All Forum Posts by: Melissa Faraias

Hello BP community,

I am a relatively new landlord, who has a few out of state rentals in South Carolina that were managed by a friend and his property management company. I recently took over the management of the rentals and a couple of months later the tenants in one of my units decided to move out. They were two young women who always paid their rent on time and seemed very responsible. As a result we were not expecting to see what we saw when we went to get the unit ready for the next tenants. The unit was completely dirty, damaged and looked like a fixer upper. I guess they did not clean the unit for over 3 years and did not call the old property management company when things started to break.  We got several quotes for cleaning and repairs, which added up to almost $4000 beyond normal wear and tear. We decided to keep their entire deposit of $2000 and bill them the rest. We sent them the photos and videos to back up the invoice and they have decided to block our emails and calls. What do you suggest we do in such a situation? To be honest, I think we may just need to bear the costs and learn from this and do regular unit checks going forward (which was not done by the previous property management company).  However I would hate for them to do this to their current landlord, who did not even call us for a previous landlord reference. Should we call up their current landlord to warn them about these renters? Can we do something else to scare them a bit so that they never do this again? Thank you for any advice you can give. 

Thank you all. I appreciate all the responses. My gut tells me to give her a second chance but my brain tells me that I don't have enough experience in being a landlord to take the risk. I have told them that their application is 'in review' and am continuing my search for a tenant that meets all my pre qualifications. Thank you all once again. 

Thank you all so much for your responses. I am going to go with your advice and continue searching for the right tenant. I appreciate your responses. 

Thank you all for your comments. I am a bit apprehensive about accepting them but will research local laws to make sure that I am not in violation of anything. I could reject them because their credit score is a bit lower than my minimum qualification standards as well. Thank you all for your input.

Hello BP community,

I am relatively new to RE investing and my second rental is currently on the market. A couple in their late 50's want to rent the unit since their relatives live across the street. The woman mentioned that she was convicted for aggravated robbery 24 years ago and served 20 1/2 years in prison. She now has a stable job with the city and offered to pay double the security deposit if I would consider their application. The rental has been on the market for a week and I have mostly section 8 tenants interested (which I have decided not to consider at the present time). Would you consider the couple or wait for a few more weeks to see if the applicant pool picks up?  Their credit score is also slight less than the minimum credit score required to qualify so I can reject them based on those grounds. Thank you for your input. 

Thank you all for your responses. I think that I will hold off on section 8 for now but continue to do my research in case the need arises in the future. Appreciate all the responses!

Hello BP community,

I am relatively new to REI investing and my second rental is on the market. I have been receiving lots of calls, mostly from section 8 tenants. I am considering accepting section 8 but am a bit scared since I need to do more research. The house is also really nicely renovated and I have been told that section 8 tenants do not often take care of a property. I am starting to do more research but would love some input on the pros and cons of renting to section 8 tenants, especially from investors who accept such tenants. Thank you so much for any advice that you can give me. I am thankful for this BP community.

Hello BP community,

I am relatively new to REI investing and getting ready to buy my third rental property. The seller, who is my contractor is very motivated and wants to sell his house. He owes 43K to the bank at a 11% rate of interest. He is reluctant to accept my all-cash offer, which he believes is very low. I am looking for other creative financing ideas to make this deal work. Can I take out a hard money loan for the 43K plus the 40K rehab amount and have him owner finance the rest of the purchase price to me? If that is the case, how does the refinancing work? Can I refinance into a DSCR loan just the 83K and keep the owner finance loan on the side? If the seller requires a balloon payment in 3-5 years, then can I refinance once again the entire amount into a 30 year loan at the end of the balloon period? Any other options to get this deal closed? Thank you so much in advance.

Hello BP community, 

I am currently rehabbing my second rental and the house was built in 1979. Water was seeping into the house through holes in the exterior brick after a heavy rainstorm. My contractor sealed the holes, unclogged the weep holes, removed dead landscaping that was piled high around the house, and installed a French drain and gutters, all of which we hope will solve the problem. He suggested that we also seal the brick with a waterproof sealant like a clear Drylock just for that additional level of protection. Do you think we need to do this? and if so, what product do you recommend? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Thank you for your response. I will get my contractor to do it.