All Forum Posts by: Greg M.

Everyone is talking about raising the rents to cover the expenses. No one is talking about lowering the expenses. 

You say utilities. I assume you mean water, electricity, and gas. Which, if any, are out of line? 

Have you tried to address these things by making some up front investments? Install low flow water heads, swap the washer/dryer with High Efficiency models, replace the water heater with a tankless version and lock the temperature at a reasonable level, install smart thermostats that will automatically reduce the heat/cool when it senses no one is home, swap all the lights for LEDs, etc. Are the fridge/freezer energy efficient? This is typically the single biggest electricity draw in most homes. When was the last time the weather stripping was replaced on the doors and windows or someone went around sealing the tiny window sill cracks with silicone?

I feel like you've been given some awful advice in this thread.

Husband and wife were both tenants. Wife communicated that she has vacated the unit. Husband has communicated that he has not. Can you change the locks? Of course not, you still have a legal tenant. He still has rights to the unit and owns the stuff in it. He has not legally vacated the unit, nor have you legally evicted him. Whether he has paid rent is immaterial. 

If you want to toss everything left into a dumpster before you have legal confirmation of him completely vacating the unit and confirmation that you can trash everything left behind, make sure you catalog it well. You're going to be on the hook for reimbursing the tenant for all you tossed. There are legal requirements for disposing personal property left behind by a tenant. I think it is trash and assume the tenant doesn't want it, does not meet that legal requirement. Without the tenant explicitly stating (preferably in writing) you can trash whatever is left, you likely have a requirement to store items left behind. 

He may leave all the unwanted items and never pay you. That is what the security deposit is for and if need be, the small claims court system.

Your local laws are going to prevail. FL seems to have reigned in HOAs recently, so who knows what they are allowed to do.

I know that in CA, an HOA can ban smoking in units because smoking is not a protected class and the HOA has an interest in the safety & health of the building.

I'm not sure why "within the unit" is not being interpreted to include the balcony. If you own the balcony (check CCRs, I have a unit where I don't own my private balcony) then it is all part of the unit.

As an owner, you're on the hook for the actions of your tenant. If they smoke, you'll get fined. I'd talk to the tenant now. Let them know that the HOA is planning on banning smoking on the entire premises. Let them know that they may wish to look for another place if that is going to be an issue.

Once the tenant moves out you are allowed to charge any amount you like. There are no laws restricting mark-to-market rents. 

The City/County/State rent caps only apply to leases that are being renewed. 

There is a State of Emergency in effect and anti-price gouging laws apply. For items not available before the SoE and hitting the market after the SoE, you can raise prices a max of 50%. This would apply to your unit.

Your biggest concern with setting the rent should be the near future. 1) Your insurance is guaranteed to go up, probably dramatically.  2) You may get an insurance assessment bill to cover the CA Fair Plan losses. Guesstimates are around $1000 per unit. 3) Demand is crazy right now. The builders that were building rentals are most assuredly going to switch over to rebuilding the higher profit multi-million dollar homes. The so-called glut of rentals is gone and prices are strongly higher. Prices are easily up 15% since the fire.

Earlier this month, Lemonade was still quoting renters.

Has the tenant tried getting it from the same company they insure their car with? 

Probably not much of a change due to Trump. Real estate is so localized that most federal based policy changes don't have massive influence.

I can see him (semi-)privatizing Freddie/Fannie. Depending on how it is done and what guarantees the government offers and requires of the released entities, interest rates could move slightly higher. Of course, that could be offset as he works to reduce inflation. Given his spending habits during his first term, it might be a wash.

Costs to build new properties will probably increase. Tariffs on goods and potential reduced labor force (illegals being deported) to build.

I can't see changes in S8 benefits. Public has little desire to see them cut and GOP has no desire to increase funding for this. 

Far less FHA lawsuits against landlords. The BS discrimination claims (you won't rent to felons, and blacks are more likely to be felons, therefore you're a racist) will go away.

If mass deportations were to actually happen, it could slightly ease demand, mainly in larger cities, but probably not enough to change rent rates. I could see a requirement, perhaps under the Patriot Act, that requires all landlords to get a SSN/TIN from everyone living in a unit and report that (or lack of) to the federal government. That would bypass many city/state regulations that force landlords to rent to people here illegally. 

Overall, it's going to be up to the state and local governments to enact changes that will affect the local housing markets. I don't see much of that happening. 

You can't change the past. Document the condition now and if it changes by when they move out, you can charge. 

If it concerns you that much, adjust the purchase price to take into account this added risk. 

What was your goal and timeline when getting these properties? Cash flow? Appreciation? Want to retire in 10/25/40 years? Want to keep these forever, sell in few years, buy more?

Without knowing stuff like this, all the answers provided are meaningless. 

Nothing wrong with negative cash flowing properties provided it meets your investment goals. 

You may want to look at small independent stores. It's amazing how cheap it can get when you're paying physical cash and having your contractor pick it up at the warehouse. It's almost like they tack on a few hundred dollars to the order and forget to charge sales tax. 😲

Yes, you can deduct the 8 days rent from the security deposit. Them physically moving out doesn't end the lease. It ends when they AND their stuff is removed to the level that allows you to begin the re-rental process.