  Jeff Green will be building high-end apartments with all new everything catering to higher income professionals.  My guess is the complex will include amenities like pools and gyms. All that has to be built into the rent, which will be high.  That is not my market so I don't think most investors will be affected.

Do you still have this house to sell?

I refinanced 14 properties, all with mortgages, into one blanket commercial loan earlier this year. It went very smoothly. Costs were high because I had to pay for appraisals, title insurance, legal fees to draft docs, etc.

It saved me about $4,000 per month in payments. I actually plan to do it again next year with other properties, so that tells you I would do it again.

The commercial loan does not show on my credit report (I don't think) and I was told by another bank that it is not included in the FNMA limit.

I had a house in Riviera Beach under agreement to buy from a wholesaler a couple of weeks ago but the deal went bad for reasons neither of us could control. The wholesaler was going to do a double close with the seller and with me on the same day. Frankly, I don't care what the wholesaler is making. All I care about is my deal and whether I feel I am paying a fair price.  I have looked at potential properties to buy and research on the county website shows when the seller bought it and what was paid, but it doesn't change anything about what I'm willing to pay. I only care about my deal.

A search brought me to this discussion forum. I need theft protection for several A/C units. Has anyone tried the GPS tracking module that you put hidden in the A/C unit? When it is moved, you get a call or police get a call, and it is tracked so it can be found. The huge benefit is the thieves hopefully get caught. I found this site and asked for pricing. www.protectmyacunit.com

This is something I have previously requested. Many BP members have investment properties in multiple areas. For instance, I have property in the Philadelphia area and in Florida. When doing my profile (for other members to find me), I had only one choice. I chose West Palm Beach. So anyone looking for investors in Philadelphia, I would not even show up. I would like to see the ability to select multiple cities in the profile. Also, why do we have to make a special request to list an occupation? Why can't we just add it ourselves?