All Forum Posts by: Kristi Wolfe

@Theresa Harris - I've never done this before.  Any advice?  Do collection agencies charge fees if they do not collect the debt?  Any companies you can recommend?

Long story short:  Should I bother taking a nightmare previous tenant to court for $1500? I looked at the pro se small claims court website in my area - which is 45 minutes away, and it says that ALL cases are referred to mediation. WHAT? The whole point of going pro se is to not pay for legal services...Mediation will be at least $200/hour!  Option B:  I keep sending her a bill every month for eternity just to make myself feel better.

The backstory - if you want to know...
Last summer, we began a year-long lease with a nightmare tenant.  This tenant lied on her application about smoking, her former landlord (we called, and spoke to someone who said she was great - no problems at all, but that's not possible, given our experience with her and the neighbors at our rental property over the past year), and she had her boyfriend move in despite him not being on the lease.  The lease would terminate on 7/31/22.  She told us she was moving out early because she was supposedly very ill and not working, and assumed that that meant the lease would end.  I explained to her - in writing - in 10 different ways, that she needed to inform us IN WRITING of when she planned to vacate, and once that happened, we'd begin looking for a tenant to move in prior to her lease end, and *if* we could find someone, her lease could be terminated effective the day before the new tenant moved in, and the lease had nothing to do with her living there or not.  My husband, the legal sole owner of the property, verbally agreed let her out of the lease with 3 days' notice because he didn't understand what a "notice to vacate" really is.  Sigh - so not only did she not pay rent on July 1 when it was due, but she caused over $3,000 worth of damages & cleaning, the place reeks of smoke, etc... After taking the security deposit to cover some of the damages, we're at a net bill due from the tenant to us of around $1500, and that's after forgiving July's rent payment. 

We've asked for her forwarding address - asked her to fill out a forwarding address form and leave it when she moved out - nope.  Texted her - no - she texted and was supposedly in the ER, so couldn't give us the address, but was able to scrape together the strength to text that she was in the ER (don't believe it for a second).  Tried getting it from the boyfriend - so that we "knew where to send the check", but he just wanted to meet us somewhere to get the check because he "can't have her accepting mail at the new place" - so clearly she knows the game, and knows we can't take her to court unless we have her address.  I'm trying to get the address by mailing her disposition of deposit to our rental property, and writing "address correction requested" on the mail - I've also mailed a empty envelope to the boyfriend with "return service requested" on it. ...fingers crossed.

If we're able to find her address, I want to take her to court.  I'd love to get some of that money back, but more so to cause her a headache like she caused us (childish?  maybe, but I'm ok with that) Maybe her next landlord/property will be treated a bit better if she knows there are consequences for her actions.

I've been researching real estate investing (specifically BRRRR) for a couple of years now, but cannot gain the capital required - yet. So, I'm considering wholesaling for the next few years. But, once I get a property under contract, what if I cannot find an end-buyer? Does the contract expire? Am I on the hook for buying the property myself? How do I even find a buyer? (Just by networking?)

Thanks!

We own a rental townhome in Streamwood IL - a suburb of Chicago.  Streamwood is decent. - not posh, but not seedy.  Somehow, the housing standards chart says that in Streamwood, the rent for a 2-BR should be capped at $1965/mo, which is the highest rate in the entire county - and that county includes the very posh Gold Coast in Chicago!  We currently are renting at $1775/mo, and our (difficult) tenant is moving out at the end of her lease on July 31.

The place is 1100 sf, completely renovated in 2016, attached garage, stainless steel appliances, granite countertops in kitchen and bathroom-- a nice place...but someone on federal housing assistance can live there for free if they're unemployed (during a nationwide labor shortage, mind you), or for far less than the actual rent if they're employed with a low-paying job.

Every time we're looking for tenants, we get inundated with people looking for Section 8 housing.  We always have said no in the past because (a) it bothers us that people who are on government assistance get to live in a palace while those working hard every penny they live off of must live in far less luxurious homes.  And (b), we hardly ever have a problem finding someone who is not on Section 8 who wants to rent the place, so there's less hassle with it.  But, given that our current tenant is so difficult, is almost always late with paying rent (in cash!) and that we can get $190 more/mo if we rent to a Section 8 tenant, we're considering it despite feeling resentful of the unfairness.

One major concern that we have is - how long does it take to get approved for Section 8 in Cook County IL?  We have to first find the tenant, screen then, call references, do the background check, credit check, then apply for the rental to be approved...then they have to come out and inspect, then more paperwork.... how long does that take?  In my experience, government agencies typically aren't the quickest/most efficient.  I'm afraid that we advertise on July 1, find a tenant by July 7, apply...then wait wait wait...then on July 27, find out that we're not approved for some reason...then have 3 days to find another tenant because our current tenant's lease expires Jul 31.

What have you experienced in Cook County with the HAP/Section 8 program?

Thanks!

Thanks for all the varying replies! We had an Open House style showing yesterday and had a line when we arrived to unlock it! But- many were Section 8 (we just don’t want to deal with the extra hoops to jump through), 1 was unemployed, 1 wanted to know that day if he could move in…so lots of “noise” but only a couple of really good options. I looked again at comparable rentals in the area and we were right where we should be price-wise. So all in all, things went well, we have a signed lease today, and next time we know to maybe increase the rent just a bit higher than we think is right, and if in a few days on the market, it’s not getting much interest, we lower it. Thanks again!

@Patricia Steiner Thanks a lot. I didn’t know if a bidding war is standard practice or something that only the shady landlords do. We have just 1 property and haven’t ever had the barrage of interest until now. We have in the past advertised it too early or too late, and also did professional pictures recently…so I’ll chalk it up to learning, experience, and knowing how to do do it right now.

We just put our rental up on Zillow, and in the 48 hours that it has been for rent, I have received 32 inquiries and four applications. We have not even showing the place yet. I am now thinking that we could have increased the rent even more than we already did over the current tenants’ rent. Is unethical to screen tenants, narrow it down, and then tell those tenants that whoever Is willing to pay the highest rent can sign a lease?

@Phil Hardway. There are 2 Amazon distribution centers coming to some fairly depressed areas near me, and I was researching how this might affect those towns’ economies and housing markets. I found your post from 2 years ago...so what ended up happening with the situation? Did it increase property values/rents/demand like I would guess it would?

@Matt Ziegler Thanks! I am just trying to keep my eyes wide open and not be too trusting/naive while I’m learning. Thanks for the reply! I have spoken to another lender just to comparison shop, and their rates/terms were slightly more favorable not not by a landslide, so I’m glad to know the first lender is still competitive.

I'm a newbie in the "learning and assembling me team" stage, and I found a lender who had a loan that was structured for BRRRR deals. Back in early March (pre Covid), details were:

Minimum downpayment: 10% of the total of purchase price + rehab budget

HML interest only-rate for an unseasoned investor: 11.5%

conversion to 30-year fixed rate: 6.75% (or could buy down the rate), and I can pull out a maximum of 80% of the ARV.

BUT NOW.....as of today, the new terms are:

Minimum downpayment: **25%**** of the total of purchase price + rehab budget!!!!!!

HML interest only-rate for an unseasoned investor: 12% (only a 1/2 percent increase - understandable)

conversion to 30-year fixed rate: 7-8%, (varies, based on debt service ratio) and I can pull out a maximum of 75% of the ARV.

In March, it looked fabulous. Now it looks totally unappealing. I haven't been following the market since the spring - is this how it looks everywhere these days, or do I need to start from scratch and try to find a new lender at this point? I can come up with a 25% downpayment, but it'll be hard (have to sell stocks to get it), but the worst part is the 8% APR on the fixed rate 30 year loan...that seems ridiculous to me!