All Forum Posts by: Kevin S.

@Jeffrey Townsend I have language in my lease stating "...if tenant fails to mow and maintain lawn and grounds, Landlord will have the right to hire a professional service to mow and maintain the lawn and grounds, and Tenant will be responsible for all such expenses" to cover this issue. I also have something in my lease about being in compliance with "any and all HOA rules affecting the property".

If I were you I would look to not renew with them once their lease is up for renewal, find a tenant that is willing to take care of the property without constant micromanaging. 

@Zach Shahan have you researched how a MSRE impacts your earning potential? That's where I would start. I got a Master's in Accounting because, when I researched it, the jobs I could get with a Master's in Accounting paid far more in the long-run than job only requiring a Bachelor's in Accounting (even considering the cost of student loans/interest/time). 

@Grant Doyle You said you're in Oklahoma? If so then I REALLY question those roof quotes. I purchased a 4,150 sq ft duplex in Tulsa last year, and the roof came up in the inspection report. Ended up negotiating to have the seller pay to have it replaced if I payed for the cost of tearing off the old shingles. It was $1500 for the tear-off and something like $7k for the brand-new roof. You could also see about negotiating a higher price with the seller if the seller has the roof replaced before you close. We get hail all the time here in Oklahoma so I'd bet there's damage on his roof from it and his insurance company might pay to have it replaced. Overall, even with a roof that has only about 5 years left, if you're paying $0 instead of $1,200 in rent each month for 5 years that's a savings of $72k so you'd still be ahead. Good luck!

@Cory Carlson I think you meant to tag the OP not me on your response 

@Thomas Hatley in that case my recommendation would be that, if the property truly is worth it even with a non-evicted schizophrenic tenant that doesn't pay rent, then go for it but you just need to be prepared to start the eviction process pretty much the day you close. As for protecting yourself, not sure there's much you can do other than file an eviction notice with the tenant, have a lawyer you can reach out to if needed, and have home insurance.

I know you said the seller can't bring herself to do it, but you'd be surprised what the potential profits from a sale can do. I'd try and lean on her first to get it done. If she absolutely won't then just proceed with caution. Good luck!

@Thomas Hatley you should make it part of the offer/sale that the seller evict the tenant before you close on the property. The last thing you want to deal with as a new owner is the headache of a non-paying tenant. 

@Nicole Butler Since you didn't ask a question, I'm just going to assume your question was can you buy the property and raise the rent on the tenant before their lease expires July 2020. The answer is that the lease follows the property, not the owner, so you would have to honor the lease and it's stated rent until the 7/20 expiration. At that time you could try and renew with increased rent or look for new tenants. Good luck!

@Gina Stern Rather than rehash this conversation, just do a quick search on BP for the topic. I think there's a new thread asking this question at least once a week, if not more often.

@Nick Ferrari when I listed my property back in March, I got the most "hits" off of facebook and from a sign in the yard. If you use facebook though, be prepared to get a lot of messages saying "Is this available?" Facebook has a button or something that prompts potential renters to use that as their first response to your ad, I know some people get annoyed with it. Also, although I had a ton of response on FB, about 80% weren't interested once they found out the details of the property even though those details were already listed in the FB ad. So if I were you I'd have a pre-written first response ready to copy-paste as a reply, something along the lines of:

"Hi XYZ, yes the property is currently available. As the ad states, it is a 3 bed, 2 bath, 1800 sq ft single family house in Allentown listed at $900/month. The property is non-smoking and we do allow dogs (limit 2) depending on breed. We are looking for applicants with 650+ credit scores, no prior evictions, no criminal record, and with monthly income equal to 3 x monthly rent. Would you like to schedule a tour?"

The response to this will often be "oh I didn't realize that" or "oh I can't afford that", so this will keep you from wasting much time on the 80% who aren't serious or wouldn't qualify and didn't bother to read your original ad. Good luck!

@Brandon Kingcaid I'm slightly confused by your statement "it would seem that with the higher payment associated with an FHA loan...", it sounds like you're referring to the downpayment and FHA has one of (if not the) lowest downpayments you can get at 3.5%, the downside being that you're stuck with MIP for the life of the loan. Overall FHA can be a good way to start (I used it myself to purchase a duplex), however I've heard of several banks doing 5% down loans with only PMI, which you can get removed after you have 20% equity in the home. If it were me, I'd look into if your local banks do something similar. The other downside to FHA is that they have stricter rules on the conditions of the house, so some sellers don't like to work with buyers using FHA loans (although it sounds like you're looking at newer properties so might not be an issue).

As to nicer/newer duplexes, well just run the numbers. You're most likely paying a higher price for something nicer/newer and may not be able to make up the difference in rent, so you're potentially getting less profit but also potentially have less fixes/headaches to deal with. Good luck with your search!