All Forum Posts by: Kevin S.

I've been considering potentially selling a large duplex of mine in Tulsa, OK but I'm not exactly thrilled to pay 3-6% to a realtor to list it on the market. Can any realtors (or anyone who has done this before) chime in on what kind of flat fee I might be looking at if I find a buyer myself and just need a realtor to handle all the paperwork/disclosures for selling? Since its less time/marketing expense/etc. I would imagine a realtor would be happy to do it for less than the normal cost of listing a property, but maybe I'm wrong. Thanks for your input.

I'm not a lawyer and this isn't legal advice but I'm not sure that leaving her off the lease is a good idea, depending on Arkansas state/local laws. Certain states/areas have laws that allow "visitors/guests" who stay in a property for a certain amount of time (say 30 days) to automatically be considered tenants after that period of time, which would mean he would have to go through the whole eviction process for someone not on the lease. My advice is to always have any adults 18+ on the lease. (Also the national COVID moratorium places a lot of burden on the renter to prove that it was COVID that caused them to be unable to pay, which is the only thing you can't evict for. And they still legally owe you rent under the moratorium). 

@Allen Humphries you don't say what the term of the lease side A is under, so just be aware that you must honor the existing lease when you take possession. That means that if side A tenants are in month 5 of a 12 month lease you cannot raise their rent until the end of the 12 month lease. If they are on a month-to-month lease you will need to check your state/local laws on how much notice you must provide, its usually 30-60 days notice depending on state/local laws. If it were me, I would give them notice that the rent will be increasing to $1200 upon the termination of their existing lease, and if they would like to stay you are happy to let them, but they must complete a new application and go through your screening process before they sign a new lease with you. Remember, you didn't screen them initially, the prior owner did, so you want to make sure they are up to your standards. Good luck!

@Nancy Stark I'm not a lawyer and this isn't legal advice, but the eviction moratorium is only for non-payment of rent, and the tenant has to prove they were unable to pay due to substantial loss of household income, loss of compensable hours of work or wages, a lay-off, or extraordinary out-of-pocket medical expenses. They also have to prove they used best efforts to obtain all available government assistance for rent or housing. They have to apply for non-eviction Under Oath, which means if they lie they purger themselves, with all the legal implications that entails. They still have to pay rent owed at some point, even in the event that they do get the eviction stayed. Additionally, you can evict them for violations of other terms of the lease, just not non-payment.

All of this points to making sure your screening process is tough, so that you get good solid renters in place who won't need/want go through all of this. I would still continue to do 12-month leases, especially if that is the norm in your area but that's just my own personal opinion. Also, here's the link to the CDC language if you want to read the Agency Order

https://s3.amazonaws.com/publi...

@Kumar Gaurav no problem. There was a law passed that allows for plans to let participants take out distributions without having to pay the penalty, but 1) its not a requirement that the Plan allow this, each plan has to choose to adopt the measure and not all plans are, and 2) The distribution has to be because of some hardship due to the pandemic, not just because you want a distribution during the pandemic. You have to provide proof of hardship as far as I am aware. Additionally, if the money was from an old 401k and you've since rolled it over into an IRA or something else, then you may not be able to take a penalty free distribution at all under the new law since the money is no longer in a 401k plan, you'd need to check with your TPA.

@Timmy Riggs I'm not a legal expert and this is not legal advice, but yes they will have to honor the lease unless there is a clause in the lease agreement regarding termination in the event of sale. A quick google search will bring up a ton of info (mostly aimed at helping renters). 

@Kumar Gaurav To add on to what Greg Scott was saying, besides regular taxes on a distribution from your 401k, if you are below the required retirement age of your plan (this can vary, some plans its age 59.5 some it's up to 62) then you will have to pay an additional 10% penalty for taking a distribution before retirement age. This makes taking money from a 401k expensive, as you are basically losing about 20-25% in taxes and penalties. If possible my advice would be to find an alternate source of funds to use. 

@Mark Oliver did you have them fill out a check-in form or anything documenting any existing issues when they moved in? If so and the lock being messed up on the back-door isn't listed you may have some recourse of passing the charge on to them depending on what your lease says. But overall that shouldn't be a super expensive fix so I personally would probably just eat it. I'm also slightly confused on why you're paying their first month's electricity when it doesn't sound like that was called for, but that's your own personal call. 

@Steven Steele I'm no mortgage expert, but I would guess you're probably not going to get approved for a mortgage without monthly income. As such, quitting and moving your 401k to a Solo 401k would probably not be worth it. 

@Joe Splitrock is there a particular brand/type of ozone machine you recommend?