All Forum Posts by: Kevin S.

@Michael Ciesielski for me it depends on the area, time of year, etc. Is it normal for rentals in the area to allow pets? Or does it give you a competitive advantage? Also, you have to think about wear and tear on your property. Personally, unless it's a property that has already had pets in it before, I'd try to avoid a renter with pets, but that's just my opinion. As for aggressive breeds, be very careful to check your property insurance, a lot of insurance policies have clauses in them that don't allow coverage for properties that have aggressive breeds living on them.

@Chase Gu The first thing I would do is get them inspected and get an estimated replacement cost. Then I would approach the seller about potentially lowering his asking price based on their condition, however if the seller has already stated they are unwilling to replace them, you may find they are also not open to the idea of sharing the cost of replacement. You may just have to evaluate whether the deal is worth it if you include the expense of you paying for the full replacement costs.

Additionally, as a stop-gap measure, if the seller wont lower their sales price you could always request a home warranty (not sure if they do those for 4-plexes or not).

@Wilson Lee Okay, with that information it makes a bit more sense why she is concerned, however I still wouldn't let her dictate whether you sell or not. Have you spoken at all to the potential buyer about if they plan on keeping her on as a tenant?

@Mary M. I think what the poster meant by $450 is that they could only get approved for a loan of $450k.

@Laura Askew you could consider discussing an owner-financed purchase with your mom and aunt (just do a search for owner finance and you'll find a lot of information on BP). However, I have to agree with @Ned Carey, if you can only truly afford $450k, then as much as you want this deal it may not be for you. You don't want to over-leverage yourself and find yourself unable to make payments to the bank or to your family.

Good luck!

@Wilson Lee You need to stop giving your renter the option, serve her with a 48-hour notice that you'll be entering the property and then do so, she is not in-charge here. As far as her concerns with not being rented to by the new buyer, if she has a lease with you that has 7 months remaining on it then the new buyer has to honor that lease (though he/she can evict her if she is not following the lease rules). I would inform her that you are selling, that you are not switching to a month-to-month, and just sell the place.

I prefer Venmo, though if Cozy could compete with them as far as how quickly you can get your money then I'd probably switch to Cozy.

@Michael Noto and @Thomas S. thank you both for the advice, I'm going to stick to my guns with 680.

So I recently had my only tenant give notice, and am about to start the search for a new one. Just wanted to poll BP for what minimum FICO scores you require for applicants, I know this can be area specific, the property in question is in what I'd consider a B area. Rents in the area for similar duplexes range from $1,200 - $1,400. I'm leaning toward a minimum of 680, but considering the time of the year I'm concerned this may limit my applicant pool too much. Let me know your thoughts, thanks!

@Cosette Trantow I think $3k of closing costs is probably a bit low and I'm also a bit skeptical that you'll find a loan at an interest rate of 4.0%, I would think it would be at the best at 4.50%. Additionally, I'd increase your Vacancy to 8% so that you are saving up aproximately one month of rent per year (1/12 = 8.333%) and I'd defintily increase your CapX to 10% as CapX is for major repairs and since this property was built in 1984 I'm assuming it will have some maintenance needs sooner rather than later. Good luck!

@Jerry Brecko most likely the seller not wanting to extend means the offer from someone else he's planning to accept is equally as strong as yours, if not a better offer. Unless stated in the contract somewhere (which based on your post I'm assuming it isn't) the seller has no requirement to extend and, since you are the party that is unable to perform under the current contract there is probably nothing you can really sue him for (this is not legal advice, just an opinion). Additionally, I'd echo @Jaysen Medhurst about getting a reputation for threatening to sue people, especially when you're the one at fault. Your best bet is to either up your offer or do what @Mike Cumbie suggested and make your EMD non-refundable (maybe also up the EMD too).