All Forum Posts by: Kent M.

Hello 

TL;DR A tenant who pays early or on time is causing a lot of headache so i want to end her month to month lease. Based on my interactions with her in the past she is likely going to seek legal support, counter, and not move out. What can i do in preparation so i'm ready for anything she might throw at me?

Questions: 

1. What is the law if something isn't spelled out or addressed in the lease?

2. Can i just email her the notice to end her lease? or does it have to be through the mail?

3. Do i need to give a reason for ending a month to month lease?

4. If she tries to fight back and doesn't move out, what are her rights? For example, if i want to end her lease at the end of July, but she doesn't move out. Do i have to go to court and file some kind of legal removal and bring in the cops?

5. If she decided to try and counter sue or something, would she be allowed to stay until everything is settled?

6. What if the tenant forges a new lease? Random thought, i did ask a while back to sign a year long lease. I had a new lease drafted up and sent her a copy but i never signed it. What if she forges my signature? (I think my paranoia is taking over)

7. Anyone know a good lawyer in Central Florida? lol

The Whole Story

The History: The wife and I purchased a house and to help pay for the mortgage we picked up 2 roommates (i'll name them Tenant1 and Tenant2) to house hack for a few years. We all got along well, everyone was considerate of each other, no one complained about anyone and we even all hung out from time to time. Then, my wife and I got a second home and moved into that house, leaving the first house with some empty rooms. I went looking for another person to move in and found the current tenant (i'll name her Tenant3) and another guy (Tenant4)

The Tenant (Tenant3): During screening i called her previous landords (one was a relative the other was a friend) they said she paid early and never missed a payment and was easy to live with. Her background/criminal records were clean. Her credit was really bad but asked if she could pay 1st and last months rent plus deposit. I agreed and she moved in shortly on a 6 month lease as a trial. Once the lease is over it'll roll into a month to month unless we sign a new lease. 

The Headache 1: About a month after moved in I started getting complaints from Tenant3 about Tenant2. Tenant3 said that Tenant2 was being creepy and that she didn't feel safe. I was hoping things would work itself out but I started to get harassment complaints from Tenant2. Eventually it got so bad, Tenant2 asked if he could move in with me in my new place. I was looking to fill a room so it all worked out in the end. 

The Headache 2: Not long after Tenant2 moved out, Tenant4 asked if he could move into the old room of Tenant2 (it was smaller so it was cheaper). Tenant4 told me he speparated with his GF (who was paying half the rent) so he was struggling to pay rent. I didn't see any problems so I let him move rooms. Fast forward 3 months. I'm getting complaints from Tenant3 that Tenant4 is very dirty and doesn't keep the shared bathroom clean. I was given photos but it's a shared bathroom between 3 people so it's hard to tell who is causing the mess. Then Tenant4 is complaining that Tenant3 is harassing him (via text by name calling and belittling) to the point he doesn't feel safe or welcome at home.

My Solution: Tenant3 hasn't signed a new lease so currently she is in a month to month lease. I'm planning on terminating her lease but i'm worried about the legal backlash. Or anyone else have any other thoughts on how to handle the situation? On the flip side, Tenant3 pays on time or early and i've never had any issues. As a tenant she is great but she doesn't seem to get along with other people in the house. 

@Joe Splitrock Interesting thought. I'm not good at thinking hypothetically as I alway end up wrong lol. I just usually assume the worst and prepare for it. haha

I know what you mean though. Having been in Orlando for 5 years surrounded by all these people obessed with theme parks, it's hard not to think that Orlando wont bounce back to 110%. It's good to hear and outsiders perspective to ground me lol. 

I do feel like since I've been here the Disney has really helped grow this town and houses are popping up all around the disney area. Which makes me feel like that as long as Disney continues to grow and lead in theme parks Orlando will stay as a top tourist destination. But again... I have been drinking the juice for a while now. My persective might be a little skewd lol. 

@Jaron Walling Thanks for the reassurance! It gets hard to keep confident in what i've learned and read when everyone I talk to about say the opposite. 

What kind of reserves do you think I should have? 1 year? I'm looking for places around the theme parks so I'm fairly confident I can keep tenants in there even if I have to drop my the rental rate a little.

Thanks! 

Kento

@Bruce Woodruff True I supposed that makes sense but other types of investments seem risky too, so if i dont use the money towards a house then I think it'll just sit there. At least if I put it in a piece of property and fill it with tenants then I'm hoping I'll get a little equity built up. Or at least that's how I'm looking at it.

Hello All, 

I'm still very new to to investing so excuse my lack of proper education. 

I live in Orlando where prices have sky rocketed in the past year. All my friends are telling me it's a bad time to buy a house but I know, as long as a I run the numbers and run them conservatively it'll be okay, right? But it did get me thinking, what kinds of things should I look out for when the market calms down?  

I'm assuming the amount I can rent the unit for (mostly looking at SFR and multi family) will go down? How much could it go down? Could the value of the property plumment? So should I lean towards putting more money down? or keep more in reserves? And at what point would a lender try to foreclose a house? When the LTV gets too bad? or just if I can't make the payments?

Anything else to take into consideration in my calculations before pulling the trigger on a house?

Thanks in advanced!

Kento

Thanks @David M.

Makes sense! i'm not at the point where i feel like it's worth it to have an LLC yet but if i do then i'll be sure to make that change.

Thanks!

@Jason Wray thanks!

A side question, I just got a new job. Is there an amount of time I have to wait before I can get approved for a loan?

I'm eager to make a new investment with my higher income!

Hello!

I'm already a few years into a single family home house hack where I rent out some rooms. As I listen to pod casts and do more research I realized I need a separate account to keep things happy with Uncle Sam. It got me thinking, I don't make enough income from renting out the rooms to cover the cost of the mortgage so my question is, which account should I pay the mortgage from? Is it better for me to funnel money into the business account and pay the mortgage from there? Or move the rent money to my account and pay the mortgage from my personal account?

Much thanks!

Kento

Awesome! That's what I was hoping. Thank you so much!

Hello BP Peeps!

I remember hearing or reading a while back that I should always notarize a lease in order for the document to be legally binding. I haven't actually seen or hear anyone say anything since but wanted to throw it out here on the forum. Thoughts?

Thanks!

Kento