All Forum Posts by: Matt Sicignano

Here's my thoughts. Condos are great for me, because there is no upkeep. No lawns to do if the tenant moves, or is lax, no landscaping overgrown, no roof repairs, no painting. Insurance is cheaper too, because of the master policy, and since I require my tenants to have a HO policy-it's next to nothing. It's great for an absentee owner. As for your cons, I simply check the rental restrictions and the financials before I make a decision. That's simple enough. Here's the flip side to the single family investment. The most harassment I've ever received are from single family neighborhoods. One neighborhood charges me $350/year for a "rental permit", with the money from this fund going to a part time "covenant enforcement" person, whose job it is to monitor rentals. (they hate them in most nice single family neighborhoods)  If a blade of grass is 1/8" over, I get a letter. if the garbage cans are not taken off the curb promptly, I get a letter. Another s/f neighborhood fined me for having a "for rent" sign in the front yard. They decided that they didn't like them and banned them. Then, when I removed it, and because it was wet and I didn't want to put it in the trunk, instead leaning it on the side of the home where no one could see it, I got another fine for not removing it from property! 

 And good luck in trying to get these rental restrictive policies relaxed-impossible when homeowners outnumber investors by 20 to 1! Final score-my condos are the most profitable with the least amount of hassle!

I got a laugh out of IHe O's response. Who has time for that?  To each his own, and I'm not knocking his method, but a credit report is the absolute first step for me!  I also use SmartMove, and it's been a good first step. We are in the business of extending credit, you could say .I don't want to marry them, I want to find out if they are a good "credit" risk!  And what better method than to use a credit report? Does the bank visit you at home when they look at your mortgage app? Time is money!  I guess that would have worked in Mayberry, but come on-its 2015-do you still use VHS?

First, ignore all the negative nellys saying you'll never get paid. That's not what you asked. Linda, Matt and Wilson are on the right track.  I can add that you need to make sure it's filed as a judgment  and hopefully you have work information as part of your records to attempt a garnishment. I have been paid as long as three years after the judgement by someone who needed it off the credit report, and I once collected the full amount from the employer who failed to answer a garnishment order. Don't give up!

There really is no nationwide eviction reporting service that I know of. Some states maintain them (I think NY does for public housing purposes) but what you are really saying is how do I put on record that fact that he may be a bad credit risk, and for that I commend you.  Simple answer is nationwide credit bureau's only look at late pays from companies with accounts with them, public judgments and public collections. You will have none of them unless you have monetary damages and can prove them with a favorable ruling in court (usually small claims) and at that point you would request that the judgment be granted, and it becomes a public record which usually gets picked up automatically by the big 3 reporting companies.  And you may rent the place quickly without any monetary damages ( you usually do have to mitigate the damages by attempting to re-rent) and thus have nothing to go to court for. Evicting someone is only for the purpose of legally obtaining possession of your property, and doesn't automatically give you a monetary judgment nor does it usually affect the credit.  You have no adverse possession issues, so evicting would be a waste of time and money, since he is giving up his rights to the property (and you should get that in writing). You can always sue him later if you do suffer monetary damages.

Hmmm, that's interesting. I wonder if SmartMove only weighs recent history. Did the BK  show up?

I've got an interesting dilemma. Putting a co-tenant on the lease, ( they are sisters) and one has 840 score, but the other told me she had an eviction on the record, which was a roommate dispute 5 years ago. Pulled credit (Smart Move-thanks BiggerPockets!) and eviction didn't show up, but collection did, to the tune of $3800, which was disputed on the record and a new collection showed up ( which was medical, in December)  for $1200. The thing is, her score was 780, and SmartMove recommended acceptance. My question is, she said she was working with a credit repair service, and I'm wondering, with that high score and two collections-how she did it? I'm not even sure I would go with a credit repair company, since the score is so high! Do you think there is anything funky going on? I know "credit repair" places used to bombard the agencies with bogus disputes years ago and get some results but I thought that was over with. Does anyone think there is some funny business going on re: credit repair?

Excellent idea! Couple of selling points; you don't have to do 100% pay. You can phase in 20% co-pay, 30%, or even 100% once the market adjusts. And you have the flexibility to adjust as the costs fluctuate. The conservation effect will be enormous, as well. We have places where gas is included. Only fireplaces and stove use it. Cheap, right? Except when the fireplace is used as a source of heat in winter! People were leaving the fireplace on all day, coming back to a 85 degree unit! Once a 40% co-pay was instituted, bills reduced by 50%, with no reduction in lifestyle. Do it!

I'm curious; seems like a hype to me. Why not just post it? I'm guessing it's like the "secret" recipe for making hot dogs, you 'll be sorry you know!

Another lesson in lease writing!  There always should be a clause in the lease outlining what "abandonment"  is. Did you have one? Just checked the statutes in Texas, mainly to see if there was much of a difference from there to Georgia, and it looks like there is. Texas has a much looser definition of "abandonment", and even allows landlords to remove certain personal property for non-payment of rent, it seems. So it looks like your text would get you off the hook for an illegal eviction. Here in Georgia, we even have to store any property found in the "abandoned " property even with an eviction! As far as going to court for a judgment, alas, the rules seem to be the same there as in Georgia-no personal service-no monetary judgment! So you can get a writ of possession, but unless you find an address for service, you're out of luck for a judgment.  

This is from the applicable statute. (my italics)

Abandonment
Many leases define the word “abandonment.” The lease will describe the circumstances in which the landlord can declare the rental unit abandoned and enter the unit and remove everything. A landlord who declares abandonment when there is no clear definition in the lease may be considered to have illegally evicted a tenant. An illegal eviction occurs when a landlord illegally denies a tenant access to the rental unit or a tenant’s property is removed without a court order and the removal: Is not the result of abandonment and/or is not the exercise of a landlord’s lien.

If you have the time, I would go to your cities magistrate court one morning as an observer. It will give you an idea of the temperament of the judge, what they want to hear , what they don't want to hear, how documents are presented, and in what form. It's like a Cliff's Notes for the actual process. Nothing beats an in person experience though, and it's easier to observe when you don't have anything at stake. Hopefully you'll never have to go through this again, and maybe she won't even show up, and you'll have a default judgment. Then, don't forget the marshals fee and the actual move -out expenses . Here, you have to have 4 people on standby when the Marshall serves the eviction.

Bonus: I guarantee you'll be entertained, at the least, hearing what deadbeat tenants say when questioned by the judge. 

Judge: did you pay rent?

Tenant: I was going to pay rent.

Judge: but did you pay rent?

Tenant: I planned on it!

cut to two more exchanges like that; then

Judge: Judgment for the plaintiff!

Next:

Judge, I order you to vacate the premises; do you need some time to move?

Tenant: yes your honor; it will take me at least 3 months to find a place.

Judge: YOU HAVE 3 DAYS!