All Forum Posts by: Heather R.

They absolutely can show the unit and it is best/common practice for managers to make sure prospective tenants like the unit prior to signing a lease... It takes a little effort to show an occupied unit as the manager would need to coordinate (ideally) with the tenant and post a notice of entry 24 hours in advance. It could also be that the current tenants are slobs or have damaged the unit and they are hoping to avoid showing it to prospective tenants. 

Best of luck and I hope you are able to find a better complex and a manager who is willing to do his/her job!

From personal experience: I currently live in my partner's house and pay half of almost everything, even though I get no equity from it. I see this as renting but don't have a lease and would question the stability of my relationship if my partner asked me to sign one... We moved from a house I owned and I did not have him sign a lease either. We were both really up front with each other and understood that each of our assets are our own. I hope you are able to find a compromise that works!

Hi Wesley! I live in Seattle and have decided to invest elsewhere because the barrier to entry is soooo high here. Duplexes get extremely expensive and you will be fighting many buyers to get one. That said, the Seattle area is booming and has a great economy so, if you are able to find a place where the numbers work, go for it!!! Best of luck :)

@Lam Dinh @Denis F.

Denis you are correct - you must live in the unit while renting out the MIL in Seattle.

Lam - Additionally, all rentals must be registered with the city although I believe the MIL would be exempted from the inspection requirement (http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/codesrules/codes/rental...). Also note that banks usually require you to live in the unit for a specific amount of time if you receive owner-financing.

Wow!! What an intense situation. I have dealt with tenants like these in the past as an apartment manager. Do you have a lease? When is the lease up? Is the tenant on month to month? I am not sure you need a lawyer at this point, but it might be a good idea....

If I were in this situation, I would immediately require that all repairs/maintenance be done by professionals only, and not by the tenant (hopefully per the lease). Note that, with proper written notice (letter), you can enter the property without his permission to perform repairs (although it is much better to have cooperation). (See RCW 59.18.150)

In terms of the major appliances breaking, there are RCW laws that require landlords to commence 'remedial action' within a specific time period. For refrigerators and other major appliances it is within 72 hours. Remedial action, based on my understanding, does not mean it has to be fixed within the time period, but that arrangements to have it fixed must must be made. (See RCW 59.18.070)

If the tenant is on month to month or does not have a lease, you could give a 20 day (at least 20 days) written notice (prior to the end of the month or point that payment is made) that the tenancy will be terminated. (See RCW 59.18.200). If the tenant is on lease still (which it sounds like he is not?), you could notify him that his tenancy will be ending at the end of the lease. 

Hope this helps a bit! Good luck!

@Wendy Carpenter Sounds great! I will PM you to talk about when and where!

@Bob Razler Ah! Interesting... from the seller's perspective, I can see this as a solution. Just to clarify, the addendum to the AOS is for me (the seller) to avoid being in default at closing? Or the buyer?

@Matthew Paul Sheesh... good point.

@Matthew Paul Thank you!!

If this situation comes about, and the buyer really wants to make it work, do we need to have it in the contract of sale? Or can I just work this out with the buyer? Or can we redo the contract of sale if it is required to be in there?

Hello BP,

I am currently selling a property in Seattle that got bid up quite a bit over the ask price. Which is great! But I am not certain that it will appraise for that amount. I accepted an offer from a first time home buyer who might not be able to make up the entire difference if the appraisal comes in low.

Question: Is there any way to seller-finance the last portion for the buyer? For example, if they needed to make up 20k between the offer and the appraised value on which the bank will loan, can I give them a loan over several years? Or will the bank not allow this?

Any help is appreciated!

Heather

@Ryan Evans

Hi Ryan - thanks for the tips! I will check them out for sure! 

I actually listened to the podcast with Tarl Yarber recently (great episode!) and was especially interested because he is local (and who could forget a name like Tarl ;)

If you could point me in the right direction toward a good broker, I would be grateful!