All Forum Posts by: Jessica F.

@Jamal Pitts Hi Jamal, I plan on attending the sheriff sale but what do you mean by the properties are "taken back by the attorney for the bank?" Do you mean if the property doesn't sell while on the auction block?

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Hi Michael, Best of luck with finding a job in the RE-related market. Like you, I own a property but am also looking to get out my dead-end corporate job and find another job more closely tied to RE so that I can gain additional experience and knowledge.

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@Joseph Catalano I usually do send it via certified mail. The tenant does live downstairs from me (it's a duplex) so I happen to know that someone is usually always home to sign for it.

@Jay Hinrichs Unfortunately, the lease does not really give any instructions regarding the eviction process. The only mention they make is regarding how to proceed once a lease is up. With a certified mail, you can track the delivery of the letter--something that you cannot do if you send via regular mail. I adopted this lease and tenant when I purchased this home three months ago.

@Bryan N. Thanks Steve-I have truly appreciated all of your help and advice! The sample that you sent seems to be a termination of rent letter and it appears that there can be "pay or quit" notice sent to the tenant first. The document you linked to does not offer them the opportunity to correct this by allowing them to remit rent and late fees. If they refuse to do so, then they would have 15 days to get out of the unit. So, my other question(s) are: (a) would I be allowed to keep the entire security deposit if they left on the notice to quit?; (b) Would I be able to recover any of the back due rent that was never paid and the applicable late fees?; (c) do I need to have an active landlord or rental housing license just to evict someone (haven't acquired it yet but am working on it)?; (d) Lastly, what if they do not leave after the specified 10 o 15 days that they are required to leave?

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Hi Deirdre,

I am currently seeking to expand my real estate knowledge and my portfolio. I purchased my first property this past September and my desire to learn more and do more has been increasing. Currently, I am in the process of trying to acquire more/better funding to get properties for buy, fix or hold purposes which is proving to be a lot more difficult than I realized.

I am primarily looking to invest in Philadelphia as my main market.

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@Deirdre Reilly Hi, welcome to BP! I think you have a great background having come from extensive knowledge with working with mortgages so you are definitely ahead of the game. CC area has a lot to offer for being a flipper or wholesaler.

Best of luck with your RE flips deals and even though I am still fairly new at this, if there is anything else I can do to help, pls let me know.

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@Erik Snyder Hi Erik, Welcome to BP! I live in Philadelphia and I work in KoP as well and I make that commute each week and yes, it is absolutely miserable esp if you encounter traffic congestion.

Good luck with your upcoming purchase. I hear that the taxes tend to be a bit higher in some of these areas (Rittenhouse and Manayunk) compared to others but they are growing in popularity among investors. Hopefully, you have already secured your funding (not sure how far out you are looking to make a purchase) probably through an FHA loan. Are you working with a real estate agent? If so, they can also help you to narrow down your list of potential options for purchase.

I am still a newbie as well but if there is anything else you need, I can try to help any way that I can.

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Thank you for your response. Please see my comments in bold below.

Originally posted by @Elesha S.:

However, there is obviously some question here about a) whether the heat works and b) who has the responsibility to pay for it. In cases of loss of heat, my opinion (from watching lots of cases) is that judges in housing court here are not forgiving of landlords who do not provide working heat for tenants regardless of the cause. Her not signing up for an account (if that was required in the lease) is another issue since there is a question of whether even if she had the account her radiator/whatever equipment may not be working.

The lease explicitly says that the tenant (not the landlord) is responsible for ALL utilities including costs to get such utilities activated. It is not necessarily a question of whether the heat works or not. It does work in the majority of the unit except for the bedroom heater which is not working. My handyman even came in and took a look and bled the heater and did a few other things but tenant still complained a week or two later of it still not working so she does have full working heat. Now that one out her four heaters are not working, I have no choice but to call PGW to come out and fix it the problem heater in the bedroom. However, if they come out and find that there is no associated account number or contract with them, I cannot be held liable for PGW cutting off her service because the tenant failed to do their due diligence with the previous landlord and the person who originally created her lease. I would also hope that a court would not hold me liable for something that really is out of my control as it is not my responsibility to handle the maintenance of utilities for tenants.

I still tried, however, to fix the issue for the tenant by offering to call PGW and have them fix the issue or take a look at the issue to see if they could find a root cause. The tenant barked about having to possibly take on a new bill or having her existing gas in the remainder of her home shut off so she declined.

In either case it doesn't much matter. Practically speaking, because of the other possible breaches going on with this tenant, it would be better to take her up on her offer to move, keep last month's rent if you have it, check for damages and return the remainder of the security deposit if any, and just move on. The reality is that even if you spend your time and money to get a judgment (supposing you win, of course) you will likely never see any money.

Unfortunately, it is just not that simple. The tenant pays well below the value of the unit that she rents (old landlord was a family friend who gave her a big discount) so I do not generate income from her rent and am still responsible for paying remaining balance of rent each month. I would have to have the necessary funds to do any repairs or upgrades prior to re-renting the unit that would not fall under the responsibility of the security deposit which are funds that I do not have right now for other financial reasons (long story). In other words, keeping her on the lease (at least for the present moment) further buys me time to accumulate necessary funds for additional repairs.

In addition to having a buy out/early termination clause (which was your initial question) in your new lease, we also have a clause in our lease that states if the tenant is unable to get service from PECO/PGW/etc. at the outset of the lease, then the entire lease is cancelled and tenant has to find a new place. Then after you lease, follow up with appropriate utility to be sure that the tenant has moved service into his/her own name. I say this because my suspicion is that even if she wanted to get a PGW account, she may not be eligible if she has back bills etc

I will look to include a clause like that in the future lease but again, as of right now, tenant does not have working heat in majority of the unit--just not on paper (i.e. PGW acct).

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Hello Michael,

Welcome to BP! I am an investor from Philadelphia. Good luck with your investing. I don't know too much about the DE market but will be of any assistance any way that I can. :)

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@Chris Masons Thanks for the advice, Chris! I do plan on following up with her today.

@Troy Sheets Yep, it is the same "problem" tenant. She definitely did not leave--they are not exactly the most quiet people. I don't know if I can start the eviction process this early in the process, can I? I thought I remember reading somewhere in the Pennsylvania Landlord laws that you have to wait 30 days or something. Also, the lease does not explicitly say that I can evict the tenant if they are late past the 5th day. Remember, I adopted her lease from previous landlord...

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Hi Michael,

Welcome to BP! I think your experience in banking and financing will definitely help you in reaching your real estate goals since they are often one of the biggest obstacles to overcome in acquiring real estate.

If you do not mind my asking, what bank were you working for?

I would love to stay in touch and if I can be of any help, let me know. I am a RE newbie as well but I will do what I can. :)

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All Forum Posts by: Jessica F.

Jessica F. has started 9 posts and replied 95 times.

Post: Anyone going to the Philadelphia Sheriff Sale?

Post: "Career" options for a young investor

Post: Sample Notification to Tenant of Late Payment Due on Rent? Certified Letter?

Post: Philadelphia Newbie

Post: Philadelphia Newbie

Post: Newbie in Philadelphia/Manayunk/Conshohocken/King of Prussia/Phoenixville/Spring City

Post: Tenant wants to terminate lease mid-way with probable cause in Philly

Post: Any investors in DE, Philadelphia or South Jersey?

Post: Sample Notification to Tenant of Late Payment Due on Rent? Certified Letter?

Post: Newbie from Philadelphia