All Forum Posts by: Cara Lonsdale

Always go to your lease.  It contains all of the answers to address these issues, and serves as your guide to the tenancy.  It also relieves you of having to be the bad guy because you are just following the lease.

In most, if not all standard leases, there are clauses that address the condition of the property, and the Tenant's responsibilities to maintain the condition, and then an escalation to allow the Landlord to resolve at the Tenant's expense.  So, I would send the Tenant notice, citing the lease clause, and give them a timeline (if not defined in the lease) for completing repairs and/or restoring the property to it's normal condition.  Make them aware that if they do not comply, then you will need to step in to make repairs, and you will bill them.  Comply with the terms of your lease.  Provide whatever notice and time your lease calls for.

If the Tenant is crying COVID, then follow the guidelines for COVID relief.  If the Tenant isn't paying, but is willing to work within the COVID guidelines for aid, you should be able to receive funds from the relief.

If COVID is NOT their excuse (whether legitimate, or not), then go ahead and file eviction action.  The moratorium is not an end all to Landlord rights.  You can still evict Tenants.  You can start this process, or you can wait until the moratorium ends at the end of this month.  All signs point to it not being extended any further.  So, there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel.

As mentioned previously, money always helps.  If the Tenant needs funds to move out, that is an option.  Painful, I know, but considering the holding costs that you will bare to house a Tenant holdover while you are awaiting a busy court docket, it may be your cheaper option.

This all needs to fall on the Seller. If the contract required the Seller to deliver vacant, then do not close until that is granted. As mentioned by others, FHA has requirements for you to occupy within 60 days, so if you close with a Tenant Holdover, you will be setting yourself up for problems with your Lender.

Keep in mind, the moratorium is exclusive to non-payment of rent.  It does not preclude the Seller from evicting based on other issues like non-renewal, non-compliance, health and safety risk, and so forth.  Additionally, the courts have deemed the moratorium unlawful, so you will see these restrictions lifting soon.  My guess is that it won't be an option to be extended past the current term.  At that point, it will just be the time it takes to get before a judge, who probably has a busy docket.

Ultimately, it will be what your state allows.  California is probably one of the more Tenant friendly states (leaning toward the ridiculous, in my opinion), so it will be an uphill battle that will most likely come down to the amount of $$$$$$ that is offered to the deadbeat Tenant to move out.  What a sad and infuriating result that is!

Good news is....you most likely already have equity in the property since it has been over 7 months since you put it under contract, and you haven't had to make 1 payment yet. :)

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Phoenix.

Purchase price: $215,000
Cash invested: $35,000
Sale price: $385,000

Original 1970s 3/2 single level block home in great location near PV Mall, which is in the beginning stages of redevelopment. It had a great cul-de-sac lot with alot of potential. Inside it had formal living and family rooms, with a kitchen that opened to the family room. There was an exterior laundry room that had been added to the house with an interior door to access, but there was no ventilation or air going in there. So it was HOT, and it make the family room hot if the door was left open. There was wall paper in some rooms, curtains in the bathroom.....all original, and all dated.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

PV Mall was a great area back in it's day, but the bigger and better malls that have been built around the area (Desert Ridge, Kierland) left PV Mall in the dust, and it was on it's way toward dying on the vine. When news came that it would soon be sold to be redeveloped, we took this as a great time to buy something nearby and hold it. The goal was cash flow in the present with appreciation growing to sell in the near future.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

This was a traditional MLS listing. It had multiple offers. We bid over asking price and were awarded the house.

How did you finance this deal?

Traditional financing with 20% down.

How did you add value to the deal?

This property went through 2 remodel phases. The first was a quick turnaround in 2017, right after closing, to get it rent ready. light rehab, remodel of the baths, flooring, and painting. Second was in 2020/2021 where we completely remodeled the kitchen, redid both bath vanities, painted again inside and outside, and a complete backyard landscaping overhaul.

What was the outcome?

Great lot became a beautiful lot as well! Great curb appeal. PV Mall is in the works of redevelopment and is going to be designed after the outdoor malls surrounding the area, which are beautiful marketplaces. So, this will be a great area, and the time was right to sell.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

We originally decided not to remodel the kitchen because the cabinets were still in great shape, but just old. The problem is that once we started making everything around them new and beautiful, the cabinets started looking BLAH. So, on the second remodel, we completely redid the kitchen. We should have done that the first time, but it all worked out.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I am an agent.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $55,100
Cash invested: $10,000
Sale price: $254,250

Cute 3/2 with 1 car garage that we picked up, cleaned up and rented long term. In 2019, we decided to sell off for profit, so we gave the Tenant notice to vacate, and we had it painted inside and out, redid the landscaping to include grass, and did some minor remodeling throughout.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Cheap acquisition in 2010. Rental rates were strong and provided excellent cash flow for years. Never had trouble finding tenants.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

This was a traditional MLS listing.

How did you finance this deal?

traditional financing with 25% down.

How did you add value to the deal?

Cleaned it up, painted it inside and out. Remodeled the backyard landscaping, replaced all of the door hardware throughout, and added a new bathroom vanity in the hall bath. Also refinished both bathroom tub/showers.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

There were not alot of comps in the immediate community (everyone loves these homes and never sells!) So, we decided to first sell a couple of flips that we had in process first to drive prices up. While we waited, I threw it up on Airbnb just to see if we could create a revenue stream while it was sitting. This proved to be a success. In late March of 2020 we took our last guest and elected to withdraw it from Airbnb due to COVID. We put it on the market right before Summer and it sold

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I am an agent, so I did all of the negotiating on both sides of the transaction.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $55,100
Cash invested: $10,000
Sale price: $254,250

Cute 3/2 with 1 car garage that we picked up, cleaned up and rented long term. In 2019, we decided to sell off for profit, so we gave the Tenant notice to vacate, and we had it painted inside and out, redid the landscaping to include grass, and did some minor remodeling throughout. But there were not alot of comps in the immediate community (everyone loves these homes and never sells!) So, we decided to first sell a couple of flips that we had in process first to drive prices up. While we waited, I threw it up on Airbnb just to see if we could create a revenue stream while it was sitting. This proved to be a success. In late March of 2020 we took our last guest and elected to withdraw it from Airbnb due to COVID. We put it on the market right before Summer and it sold right away.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Cheap acquisition in 2010. Rental rates were strong and provided excellent cash flow for years. Never had trouble finding tenants.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

This was a traditional MLS listing.

How did you finance this deal?

traditional financing with 25% down.

How did you add value to the deal?

Cleaned it up, painted it inside and out. Remodeled the backyard landscaping, replaced all of the door hardware throughout, and added a new bathroom vanity in the hall bath. Also refinished both bathroom tub/showers.

What was the outcome?

Long term tenants followed by brief STR on Airbnb, then sale with great profit.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

For this one, we really didn't do too much to turn it over. We found that the right location in the right market will sell as long as it is clean and shows well.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I am an agent, so I did all of the negotiating on both sides of the transaction.

 The argument was lost against the AZ Governor who was sued by a group of landlords for the same reasons.  Maybe the judge in Texas will bring new light to these cases, and allow Landlords everywhere to go back and fight harder to protect what should have never been at risk of loss.  I agree whole heartedly that the logic behind the action was not thought out AT ALL!  

@Account Closed I received your DM and responded.  So, let me know if you have any other questions.  I am happy to help!

No one holds a crystal ball for what the future holds.  However, one of the lessons I learned early on in my Real Estate career, that made an impression on me through my investing career is this.....

A good investor buys and sells in ANY market.  Up, down, hot, or cold.  There are opportunities for investment in every type of market, and a good investor knows how to make something happen in any market.

Minors cannot sign legal documents, or be held legally responsible for legal documents with VERY RARE exception.

My guess is that the Tenant merely wants the child added as an occupant.  However, even that has me puzzled.  If the Tenant is the legal guardian of the child, the school district should be able to come to the sensible conclusion that the child resides there too.