All Forum Posts by: Marelyn Valdes

When you do evict be sure to name the two other tenants on the lease as well as "et al" or "john doe".  In Florida, we need to get personal service on anyone over 16 living in the residence to get a money judgement, so I would pay extra for a private process server to serve the eviction and get personal service.  You need a good eviction attorney to push the eviction through asap.  

If the tenant is still in the unit on the 1st, then he owes rent for the month unless you find another tenant and rent the place during the month (then he would be owed prorated rent for the balance of the month when it was re-rented).   Failure to give the statutory minimum 15 days notice he would forfeit his deposit.  I would agree to do a walkthrough and video them turning over the unit, not return the rent and not get their keys back.  You have to change locks anyway, so change them while you are there and don't forget to send the required notice of keeping any of their security deposit.

I was quoted $7,000 for a 2/2 and instead went with 3 mini splits (1 each bedroom and one in LR/DR) which cost $2,000 from Lowes and had them installed for another $1,000.  Tenant loves them - 17 SEER, his electric hasn't been over $100, and each unit can be set to a different temp.  Left one remote control for the tenant and saved the other two.

You might check the Ocala market as there are very few rentals available in the area, especially near the new World Equestrian Center. WEC even built a MH park for STR's (Home Away From Home).

Have your agent make sure you are the backup buyer if the purchase of the house falls through.  If you haven't already, explain you only walked away because you didn't want to hold up the sale of their house if you weren't going to be able to buy it.  

Can you send the money to escrow instead of to the builder?  Stories abound of people under contract (with numerous companies) to build homes and when they are about to close, the builder hits them with a huge price increase and it's take it or they sell to someone else for a lot more money.  I live in Ocala and have never heard of this company, but that doesn't mean anything since I prefer to buy already built properties and rehab them.  I like a known amount up front, not a constantly changing price tag.

According to Marion County Clerk of Court's site - they have 4 NOC's all with Elite Building, Inc. dated 6/22 or 6/23/2021 (and with what I assume are the buyers) and Elite is listed as the building contractor on all the NOC's.  You may want to contact Elite directly and cut out the middleman.

https://www.lippmanlawoffice.c...  read the reasons for withholding rent and did your tenant notify you in writing of the leak?  Did it make the home uninhabitable for  any time (they might be able to get prorated rent for the days it was uninhabitable).

I used Jon McGraw in Ocala

I agree with you raising the rent $100 a month for the first year and make sure you have late charges listed in your letter to them raising their rent.  Probably one of them will complain loudly and move, giving you income from the others while you update that unit.  I would keep them on a month to month so they are free to move with 30 days notice and you are also able to raise rent with notice or terminate their tenancy rather than being locked in with a lease.

Make sure you put a note in your lease that their security deposit is held at __________.  In my case, Bank of America.