All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Condos are easier to buy and harder to sell. Condos have Associations, association presidents and members who have to vote on every repair and how much and when they fine the condo owners for the most-trivial matters. Some associations are good and many are so horrible they write bad checks to vendors, contractors and utility companies. Owning a condo can be worse than renting an apartment with bad neighbors because it is not so easy to give a 30-day notice to move out when you your next door neighbor cannot sleep unless he is playing his thumping music that vibrates your walls all night while you are trying to sleep. I know more people who were dissatisfied with condos vs. happy with the results.

'The Book OF Hard Knocks' I don't think you will ever find a book about real estate investing that is not 99.89% B.S..

I want to barf when I read books about real estate investing.  I was recently looking at one of Robert Kiyosaki's books (not Rich Dad, Poor Dad) and the book has some fairly good teachings (not about wholesaling). Can't remember the name of the book, but it is (was) currently on sale at a book store.

You really need to speak with a good CPA. Do not trust an accountant. It looks to me like you can do a tax-free 1031 Exchange, but the time period between your sale, identifying a property to purchase and time period to close is critical.

I don't know anything about the cost for a CPA to handle a 1031 Exchange and the tax for $15k may not be worth paying  money to salvage. If you are in the 20% income tax bracket you may not have to pay any money if you have any write-offs or real estate depreciation.

The question should be; why would your boyfriend move into a unit he did not see?

Sometimes, landlords have legitimate reasons they want to delay the viewing of a rental unit. as a landlord, I will not show a prospective tenant a unit when the unit is not clean. We believe that we will attract undesirable tenants who are willing to rent a unit that is not clean. So, maybe the real estate agent had legitimate reasons for postponing the viewing. But...nobody should rent a unit without, at least, seeing pictures and not without knowing the size (dimensions) of the rooms.

Sorry, but I am a plumbing contractor, landlord and I work with hundreds of landlords every year. My personal feelings are; most landlords have some sort of superiority or Napoleon complex and they have a Love Hate Relationship where they love owning property, but hate tenants with a passion on a personal level and they hate doing what a landlord is supposed to do. All this can be corrected by understanding most tenants are honest. 

Most tenants rent because they don't want to own property and they don't want have to worry about maintenance. Landlords provide housing and should accommodate their tenants the same as a nice hotel does for their guests. Tenants should not have to worry about cheap landlords who will sue their tenants because they broke a 99 cent toilet paper holder and that is not a joke because when I go to court I see the landlords chiseling their tenants for toilet paper holders, broken light bulbs and many other items that cost less than one dollar.

Accommodate your tenants, provide them with service and when you own a building more than 5 years old don't be so quick to blame your tenants for everything that breaks. Maybe, you rented a unit and the drain was 99% clogged before the tenant moved in. Garbage disposers deteriorate. You should not be so quick to point a finger and get angry every time your rental unit has a problem. 

I move from Massachusetts to California in 1973, when I was 23-years old. When I was 13-years old, I started managing 135 apartment with my father and since my father had many issues (won't mention) by the time I was 15-years old I was managing the 135 apartments, doing maintenance, renting and collecting the rents with no help. So, I thought I knew a little about being a landlord when I arrived in California. But, boy...was I in for a rude awakening.

I signed a 1-year lease to rent a crappy house in a white trailer trash neighborhood in Lawndale California. Like a fool, I signed a lease stating I was responsible for all repairs. The stove was upside down in the garage, missing parts and the landlord promised to give me another stove.

It turned out I rented from the landlord from hell. The day I moved in the water heater did not work and the tank was leaking. So, I paid for and installed a new water heater. When the electric was turned on the garbage disposer motor was broke. So, I purchased and installed a new disposer. The kitchen faucet dripped and I purchased and installed a new faucet. I suppose I was lucky because when it rained the roof did not leak.

After being in the house for a month, I kept calling the landlord about the kitchen stove. Finally she answered and told me to read the lease stating I was responsible for all repairs. She said the stove was in good condition when I move in and it was my responsibility to repair the stove. So, I gave her a 30-day notice to move and I moved out.

The landlord sued me in court and when it was my turn to speak to the judge the judge did not let me say one word and he favored the landlord. So, I appealed the case. I got the same judge the second time and he said I was given the opportunity to speak during the first court appearance and I was not allowed to say one word. So, I lost and never recovered, mentally, ever since.

Maybe, those incidences are the reasons tenants are anal about things that landlords think are insignificant.

It appears that many landlords look at dealing with tenants like the game Tug Of War. Personally, I find the tenants who in the beginning are the most-meticulous and the most pain-in-the-butt turn out to be much better than the subservient, ignorant and desperate tenants. Tenants who ask for a lot and make a fuss about details are doing their due diligence like they should. As landlords, we make our profits by accommodating our tenants' needs and wishes. They are not intelligent real estate investors like us. They are tenants who are afraid of getting screwed at the end of their lease by the many unscrupulous landlords.

Generally, the only time a building is required to get a Certificate Of Occupancy is when a new building is constructed, when an existing building is converted from commercial to residential and maybe after an existing residential building has been deemed to be unsafe by a government agency after the building is destroyed by an earthquake, fire, flood, chemical spill, or sewer waste spill. I never saw a government agency require a Certificate Of Occupancy for only a rehab or remodel.

A Certificate Of Occupancy has no bearing on Rent Control and will make no difference.

Sorry to hear it did not work out. Happy to see you are being honest with yourself and everyone else.

Breaking even is not all that bad. Like you said, you learned a lesson. Give yourself a ton of credit for trying since many people will not attempt to do what you did.

The best lesson I hope you learned is to never ever trust someone else with your money and never rely on a partner to pull things together. Not having a partner is a subject mentioned many times, but never do a project you cannot handle without a partner. A partner is sometimes good, but if you cannot do a project without a partner then you should stay away from the project.

When I look for properties to purchase I feel like I have a knack for picking properties that will be desirable to buyers and renters. I don't know the market in your area, but the property in your picture does not look like the type property I would get involved with unless there is something seriously beautiful on the inside. 

Next time, do a lot more number crunching and make sure you have enough cushion to offset the unknown.

An eviction is for when a tenant does something wrong i.e. not paying the rent, moving in persons not on the lease, etc., and an eviction does not look good on the tenants historical records. The NOTICE TO TERMINATE is to get a tenant to vacate a rental unit when the tenant has done nothing wrong. If a tenant is given a Notice To Terminate Tenancy and refuses to move, then you have to file an Eviction with the court and then the eviction will go on the tenant's record.

As a landlord, we want to be as compassionate as possible and understand what a tenant has to go through when we terminate their tenancy. We always serve the tenant with a Notice To Terminate Tenancy when we want to remodel their apartment and when they are filthy pigs, but are nice people and paid their rent when due. During the past few weeks we terminated 6 tenants because we want to raise the rents far more than the new California laws will allow. We terminated (not evicted) our filthiest tenants and tenants who said they would not pay half of the rent increase that is allowed.