All Forum Posts by: Sam LLoyd

How did you find the property?  How did you market the property?  I've looked at several similar deals over the last couple years, but haven't taken the plunge (with finding a rent-to-own buyer.

My first thought is that this is way too much to bite off for a first deal. Also, in my opinion, the numbers do not look that good. I'm not sure what building costs are in your area, but we would need to know how much you're going to have to put into the SFR. The cash-flow is great from the mobiles, but that's note buying, not real estate buying, and you need to use different calculators for that. So, the big pieces of information you need are the cost to rehab, and the terms of lot rent when the mobiles are purchased...

For single family, If nothing brakes, I can go months between visits.  I try to go through every 6 months or so to make sure that there isn't any defered maintenance that could harm the building.  This would give me an idea of how they are treating the place.  For the multi-family, we go by every 2 or 3 weeks to do lawns in the summer, and depending on the snow load, we go by every month or less in the winter to plow.  I rarely talk to tenants, but at least they know I'm aware of things. I never go inside unless they ask me to, something is broke, or I'm on my semi-anual 'plumbing inspection'.

@Nathan Gesner  I agree with everything you said... you want to come manage my properties? The family upstairs has been there almost a year, and noise has been mentioned 2 or 3 times over the last 6 months.  No, I was not given proper notice, and according to state statutes, he would have needed to inform me of his intentions in a more formal manner than just aggravated texts.  I'll do the best I can to find a new tenant quickly.  I don't know about where you are, but this is not the best time of year to fill vacancies up here.

I have a tenant who has complained about noise a number of times, but does not specify a time or particular noise. The tenants upstairs have kids and a dog, and all the downstairs tenants understand this when they move in.  I've asked him to talk to the neighbor when it gets loud, but he told me he shared unpleasant words with them instead, so I'm doubtful they will try very much harder.  The other tenants downstairs have said either they didn't notice the noise, or it's not nuisance level.  So, I'm not ready to give the upstairs tenants notice of a lease violation, but the downstairs tenant has given me 7 day notice that he's leaving.

Here's the question:  He has been there over 2 years.  The lease is month to month.  I'm pretty sure he won't be paying for this coming month dispite the short notice.  Can I hold the security deposit against unpaid rent?  Or, do I need to give it back (less damages) since he is leaving due to an unresolved issue?

Thanks for your advice.  I've been looking at my lease, and it's pretty solid about what to do if the tenant makes noise, but it all comes down to weather the noise upstairs is a 'health and safety' issue.

This looks like an oportunity that you don't want to let slip away.  It is very similar to one that we purchased last year.  In our case, I brought 25% down (125k), and the seller carried the rest at 5% with a 5year balloon.  The fact that your seller is willing to carry back half (assuming it's at a decent rate and terms), is amazing.  It looks like you're short $210,000 plus closing costs.  If it was me, this is where I would go start talking very seriously with a couple friends that had expressed an interest owning real estate.  Don't forget to look at your other assets.   You said "next" so it sounds like you have an asset or two that might have some equity you could use.  If you think the deal is good enough, you might be able get a hard money lender to take a second position lien against the subject property if you also let them lien your house or another investment.  Also, it should be easy to find hard money, and maybe even a credit union that will lend if they could be in first position.

That's all I can think of right now.

I think the 30 days seams reasonable... unless the rental market is hot, in which case I might lower it to 15 in the future.  The first paragraph in our contract that a tenant has to innitial states that  once the contract is signed, the security deposit and rents are not going to be returned if they change their mind... and some other things, but I'm seeing now that it needs a little work (not that this has ever been a problem).  Does anyone have a hold contract I could use?  I like that wording better, and I think it will make sense to everyone involved.

In my market, I usually get  notice 40-60 days before the end of the tenant's last month.  I put the property up for rent as soon as I can, find a tenant in 2-3 weeks, sign a lease about 3 weeks before they move in.  Usually zero vacancy, sometimes a week or two.  Only rarely do I have a whole month with the place sitting empty because I'm waiting for someone to filter through my screening process.  Even when that happens, when I do sign a lease, they move in 1-3 weeks after we sign.

Here is my question:  What's the longest period of time you are comfortable with between when you sign a lease and when they move in if the unit is vacant.  Specifically, it's the beginning of September right now.  I have a potential tenant that wants to move in at the end of October.  I appreciate that they are thinking ahead, and are going to give their landlord propper notice, but if I sing a lease with them this week... I will be committing to 7 more weeks of vacancy.  If I tell them I can't sign because I will probably find a tenant that wants to move in on the 1st, I could loose a good tenant... and if I don't find someone for the 1st...

I need to identify a break point for me such as "We don't sign leases more than 4 weeks before the move in date"  I'm looking for some input to help me identify that point.

I have never had tenants who are ok with mice problems... I usually advise them on how to deal with them when they turn up.  So, I don't have an good answer from experience.  I will say this though.  Mice are destructive.  They will damage your building, and if they chew on some wiring, they could cause a significant safety issue.  

If you want to keep the tenant, tell them that things need to be cleaner, and advise them to buy poison or something for the mice... then reinspect.... maybe every other month for a while.

If you don't want to keep them, give them a termination letter with proper notice.  It won't be fun finding out how to word it, but you'll figure it out.

Grrr!  My go to right now is $130/hour, but they have excellent service (their low guy is $90).  I've been managing for 10 years, and I only hire a plumber if the the furnace is not making heat, or there's a burst pipe.  Everything else, such as leaking pipes under the sink I either do myself or get a handyman in who charges $20-30$/hour.  Then, I give the handyman a huge tip to help him be available the next time.