All Forum Posts by: Kevin Fonda

Tenant let someone stay there without me knowing. He was there long enough to,if it came to it, be evicted. I gave him 15 Days to get his stuff out or him AND the tenant we’re going to be served eviction papers. He got out on the last day. I could evict tenant because she broke the terms of her lease but have decided to let her stay. The guy returned the key but in the interest of security if I decide to change the lock would i have grounds to charge that cost to the tenant?

Hey folks! Quick question about my rental..if I have to change the locks on an apt because, in short, the tenant gave a key to someone who has since been asked to leave do/can I charge the tenant for the cost of replacing the lock? Along with that, do many of you who rent use a combo lock so it can be changed out when a new tenant moves in? Considering this for this situation and is I do I’ll charge the tenant for the cost of a conventional lock and cover the rest myself. Thanks for any advice!!

I agree Nathan, and that’s why if the friend hasn’t left by the agreed date the tenant will be served eviction papers as well. Just because a tenant pays on time and keeps the place nice doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a good tenant...but...those 2 things are key to being a good tenant and it’s hard to just disregard. That’s why I like the advice of Amy. If tenant is helpful in the process of getting friend out and it’s done by the agreed upon date then I will probably offer a new, modified lease that will be month to month. If there are no issues for a period of say 6 months then if they would like to sign a new 12 month lease then that’s an option or continue as is.

I also considered briefly in the beginning about approaching the person and offering them a few hundred dollars to leave (is there paperwork that goes along with cash for keys?) and then charge that to the tenant but don’t know whether that is even legal; and then what happens if the person leaves and 2 weeks later the tenant and person are friends again and he’s back living in the apartment? As much as I despise the idea of cash for keys I do understand that in certain circumstances it’s the easiest and quickest way of getting someone out.

Thanks for the good tips/advice everyone! Funny thing is that I just had a conversation with both tenants about their upcoming ending of 12 month lease in Feb. I told them both I’d be happy to offer them another yr lease and have them stay as tenants but if they decided to move on I want them to be aware that as of Jan 2nd I’d like to start showing the apt. (To avoid any vacancy time).They both want to stay...then this issue began. If the person that is not on lease is not out I will serve him AND the tenant with eviction papers. If the person IS out by the agreed date with no issues I like the idea of rewriting a month to month lease for that tenant. If all is good with no issues possibly offer a new 12 month lease 3/6 months in. Rent is/has always been up to date so no issues with non payment. Opinions? I don’t want to live too much in fear of finding a good tenant...I’d hope the place I bought a year ago as my start to investing can stand on its own as a solid rental that is attractive to prospective tenants. But at the same time I don’t want to push out a tenant who pays and takes care of the place and then run the risk of ending up with someone worse. Stuck between that and the fear of chasing out a great tenant (the other tenant)who might not feel safe/comfortable in the place. **And the issue being that the one tenant has had issues with very loud extended arguments that have spilled out into yard. Violent language and even threatening. All between the tenant and friend. It recently resulted in police being called in middle of night. And same tenant let someone stay with them without my knowledge long enough that if that person doesn’t voluntarily leave I will need to evict them. Which is violation of the lease. Other than this issue tenant is a relatively good tenant. Thanks again!!

Looking for peoples opinion on this. I’ve owned a duplex for a year now in Orange County NY which is about 65 miles North of NYC. I have both apartments rented to single individuals that both keep the place clean and pay on time like clockwork. The one tenant moved in with her boyfriend but they’ve since broke up and he’s moved out. She’s had friends over periodically and one who stayed for a few weeks. As I’ve noticed the same people at the apt on several occasions I’ve asked if she has anyone else living there. She’s always said no. Now fast forward to a few weeks ago and there is an issue with a disturbance that cops had to be called in at 3am. Other tenant has a small child who were all woken to cops searching and 3 hours of yelling fighting and arguing. It’s been an issue a few times where one tenant has had to deal with frequent fighting coming from other apt. Other issue is the fighting has stemmed from someone who has been staying there for over 2 months. She said she “thought she told me”. So now this person who is not on the lease needs to be evicted. After talking to the person they’ve claimed they have set up a place and will be out by Dec 15th. I’ve agreed and told him if he’s not out by then both him and tenant will be served eviction papers. My issue is the tenant for the most part is good. Always pays on time and no issues with damage to property. She keeps the place nice. My worry is if I don’t act and have her evicted the other tenant who is great might consider moving out at the end of her lease in Feb. (both tenants at this point have recently stated they are going to renew their lease for another year in Feb). To evict or not to evict? That’s the question.

What are the details of the meet-ups as far as time/date and location?

I live in Orange County NY (also work in NYC and commute) and have just bought my first 2 family in Walden. I have a few friends who own property in Maybrook, Walden, Warwick, and Slate Hill. I'm a newbie myself and have limited knowledge but would say you've got a great plan to do FHA, but as you said you're limited geographically by your full-time job. I'd suggest to keep looking and be patient. Check out Walden which has a good mix of decent taxes, fair amount of properties, and good prices. I understand your fear of buying older homes common to some of these areas but if you do your homework when looking at the properties and find a reputable home inspector you can help mitigate some of those issues. Good luck and feel free to contact me if you want to talk about the area!

I'm on the verge of closing on my first deal! Very excited and so I wanted to post my experience up to this point. First of all, the deal: I purchased a 2 family duplex in Orange County NY. Purchase price is $177,500. I put down 25% ($44,000). Closing costs will be right around $14,000. The numbers are as follows: Gross rents are $2,400. After mortage/taxes/insurance, $200 in expenses (for garbage and common electric charges), and $300 a month for vacancy and repairs (a little low but borrowed for closing costs so wanna pay back loan as soon as possible) the monthly cash flow will be about $500. Cap rate factoring the $300 aside will be about 8%. Any input/feedback about the deal? It's located in Orange County NY roughly 65 miles outside of NYC. **Interesting situation arose during the process. Place was recently vacated to facilitate the sale. While completely vacant at inspection, my agent let me know the owner was going to be letting a "friend" stay in one unit for 2 weeks. I immediately let my attorney know and he made sure the contract was for the units to be vacant and in the condition they were in at inspection. Fast forward 2-3 weeks and this "friend" has a large dog (which had gone the bathroom on the carpet in a bedroom) and had moved furniture in. I call attorney and he adds an addendum about having the carpets professionally cleaned and the apartment odor free.~~Fast forward another week or 2 and my agent noticed the person had 3 dogs and a cat and more stuff moved in. We were assured she would be out by the end of October. That didn't happen. In the process of trying to close by the second week of November, we hear from the sellers attorney that they are 'having trouble getting the "tenant" to leave'. The "tenant" has said they're not moving out until the end of November. Now initially I had thought...its my first deal and there's no reason to stress out about this. I wouldn't close unless the place was vacant and clean and so when that happened it would happen. Except I find out my rate was expiring and I'd have to pay ($600) to extend it because....rates have risen! At this point the tenant is supposedly out and we are set to close this week. I'll be doing the walk thru a few days in advance and am hoping the place is cleaned and ready to go. And I believe the seller has agreed to pay the fee to extend the rate. Just wondering how often others have encountered a similar issue. Thanks in advance for any feedback and advice!