All Forum Posts by: John Kunick

@Katie Jewell, wow, $10k of damages?  Not sure the nature of this, but do you really want this person to remain as a tenant?  Are you concerned with future damages or do you think this is a one-time situation?

I do have some experience with this and have had success albeit a much smaller amount ($3k).  Here were the keys:  1) Got tenant to agree the damage was due to his negligence and he signed a statement to that effect.  2) Got him to sign a Promissory Note (found it online for Oklahoma and simply copied/pasted) saying he would pay the full balance due by minimum of $200 payment per month due same date as normal rent.  All of this was detailed in Promissory Note.  3) Every time he makes a payment, I send him an updated balance which shows all payments and the decreasing balance as well as due dates on upcoming payments (easy Excel spreadsheet).

If he were not to pay the challenge then becomes trying to collect.  As you have pointed out, collection companies tend to not want to deal with small landlords/sums.  You can go the small claims route depending on laws in your area.  But, even if you get a judgment, many just will not pay and the enforcement is iffy.

Best of luck!

@Kelvin Yuchen, I totally agree with @Nathan Gesner..  In my experience over a couple of decades of doing rentals and helping others, the #1 failure mode is lack of capitalization.  Without knowing more about your personal situation, it would seem to me that you are putting yourself in a tight situation..  I am also assuming "GF" stands for girlfriend?  If so, is that a good situation to be partially counting on rent from her to help make ends meet on a personal investment?  I've seen these types of situations go south very quickly..  The way you've outlined the opportunity, I would run away from it.

@Mindy Jensen, I've evolved over the many years..  I've settled on either Venmo (probably 60% of tenants), Apple Pay (25%) and Direct Deposit (15%).  If DD, we require them to take a picture of their deposit receipt and text as proof of payment..  When we get a new tenant, we encourage Venmo, but will accept the other two..  Good luck with your project!

@Greg M..  Love the "pontificating jackass"!  I truly do not understand what would motivate someone to force others to do what they think should be done..  Totally understand suggesting and encouraging, but taking it to this level seems tyrannical.. 

Also, thanks to all for your input.  Like many of you, I do not see this being part of the normal process of landlords trying to protect their property and interests..  To me, this seems way over the top and just disrespectful to your tenants.

Hi everyone, I just read an article that is alarming to me about a large South Florida landlord who is "evicting unvaccinated tenants"..  From what I can understand, this landlord will not renew leases nor will  agree to lease to new tenants who will not show proof of vaccination.. To me, this seems to be discriminatory and potentially a violation of HIPAA regulations.  Will he also not rent to obese people?  How about people that abuse drugs or alcohol?  Just curious everyone's thoughts not only on the legality of this, but also is this good business practice?

@Laura Guy, bravo!  You nailed it!  This is about freedom and liberty and true capitalism being unhindered by tyrants and dictators.  I was one of those when the EM started that said it was unconstitutional as it infringes on property rights and contract law.  Honestly, I was surprised/disappointed by those landlords that saw it as "understandable and necessary" given the pandemic.  To me, it set a precedent that the government can declare any emergency it wants and therefore what else can be deemed "understandable and necessary"?  This whole thing hopefully has taught a lot of people valuable lessons about the slippery slope of government overreach.

@Paul Sandhu, ok, I got to ask what is "the worst town to live in, Kansas"?  That is an intriguing name!

@Raul Chavez and @Matt Rice, I live in Tulsa and have been fortunate to do really well with my portfolio of single-family houses here.. I have not done any STR.. But, I can tell you the market is so unbelievably hot right now for any rentals. I have one house become available a week ago and I posted it online and got ~ 50 inquiries in a couple of days.

What is driving it? There are so many people moving here from blue states.  We have a lot of companies relocating here due to low costs of housing and doing business.  As Paul mentioned, there are refineries and other oil/gas related industries, but there are also a lot of high tech and aerospace companies that are either moving here or expanding existing facilities.

I often talk to a lot of tenants who moved here thinking it was going to be a "cow town" with little to do and then don't want to leave as they find out what a great place to live it is..

 @Scott Kaczmarek, you may be correct assuming that tenants decide to go through courts.  However, in my experience with evictions, the tenants usually see that they need to get out once the "Pay or Quit" notice is posted - especially if the landlord has already documented everything to the tenant such that the POQ posting is a mere formality.  If you have tenants that have been using the EM as an excuse, this might be a really good time to get very direct with them.  Every situation could be different, but many tenants that are refusing to pay may look at the EM ending as "writing on the wall" and decide to self-evict.

 @Linda Thomas here is an article that might help..  Looks like PA doesn't have a statewide eviction ban.  IMO, you need to start the process immediately as courts will probably be backed up and there is always a chance another EM or some other type of ban will be put in place. 

https://www.businessinsider.co...

Cheryl, first, I wish you the best of luck..  Second, this is hard to answer as it all depends (and every situation can be different)..  But, I'd be more interested in the neighborhood especially if you were willing/able to take the older house and remodel it so it fits with what else the neighborhood has to offer.  The other key is to do a ton of tenant screening to make sure you are getting an "aspirational" tenant..  And, that leads to your other question about a PM..  I've never worked with a PM as I self-manage, so we are going to have to ask for help from others on Bigger Pocket..  But, whether it is you or a PM, the key is you must find the right tenants