All Forum Posts by: Ken Musial

Agree with all replies above.  Month to Month is very landlord friendly assuming you've already had these tenants in there for at least a year.  It gives you the freedom to raise rents and/or not renew with a simple 30-day notice.  

Ken

I'm definitely not accepting them.  I was just curious if anyone has ever run into issues where the applicants are now looking for recourse because you spoiled their current relationship with their landlord.  I know they are liars and the thought of that seems ridiculous, but in this day and age, you never know.

Just has applicants that seemed like a good fit on the surface.  No public eviction records, decent income, etc.  However, something seemed fishy on the landlord reference.  She was a woman who was on both of their Facebook friends list, she wasn't a realtor or a property manager, and she didn't show as the owner of the residence.  Of course I called but got no answer or return phone call.  So, I decided to call the real owner. I tracked him down at the gas station he apparently owns and asked if he knew the tenants. He of course did and had no idea they were looking to move at all, much less within 5 days.  He wasn't willing to divulge anything positive or negative but the question is, could I get in trouble for disclosing this information to the real landlord about his tenants since it wasn't technically disclosed to me.  Anyone ever run into this?

Ken

Hey all. I have a unique situation, for me anyways, that I'd like some advice on. I have a tenant whose lease expires on Feb 29th. He has expressed a desire to renew but is now over a month late in rent. Obliviously, I will not be renewing the lease but must give a 30 day notice, per VA regulations. The question now is, do I just end the lease and get him out, or do I follow through with the eviction process? Has anyone ever successfully did both of these at the same time? Can a 30-day termination notice and a 5-day pay or quit notice can work hand-in-hand.

Thanks,

Ken

First off, learn how to screen potential tenants.  This one took me a while but never underestimate the BS people will sell you to move into your place.  Learn how to navigate your local municipalities's court records.  If you find an eviction or an unlawful detainer, do not rent to them.  Don't focus too much on credit ratings.  Sometimes, tenants with lackluster credit can work out great assuming they have the income ratio covered.  The low credit will often keep them there longer since it's a barrier for them to buy a home.  

Second, treat these tenants with the utmost respect.  If something breaks, fix it immediately.  A mutual respect for your tenants will encourage more timely payments, better care of your property, and most importantly, less turnover.

Speaking of turnover, this will most likely be your #1 expense.  With that said, do not feel the need to automatically raise rent at the end of every lease if the market doesn't dictate it.  Some no-nonsense investors on here have a rule that automatically adds 2-3% at the end of every lease.  IMO, this just forces people our prematurely and any potential gains are washed out with an empty unit for a month or two.

And lastly, if you are managing yourself, learn how to fix things.  There are simply YouTube videos on anything imaginable from replacing disposals, fixing dryers, etc.  Not only does this save you money, but it will help you build a more solid business relationship with your tenants.  

Ken

Exact same situation with the local cops/DEA.  They successfully used the battering ram and yet still smashed in the window screens.  Sounds like a standard practice, but why???

I have seven properties and have done some research.  I have 7 individual polices and they are cheaper as a whole versus one commercial policy.  Any bulk discounts you could hope to achieve are outweighed simply by having the word "Commerical" in the policy.  

Credit ratings can be overrated.  If credit is too good, it just means that once they have a down payment for their own place, they are gone.  But just like mentioned above, no prior evictions and 3x the rent are probably the 2 biggest factors.  After that, you have to just try and gauge the tenants and best you can.  Researching court records can really help.  

I agree with the above responses.  However, there will come a time when you'll want to retire and don't want anymore properties.  At that point in time, you'll want as much cash flow as possible.  If you're target retirement date is, say, 20 years from now, figure out how much extra principal to pay on your 30-year loan to make it 20 instead.  If you're 30+ years from retirement, pay the minimum and invest that money somewhere else.  

Maint/CAPEX but more specifically in my case, QEST pipes. I underestimated how much damage these things can cause. I just had a pipe break in a condo slab that ruined $3k worth of floors and baseboards. I paid another $3k to re-run pex pipes through the walls and another $2k to patch said walls. The tenants were displaced for a month. This one event ruined my whole year on this unit.

If you buy a place and see gray plumbing pipes, address it immediately or run away.