All Forum Posts by: Randall Brown

You got no comprehensive coverage on the car? I don't think it is the landlord's liability. (But his liability insurance will pay for attorneys to defend him, should you sue.)

Do you have renter's insurance? Many rental contracts require the tenant to get it ($10 a month), but few tenants actually do it. Renter's insurance would probably cover the car.

I know someone (a renter) who's car got messed up when a tree fell on it; he bought renter's insurance and reported the claim the next day. They paid.

That is a big IF.

I bet this won't be the last notice that you printed for her. 

Yes, same here in most except the lowest quality locations.  

if the roof is not too old looking, you could ask the seller for the name of the roofer. That roofer might have given a warranty. If you are lucky, it is a transferrable warranty.

If there is no warranty, at least you know which roofer you will NOT hire ;-)

I think we have 10 to 12 section-8 families. Only 3 of them don't lie about who actually lives in the property.

"Single mom with kid" has a voucher? It's guaranteed that at least the baby daddy will live there, possibly an entire additional family.

People from some cultures/ countries have no problem putting an entire family into each bedroom.

As noted above, it's impossible to prove occupancy. They are always "just visiting".

Something to think about, when you hear the argument that small dogs bite more often than large dogs:

The small dog is going to cause a scratch when it decides to bite,  or a small injury. A rottweiler or pitbull is going to cause real damage.

Thanks. Sounds good. I will check if it is toxic.

Link:how often should you pump a septic system

there are some web sites out there that tell you how often you need to pump. Just google "how often pump septic". 

These sites have lookup tables with tank size in one direction and number of people living there in the other direction.

I know properties that get pumped every 20 years.. only 1 person lives there and a 2500 Gallon tank. It goes twice as long if the person lives there during the summer months only.

Garbage disposals basically cut the # of years in half.

So, we are in contract to purchase a SFR that needs a lot of repairs.. cosmetic, updating, repair water intrusion, some exterior walls to be reframed, new roof, etc etc.

Purchase price is $900k, repairs $180k, resale $1500k.

The seller provided - among other disclosures - a MOLD report. They took some samples in the house (several spots, one of them being the kitchen!) and found mold. The report specifies what kind of mold it is. 

The tenants have lived there for over 3 years. They paid around $150k in rent during these years.

The mold report is from February 2017.

I do not know if the seller gave the tenants a copy of the lab report. I would hope so.

Our worry is that the tenants try to sue us after close of escrow and try to get the last 6, or 12 or even 24 months of rent refunded. They could claim that told the landlord for several years about the mushrooms growing etc, and ask now US to refund unfairly collected rents.

Is this a valid worry?

How do we protect ourselves?

Ask the property to be turned over vacant?

Ask the tenants for an indemnification?