All Forum Posts by: Keith Jacobson

The most important part of a signature is INTENT.  Whether they sign electronically or physically, they have to intend to enter the contract/lease.  Even if their signature is an X. If you have an email chain where you offer the lease, and they return the lease with an attached document with their signature on it. They are bound to the document.

The "it wasn't me" defense to a contract that they benefited from (by living in the apartment) won't fly in front of a Judge or a Jury.

I've got a problem that seems unique. My partner and I have been looking for a multi-family property. I'm a Broker in Illnois, but we're looking in the surrounding states. We've found a few properties that meet our criteria on loopnet and the MLS, but the realtors listing the properties will not return phone calls. I've called one broker once a week for the past three weeks. No response. I've reached out through the broker's website, I've emailed. I've called and left messages. Crickets.... Then a week later, the property is listed as under contract.

Do I smell through the phone? Is my request for the financials too burdensome?  I don't get it.  Any suggestions I can use to convince people to let me buy things from them?

You should definitely continue with the eviction. It won't get better from here.  Your jurisdiction will have rules about what a person needs to do to qualify as a tenant in the eyes of the Court.  She may or may not have met those criteria.  The rent is an indivisible amount due every month from all tenants (the legal term is joint and several liability). So she doesn't get "credit" for paying her roommates part.  The judge in eviction court will explain it to her.

Also, check the rules in your jurisdiction on accepting partial rent. In some jurisdictions, accepting a partial payment delays your ability to file for/execute an eviction. So you may have to stop accepting payments from them altogether.

You should do a cost/benefit analysis on pursuing the back rent/cleaning/damages costs.  Your filing and service fees alone will probably be a few hundred dollars and as you said it's not likely you'll collect.  The kind of people who pay to live with 7 other people in a 3 bedroom house aren't likely to have much in collectable assets.

As for the other people, you're going to have trouble proving anything in court against them. You don't have any contract with them and your proof that they lived there will be circumstantial at best, especially after they get to tell their side of the story. ("I just had a letter delivered there because I didn't want my wife to see it.")

Principals don't pay the mortgage.  Rent the place, make money.  Let the deadbeats be deadbeats.

I know this has been asked before, but I can't find the old posts.  We're in Evanston, Illinois and we're looking for a real-estate savvy CPA to advise on my property management business and investment portfolio.

Any great CPA's in Evanston?

The City has passed a vacant buildings ordinance.  But they can't take your building from you without filing a lawsuit and giving you notice.  If the building is vacant, you are supposed to register it with the City.  The link to their FAQ is below.

https://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/bldgs/supp_info/vacant-buildings.html

Try Fixer.com.  They do great work, they're reasonably priced and you can schedule pretty much any time.

I may be wrong, but I'd be surprised if a collection company would buy a debt that isn't reduced to judgment.  If they buy a judgment, they can go directly after the debtors bank accounts etc... (which is difficult enough) Until they get a judgment, they have a legal battle, not something they can collect.  That added risk means they'll pay less.

Pursuing tenants who have vacated is usually break even at best.  Call it tuition and move on.

Sounds like a big fat mess!  Legally, they have breached the contract and if you take them to court you'd likely win.  PRACTICALLY, the best option isn't as clear.  As I see it you have two basic options. 1 - take the beating and move on or 2 - sue for eviction/back rent.  

Option 2 will cost you attorneys fees, filing fees, service of process fees, etc.... some of these can be collected on the back end if you get a judgment, but the attorneys fees typically aren't collectible.  So after 6-9 months (if you're lucky) you have a judgment against Mom, Dad and Daughter for $4-6k.  Congratulations!!  How do you collect?  It's clear that none of them have that kind of cash sitting around (if they did, you wouldn't be here, they'd be paying rent). So you have a judgment and they're good people so they start paying $100/month.  That's if the checks don't bounce.  Maybe you get some of their settlement, or maybe that settlement doesn't happen (you'd be surprised how few/small those types of settlements are).

Take what they're offering and get them out so you can start making money with your unit.  Trying to get "blood from a stone" doesn't move your business forward, but ties you to their drama

As a former personal injury attorney, I can tell you that if your name is in any way related to the property (on the deed, rent checks etc..), you will be named as a Defendant.  Plaintiffs don't have any information early on as to your business structure, so they will "shotgun" and name everyone who could potentially be involved to make sure they file against the correct entity before the statute of limitations expires.

I am not YOUR lawyer, but it seems to me your bigger problem is that your insurance policy does not have you (the property owner) as a named insured.  Insurance companies margins are income (premiums and investments with premiums) - expenses (claims).  If they can avoid paying a claim, they will.  They have no loyalty to you, so if they can deny coverage because you weren't named in the policy, they will.

Piercing the corporate veil is a complicated topic, and this is a long reply already. The short answer is if you "disregard the corporate form" (i.e. don't treat the LLC as it's own "person") they could potentially ignore the corporate veil. One "accidental" payment probably wouldn't do it, but a bunch of them would become a problem.