All Forum Posts by: Tim Johnson

@Chad Olson, I walked away. I had thought the owner was going to transition ownership to his grandson.  But, looking at the website just now, it looks like they are still running things.

Sometimes folks are reluctant to rent a home that doesn't have any reviews.  You might consider lowering your rates, just to entice some guests to stay and leave reviews.  If short term stays are allowed in your area, that might be another strategy to get some good reviews before switching back to a medium-term strategy. 

I believe James was referencing SFR (Single Family Rental) not STR (Short Term Rental). You're correct, Sartell does not allow Short Term Rentals.

Too many acronyms! :)

@Karen Higgins, I posted a similar message to this about 5 years ago.  @Jason Bott replied to my message and helped me out a ton.  I recommend you check with him.  He is a broker and can check with multiple carriers.

Insurance rates have gone up because there have been so many large claims (hail in Minnesota being the biggest culprit.)  IMT has often ended up being the best carrier in central MN.  

Also, I recommend you get a flat deductible (e.g. $2500) rather than doing a percentage deductible.  

@Lucas Anderson, I have rentals in St. Cloud.  You are right, the numbers in St. Cloud are more reasonable than any twin cities metro market.  Here are a few things to be aware of when considering purchasing near downtown St. Cloud.

1.  St. Cloud State University enrollment is declining.  The current student-focused landlords are competing for a shrinking pool of students.  If the property you are looking at purchasing is not super close to the Univeristy,  don't plan on renting to students.

2.  Drugs, crime and vagrancy is increasing in the area near the campus.  A lot of good people are working hard to combat this.  But make sure you look at the number of police calls on your specific block, and understand how this will impact you finding potential tenants. 

3.  Many of the tenants in that area are Somalis.  I love Somalie tenants and would rent to them any day of the week (assuming they met my rental criteria).  They do have some advantages and disadvantages that is important to understand.  Many potential issues can be avoided with proper communication of expectations.

Best of luck.  

@Jeffrey Tate You have a few options for Property Management in St. Cloud.  Shoot me a private message, I would be willing to share my experience.

@Sanna Prescott If you yourself are moving into the property you may have an option to get them out.  This paragraph is from the MN Governors eviction moratorium:

... Paragraph 3 does not apply to residential landlords who issue a termination of lease or
nonrenewal of lease due to the need to move the property owner or property owner’s
family member(s) into the property and where the property owner or property
owner’s family member(s) move into the property within 7 days after it is vacated by
the tenant

It's probably worth talking to an attorney about this specific exclusion.  In the end, offering the tenants money to leave might be your cheapest option...but it feels wrong. 

As a few people posting have mentioned, the laws in Minnesota are different from the rest of the country.  

- In Minnesota, there is an eviction moratorium, so you cannot force someone to leave for non-payment of rent.  

- You cannot force someone to leave when their lease is up.  

I've had someone that did not pay rent for nearly 1 year.  I've worked with an attorney and explored every angle.  The current eviction moratorium completely favors tenants. 

There are a few cases where  you can evict:

- They are breaking the law.  It has to be a serious violation.

- They are damaging the property.  It has to be serious damage.

- You (or a family member) are moving into the property.  My attorney told me this was not an option for me since the property is owned by an llc.  That didn't seem right, but I he is the real estate attorney.

The current eviction ban in Minnesota is a bad, bad thing.  

Unfortunately, your only option is cash for keys.  In my case, I offered the tenant $2,000 to leave.  She said, "why would I do that...I'd just have to pay rent somewhere else."  Maddening. 

Thankfully, in my case, the police caught her in a drug sting.  I was able to get her evicted based on the quantity and type of drugs that were found.

Best of luck to you.

I have seen that .4% vacancy rate @Amber Gonion cited.  If you google "Census data show Twin Cities home vacancy is second-lowest in nation" you'll find the article.  That was from 2019 and was the 16 county metro area.

Star Trib recently had an article in Nov 2020 stating vacancy rates in the Twin Cities were 3.6%, and downtown Minneapolis has vacancy rates at 11.1%.  These are closer to @Todd Dexheimer's numbers.

So it depends on the area you are measuring (16 county metro, Twin Cities + suburbs, or downtown Minneapolis). The Star Trib numbers seem a little closer to reality.  

@Heather Schmidtknecht Good question, but no.  Non-Renewal of a lease is not a valid reason to make someone leave.  Unfortunately.  

And $20 says Minnesota extends the eviction moratorium to spring.