All Forum Posts by: Marcia Maynard

A bit of an odd situation. Too risky for you to take on that role.

What is your exit strategy? Are you looking for another place to live or would you like to stay? If you would like to stay, would you like to buy the house? If yes, can you position yourself to get financing? If the house sells to someone else, what would it take for you to move? You have some options to explore. Your choice.

So the seller (former owner of the property) and the original PM, prior to the rogue PM, were one and the same? This is the same person who referred you to the rogue PM who let your property go to ruin? Whoa! Seems to me you may have more trouble than just that rogue PM. Maybe they were in cahoots.

Did you take the seller/PM's word that the property had good cash flow and was generating a very nice return? Did you do due diligence prior to purchase? Inspect? Title search? Purchase directly from the seller/PM or through an agent? Sounds like he/she was a good sales person.... just like P.T.Barnum.

While a tenant is in place and damages property or is non-compliant with a rule that has a fee attached, how do you charge your tenant? Do you write up an invoice? A demand letter? Write it on a notice to conform? Have a standard form you fill out and give them? Tell them to pay it now; before the end of the month; pay it with their next rent? Hand it to them? Mail it to them? Serve it?

One of my current tenants has two very destructive children. I am preparing to charge the tenant for damages they caused to the unit, the shared common areas, and the landscaping. I want to improve how I do this and hope you will share with me your best practice. Thank you in advance!

I agree with @Bryan L. The foundation you put in place, starts by taking care of your own finances and housing needs first.

You need to build a good credit score (740 or above) to get the most favorable loan terms. You can google tips for how to improve your credit score.

You need to learn the ins and outs about owning a house. Research how to buy a house and how to take care of house, as well as all the other things necessary when you own real estate.

To find a place, start walking the neighborhoods, notice the characteristics. Develop a list of your needs and wants. What features are important to you? Since you are new to your area, befriend a long time resident and ask them to give you a tour of the town and find out about the good areas and bad areas. If you see a run down or vacant house, track down the owner; they may be motivated to sell and you may be able to get the property for a good price.

Look for a good realtor. If you have never purchased a property before you would benefit by having someone to guide you through the purchase process and to make sure you do your due diligence.

Landlording is a lot of work. There is a lot to learn. If you are just starting a new job, in a new place, with little resources, I wouldn't recommend it just yet. Look for a SFH (single family home) for you and your family.

A duplex may be a good investment down the road, but it comes with landlord responsibilities and you would need to learn all about landlord-tenant law for your jurisdiction and a slew of other things before you even begin. Landlording also carries with it more liability. It can be stressful on family relationships. If and when you decide you want to be a landlord, make sure it is a family decision and well planned.

The key is to make your "low-end" property appeal to responsible renters and to screen out the ones who are likely to leave you with unpaid rent, damages and drama. There are plenty of responsible renters who need affordable housing. Do what you can to find them. Do what you can to attract them. Then do what you can to keep them. Low turnover will save you money.

Do the numbers to get good cash flow. Keep enough in reserves. Have a well written lease/rental agreement and enforce it. Keep up on maintenance and repairs. Protect your interests with the right kind of insurance. Budget sufficient time to attend to your business. Keep eyes on the ground... either yours or that of a good PM. Act quickly if things start to go south.

Such Bad Luck! Not only a terrible PM, but way out of bounds. She pretty much took control of your property. Sounds like she was scamming you. As always with a bad situation, it could be worse. She could have done something that would have come back as a liability against you, or into a code compliance violation, or into legal trouble of some kind. So that's the upside. Whew!

See what you can find out about her via the internet, maybe she has legal history, maybe she has assets. Might be helpful to know.

Call the PM who recommended her and share your experience. You may be able to stop that PM from recommending her to someone else.

Report her actions to the NARPM as suggested by others and any other authorities that would have an interest. Was the rogue PM working as an independent contractor or as a business entity? Hopefully you have her social security number or business identification number. If she was not your employee, then report what you paid her to the IRS on a 1099-MISC. Nothing like having the IRS on your tail.

Do your due diligence by checking out your new PM's background. When contracting with a PM, how many people do a thorough check?

Show up in person every once in awhile to check on your property and have eyes on the ground other than your PM.

Good Luck!

Hire a good tax professional who is has experience working with real estate investors and rental property owners. They can save you money because they keep up on all of the tax laws. They can help you set up your depreciation schedules and guide you in how to correctly itemize your expenses.

@Michael Wirsching Some good responses for you on this thread, but at least two people (@Bill Gulley and @Justin B.) said you couldn't use the security deposit for rent and that is not true according to @Lance Hicks who is from your state. In Washington State we can use the security deposit for unpaid rent, unpaid fees, cleaning, damages, etc., as it seems you can in Georgia. So on this point it may be state specific. All the better reason to know and understand the landlord-tenant laws for your jurisdiction in addition to having a well written lease/rental agreement.

Since some of us are late posters on this thread, how did it turn out for you?

Can you stop by the property? If it is not too far of a drive, I would. Not only to be able to communicate clearly with the tenant, but also to oversee the work being done and to be a support to the contractors.

What @Aly W. says is true. Lease in English. Some tenants will provide for a friend or family member to interpret. The problem is, most family members and friends are not qualified to do so, often adding and deleting information. You need a qualified interpreter as much as the tenant does.

Since you are dealing with 11 units, I would hire a professional language service that has resources for both interpreters (spoken language) and translators (written language) and perhaps even a cultural consultant. Not all tenants are literate, whether English or another language is their primary. So that is something to keep in mind as well.

When you are working with the language agency, describe your communication goals and find out how they may be able to assist you. Be aware there are legitimate agencies and not so good agencies, so be careful in your selection. It should be no problem for a good agency to tailor a solution for your need.

We use an agency in our town called Columbia Language Services, they have the ability to provide service nationwide.

[Disclaimer: I worked for 14 years as the Accessibility Services Manager for a major medical center, in charge of purchasing all of the language and cultural support services for the hospital and clinics, as well as accommodations for people with disabilities. I am also a professional sign language interpreter with 30+ years experience.]