All Forum Posts by: Martin LaBelle

I know it looks horrible with Sevierville leading the charge to the bottom, but it is likely that this is a statistical fluke. Last year, Sevierville absorbed a ton of momentum from the pandemic. The number of STR their went up dramatically, absorbing the excess demand from Pigeon Forge, then the inventory (which also boomed) absorbed the demand and the market corrected.

Its not doomsday, but the speed at which Sevierville boomed up created an apparent collapse when it was really just regressing toward its mean.

North Carolina law:

You will need to determine if the occupant was ever there under lease (even a verbal at-will lease). If they were, you will need to evict them.

If they simply broke in, then they are trespassing and can be removed by police. Start by making a sworn statement the the county magistrate who will issue a warrant for trespass, B&E or both. You'll need to know their names, but that's all. Once the warrant is issued, go back to the property, if they are there, call the police and report that you are personally at your property, and there are trespassers present. When the officers arrive, tell them they broke in and there is a warrant out for their arrest.

DO NOT BS THE MAGISTRATE or you may be the one in jail.

This was how I did it in Cumberland County, NC and eviction/tenant/landlord law varies greatly from state to state and implementation varies from county to county.

The whole income source as protected class is the only thing offensive to me. Unless a bona-fide income source is willing to guarantee payment through the term on the lease, and guarantee payment for any damages caused by the tenant - their agreements with the tenant are irrelevant to me, and I'm forced to make my own conclusions about the risk of that income source terminating or damage caused by the tenant's negligence.

Furthermore, I think that income source (in many but not all cases) is a fairly good proxy for the care rental property in their possession will receive. Why shouldn't I prefer a tenant that has proven (to others) their ability to function effectively, and cope with the everyday needs of living in a valuable property. I've recovered too many properties which were occupied by people with a totally dysfunctional lifestyle. I'm talking people who can't be bothered to put out the dog and have such low standards that they are okay with a room being the dog's toilet. I've seen tenants that will let a leak go for months because they can't be bothered to find the number of the landlord (which they lost, because they don't have their lives together). 

One tenant skipped town, said nothing, and left a cat in the house to slowly starve. I sent my normal "Pay or Quit" notices, but they were gone nearly 15 days before I realized it. The cat had gone through the single bowl of food they left, and had taken to eating its own excrement to survive. They strangely locked away the litter box, so the cat went all over the house. It was thousands of dollars of damage as the carpets were saturated with cat urine and a feces stains, which progressively consisted of more bile and stomach acid, as the cat slowly starved. The cat survived, somehow, but the people were first rate scumbags. They were also kind enough to leave behind items (like a brand new Harley) which resulted in me becoming legally involved with the repossession company. So I am offended by a government, who will not help with the consequences of picking a bad tenant, denying me the right to use my own judgement.

We as a free people believe that we ought to judge people upon their actions, not upon the circumstances of their birth (thus, our federally protected classes). However we do need to be able to look at how someone is running their life, and make a free personal choice as to whether or not we want to mingle our affairs by giving them possession of our property.

First, as a proud veteran, and citizen of these United States, let me first impress upon you the incredible capacity of the Federal Government to lose track of things. They do pretty well about 94% of the time, but when they lose something or mess it up.... it can be amusingly complex to untangle. 

I recommend actually finding out who owns it from county Registrar of Deeds,GIS, or tax records. You would also be wise to track down the foreclosure case to see its status. It is likely that if it completed foreclosure that the other financial claims on the property have been either fulfilled or resolved (the exception being property taxes in many states and certainly in NC). If the lender owns it, your next move would be to look for an REO contact (Real-Estate Owned) which is what mortgage banks call the department responsible for liquidating properties seized by the bank. It may be that this property has been sitting at the bottom of some spreadsheet.

My gut tells me that you will find that the foreclosure was delayed or cancelled due to legal proceedings. Often probate, bankruptcy, or both can cause stays of foreclosure (depending on state law).

Stay with this property, sometimes gems like this will pop up on the foreclosure boards and then get cancelled again multiple times, only to actually sell the last time. You might also consider, if you have time to burn, digging through the case files for the foreclosure and trying to trace the threads to determine the current authority to sell the property. This can be tedious, but will on occasion produce a path to acquisition that is unavailable to remote buyers, and too much work for local ones. 

Quote from @Eliott Elias:

Most lender will call the property due when they find out the loan has been assumed. One way I avoid this is by deeding over to my name and keeping the loan in the original owners name. 

 The issue I have that keeps me from doing "Subject to" deals is that if the contract forbids it, and that loan is being sold based on the contract, you are essentially diluting the security of a qualified mortgage, which is being traded in a securities market regulated by the US Government. I know lots of people that do it, and BP is apparently well behind it, but if I did those deals I'd be watching the news waiting for the other shoe to drop.

No hate for those who do Sub2, but it's not for me unless the seller's mortgage contract permits it.

However many loans are legally assumable, VA being a great example.

Quote from @Russell Brazil:

Who cares? Ive never had a single tenant as far as I know that has had renters insurance. 

I had a fire at one of my units. Lots of smoke damage to tenant's things and the house was unlivable for 30 days or so. Now this all could have gone a number of ways, but the way it did go is that I worked on getting the house repaired and her insurance paid for cleaning the worst of the smoke damage to her things, paid for storage, and paid for her to live elsewhere while the restoration was underway. In truth, my insurance would have covered some of that, but what her policy bought me was a whole lot of time and space to work in.

When this fire happened, I was up to my neck in the process of bringing a STR in TN to market (5 hours away). I really had a hard time of coordinating the restoration and submitting insurance, while working the STR and other projects. I really had no bandwidth available, and if the tenant did not have insurance, the situation would have been complicated immensely. It would have certainly increased the costs to my insurance which I will pay in "prior claim premiums", but most importantly the situation would have demanded far more of my attention, and I didn't have it to spare. Happy ending, we brought the STR to market in time for the spring season. The fire was restored, and I recovered my deductible from the tenant's insurance.

I'm sorry @Karan Kanekar this answer will not please you, but I think you are wasting your time. They did "repair" the unit as verified by their invoice from the HVAC company. You should have closely reviewed that invoice, or preferably had your HVAC team look at it. If you don't have an HVAC team you trust, you need one. I think that a judge will say that you accepted the repair by the act of closing (unless the invoice misrepresented the work done).

HVAC is one of the most expensive and technically inaccessible aspects of your property. Far too many HVAC teams will walk up to the unit, give it a concerned look and tell you it needs to be replaced... they sell HVACs after all. You need a long term relationship with a trustworthy team that is willing to inspect units during your inspection period. My team charges me about $75 for this, and they come when I call. The key to having a trustworthy HVAC team is that you must give them the big jobs as well as the small ones.

If you choose to go through the legal route, I wish you luck, but I think you will spend dozens of hours that might be better spent making money; and I think you will ultimately lose. Please understand that I say this not to admonish or discourage you, but to point out what seems to me the best way to proceed. Best of Luck!

Quote from @JD Martin:

Quote from @Martin LaBelle:

The last two years were crazy, and there is very little you can say that is true everywhere. 

Going into 2020, our market (around Fort Bragg, NC) had been artificially suppressed for many years by a large number of VA loans/appraisals (which can be both stabilizing and stagnating). Once the 2020 capital flood hit, our market jumped out of the VA trap.... but then it kept going. We are all expecting a slight contraction, but in the end I expect to hold on to the appreciation that had been artificially suppressed by the VA. I think we all expect to lose a certain percentage as the market corrects.

@Eric Bilderback as to the collapse of the economy and the USD, do you really think that is likely? I've been listening to some folks that make a compelling case that the US is uniquely equipped to emerge healthy from the next few years. The most concise argument I have heard is a joint demographic and geopolitical analysis by Peter Zeihan. He makes a similar case in all his books, but his most recent is "The End of the World is Just the Beginning". 

 I am reading that book as we speak - good vibes!

Perhaps it is wishful thinking, but the book suggests a of good outlook for the the Central and Southeastern United States. From the Zeihan perspective, it would seem that the region is perfectly suited to scale-up to meet the needs of the US market. The region also has rapid maritime transport to the entirety of the Central and South America opening up both markets and resources. 

Quote from @Eric Bilderback:

Quote from @Martin LaBelle:

The last two years were crazy, and there is very little you can say that is true everywhere. 

Going into 2020, our market (around Fort Bragg, NC) had been artificially suppressed for many years by a large number of VA loans/appraisals (which can be both stabilizing and stagnating). Once the 2020 capital flood hit, our market jumped out of the VA trap.... but then it kept going. We are all expecting a slight contraction, but in the end I expect to hold on to the appreciation that had been artificially suppressed by the VA. I think we all expect to lose a certain percentage as the market corrects.

@Eric Bilderback as to the collapse of the economy and the USD, do you really think that is likely? I've been listening to some folks that make a compelling case that the US is uniquely equipped to emerge healthy from the next few years. The most concise argument I have heard is a joint demographic and geopolitical analysis by Peter Zeihan. He makes a similar case in all his books, but his most recent is "The End of the World is Just the Beginning". 

 Collapse?, no.  But a trend away from the dollar?, absolutely.  I don’t believe their has ever been a nation that consumed so much and produced so little.  We are dead weight and I would argue at some point we will be screwed and it will be our own doing.

 Perhaps you are right. I disagree with your analysis of the nation, but I'm really in no position to argue from authority. For my part I am continuing to bet on the US and making my investments here.

The last two years were crazy, and there is very little you can say that is true everywhere. 

Going into 2020, our market (around Fort Bragg, NC) had been artificially suppressed for many years by a large number of VA loans/appraisals (which can be both stabilizing and stagnating). Once the 2020 capital flood hit, our market jumped out of the VA trap.... but then it kept going. We are all expecting a slight contraction, but in the end I expect to hold on to the appreciation that had been artificially suppressed by the VA. I think we all expect to lose a certain percentage as the market corrects.

@Eric Bilderback as to the collapse of the economy and the USD, do you really think that is likely? I've been listening to some folks that make a compelling case that the US is uniquely equipped to emerge healthy from the next few years. The most concise argument I have heard is a joint demographic and geopolitical analysis by Peter Zeihan. He makes a similar case in all his books, but his most recent is "The End of the World is Just the Beginning".