All Forum Posts by: Jake Thompson

I think you've gotten some great advice already. Are you sure that you want to go through the hassle of court though? Sometimes it isn't worth your time, effort, and money to go to court, even if you think you'll win the case. As David said, it may be tough to even collect that money. Sometimes the best thing is to move on with a new tenant in place. Ultimately it depends on the amount of money owed, whether you think they will have the ability to repay, and if you want to go through the court hassle. Priority number 1 should be to get that place rented again though.

Have you verified that the tenant has left? I would go over to the unit and look to see that it is indeed vacant. If you can get him on the phone also you may be able to find out what his situation is and that will give you a chance to feel him out and see if you think he's being genuine. 

Depending on the state laws I would think that if he turned over possession you can get another tenant in their and have the old tenant sign a lease addendum stating that he no longer lives there. But, without knowing your state specific laws I can't be certain. I would think an empty unit with keys turned in and an email from him stating he moved out should be enough to hold up in court if he tried to come after you, however I'm not an attorney so I can't say for sure. Hope this helps!

I know this is old, but for anyone reading this in the future, here are my suggestions.

First I'd make sure you're clear on what services you are getting for the price.

I'd ask about their processes they go through for leasing your property and then for ongoing management. How do they list the property, where do they list it, what is their criteria for screening and selecting tenants? How do they determine rental prices in the area? For ongoing, how do they collect rent, handle maintenance calls, deal with problem tenants? Do they provide accounting and bookkeeping, monthly statements, direct deposits to your account? 

Ask for specific examples of how something went wrong in the past and what they did to fix it. Ask for references and follow up with those references (Take what they're saying with a grain of salt, they won't likely give you a reference unless they know it will be a positive one). Check google and yelp reviews.

Pay attention to how they respond. Do they seem honest? Are they friendly and polite? There's no reason to deal with someone who is being rude. Also, did they respond quickly? They likely aren't going to try harder AFTER they have your business.

Hopefully this helps, if anyone has a PM that they are considering but have questions about something they said that doesn't seem right, feel free to reach out and I'll give my opinion.

Without knowing much about the area and the property, I would assume a fence is very desirable. You could rebuild now, and then when lease is up for renewal, raise the rent to what you think is reasonable. If the tenant wants to move so be it. I'd imagine if you raise the rent $50-$100 you could make up the cost of a fence relatively quickly. That's just my 2 cents based on the information you have given.

Hey @Aqil Dharamsey, sorry to hear your having a rough time! It's reasons like this that we property manager's have a job! As other's have mentioned perseverance is key and it will pass!

If you don't want to put a ton of time into the business you can partner with someone experienced in real estate and just provide the financing. Additionally if you want to spend the time to learn how to invest yourself you could find a high quality property manager (referrals are the best) and that will make your management time once you've acquired the property significantly lower. I'm a property manager and there is nothing we do that couldn't be done by an individual who wants to self manage. What we provide is time freedom. We have clients that hire us for exactly the reason that you don't want to get into real estate. They are busy professionals and don't have the desire to either learn the management side, or they already know it but don't want to actually execute the management. Best of luck in your financial journey regardless of your investing decisions!

The house being purchased is also in San Diego correct? I want to verify that first. Green and Green LLP in Chula Vista is the attorney I would recommend. They deal with Estate Planning, business law, and real estate law.

The commission being paid by tenants is interesting to me. I would expect an owner to pay that. It's a property management fee, and the agent is working for you, not the tenant. Maybe it's common in your area though, I'm not sure. I would take a look at your funnel and see where things are getting stuck. You said you posted online and are getting plenty of leads, so it seems you are marketing is okay. When do things go wrong? Is it after seeing the property condition? Maybe something needs to be fixed up or the price lowered. Are your tenants not qualified? Maybe your requirements are too high, or your price is too high and you aren't getting a good pool of candidates. Have you spoken with your agent to see why it hasn't been rented yet? Keep in communication with them so you know what's going on with your property.

Hi @Joe Kim, welcome to BP! I got started by househacking and highly recommend it! If you can find roommates for your own unit even better!

I have heard talks about San Diego cracking down on Vacations Rental's as well, but I am sure there is a lot of pushback from landlords. Either way you want to have back up options if your primary plan is to do STR's here.