All Forum Posts by: Matthew Lee

Just providing an update here to everyone. Woof, what a nightmare.

I've reached out to the lawyers referred here as well as a few others. Unfortunately, due to the eviction moratorium, nobody will even take me on as a client at this time since there's nothing they can do. Many of these offices have a backlog of hundreds, if not thousands of potential clients like me, waiting to get some kind of legal action for unpaid tenant rent. Unfortunately, the only course of action I can take is to write my city board of supervisors, as they're the ones who will not lift the moratorium. Not really something I'm optimistic about...

One of the lawyers also said that if I do offer cash for keys, they recommend going through the "proper channels": I'd need to file documents with the city first to discuss the potential buyout, file with the rent board and keep them in the loop, provide specific language in the documents, allow the rent board and tenant time to rethink or cancel, etc. They warned that if I don't follow the correct procedure, there's a risk of possibly getting sued. If I go that route, the cost of buyout is more like $11k (not the $2-4k my pm told me), on top of the outstanding $6k+ the tenant already owes.

At this point, I'm basically out of options. If the tenant squats and decides to continue not paying rent, all I can do is ask them nicely and wait out the eviction moratorium. Might be obvious, but this definitely discourages me from ever buying in Oakland or California again... Would love to hear how others have rebounded from their past failures though!

Thanks so much for all the input everyone, this is super helpful!

This was my first property, so hindsight is 20/20. Agreed that I definitely need a new PM and should have fired them long ago. As a rookie, I had been trying to get them to take a stronger involvement in this situation for the last few months. Moving forward, I know what to look out for and how I can hold them more accountable. Similarly, I really did think house hacking would be a great way to start investing, but I underestimated the potential risks of investing in California. 

Part of the challenge is that Oakland has recently extended its eviction moratorium (currently indefinitely). So, until the City Council reverses or modifies this, it's impossible to evict a tenant for nonpayment of rent: the City won't take on any eviction cases, and when they finally start to, there will be a backlog of other cases like mine. This has impacted the Property Manager's ability to do anything other than serve notice and continually ask when rent will be paid. They've also told me that they have other owners who are currently being sued by their tenants for harassment (over asking about the outstanding rent or trying to do anything outside the process that has been followed). 

At this point it seems like my only option is to get a lawyer and see for myself. Appreciate all the recommendations there!

Hi everyone, could use your input and help!

I have been house hacking a duplex in Oakland the last year. Tenants moved in January 2022. First few months were fine, but some issues started coming up. They're on a subsidy program, like Section 8, that pays a portion of their rent ($2k of $2700). The tenant stopped paying their share in August. Since then, it's been a nightmare scenario. 

The total balance for unpaid rent portion is up to $4800. The lease ends January 31st, but the tenant has already said that they will stay past that date. Since the lease is ending, it will automatically go month to month. 

The last few months have been an endless chase of the subsidy program (Hamilton Families) and the tenants. My only contact for the program has been the lady in charge of placing the tenant, but she just refers me back to the finance person. All my calls, emails, texts to their finance team have been ignored. Any attempts to find someone else in the company end with a voicemail or email that never gets returned. Eventually, somebody from the San Francisco Cal Works program reached out and said that they will pay the outstanding tenant charges. They will discontinue support after February though. So, even if I get the $4800 back, there's still a possibility that the tenant stays and stops paying their rent, with no subsidy coming in to cover.

My Property Manager hasn't been helpful during this process. At this point, they're recommending that I offer to PAY $2k-$4k to the tenant to get them to leave.  Obviously this is a situation I would like to avoid...
Unfortunately, it seems like this is pretty typical for California / Oakland, and I know there are countless moratorium / laws that help protect the tenant in this situation.

I'm overwhelmed and not sure what options I have left. Has anyone else successfully navigated situations like this in California? Any advice or recommendations are welcome. 

Hi Linette! I'm also a new investor in the Bay Area and had the same question of Out of State vs buying locally. Worked with the David Greene team who sent me this video, and that made the decision pretty easy for me. Feel free to check out!

I used FHA for low money down (for Bay Area prices at least) and just closed on my first duplex here in Oakland two weeks ago! I'll be house hacking / owner occupying at least the first year. Still getting up and running, but needless to say I'm pretty excited and think it's a viable option to consider.