All Forum Posts by: Josh Polston

Greg,

UPDATE - all bluster, rent was paid in full for November.  Also, I did just as you suggested, after a number of e-mails complaining about the oven, I offered to send a cleaner over and do another round.  They never responded after all the complaining.  So it was really the best of both worlds, I have my e-mail offering to re-clean oven, demonstrating how reasonable I am, yet did not have to actually do anything.

Another update, one of my angel tenants that helps keep the garbage area organized, let me know that the (stove) tenants are making a mess and dumping garbage all over the place.  I just sent them a letter quoting the lease provisions against waste and noting they will be fined and/or evicted based on future instances of dumping garbage outside of proper containers.

Does it ever end?

Justin,  if I can get them to move out I would be happy to buy the new tenant two new stoves  alternating on each day of the week depending which one they want to use . we will see very soon if they follow through on threat to withhold rent as the first of the month is right around the corner.

UPDATE - all bluster, rent was paid in full

Michael, true indeed. We're coming up on the end of the month and I'm sure everyone on this post will be waiting to hear the outcome if this tenant follows through on their threat to withhold rent. If they do it will be a wonderful thing because then I can simply evict them.

Darrin from NM, hit it on the head.  In addition to R. control, we also have eviction control, thus even if the lease is over, you can't just ask a tenant to leave.  The law says they have the right to stay as long as they want.  There are only a few ways to evict and they usually always come down to not paying rent.  So if they choose to not to pay it would fine by me...

You can see why many CA investors look outside the state...

You are witnessing the miracle of Bay Area rents over the past 7 years -- they have risen by double digits in many of those years, and remembering the law of 70 (70/i rate = years to double @ compound interest) it does not take that long for rents to double. Since these were "legacy" tenant that came with building, they claimed rent of $850 on estoppel at time of purchase. Bld. was a REO and the bank had not collected any rent for 18 months prior to sale. So, to answer your question, you start with a very low under-market basis (market at the time was $1,200), you constrain rent increases via R. control and at the same time the market goes gang-busters, you can actually end up less than 1/2 market rates after a few years. Hope that helps.

Brian, rent is raised every year by 1 - 1.7%  based on the published allowed increase  the city. indeed, rent control can be very costly to a landlord aniwave for politicians to push the burden of providing under Market rent on to the private sector without their acquiescence. I have also had Section 8 tenants where the government can clean and paid the difference between a very low rent that the tenant could afford and market rate, that's a fair approach but the rent control laws are wholly unjustified and unfair.

Darrin, you got it.

varinder, I wish I could but as I mentioned before this is a rent-controlled unit and the local jurisdiction is very tight regulations on justifications for raising the rent above the calculated inflation or CPI amount. You can raise the rent for Capital Improvements but those are spread out over 20 years and would not apply to appliances. They have us locked down here pretty tight, it's hard to be a landlord these days.

Bernie, you make a good point on all of my new leases I put the onus of maintaining and repairing all appliances on the tenant. The key issue here is that this is a legacy tenant that I inherited when I purchased the building. Due to the laws in my local jurisdiction I cannot reduce the services that I provide to them without also reducing the rent. Since I don't want to reduce the already very low rent I need to continue to provide appliances, I'll be at basic appliances which is my intent here.