All Forum Posts by: John Kennedy

I'm looking for advice on how to handle HVAC maintenance for my rental portfolio of 30+ units.  I have signed up for annual service agreements for some of my properties but not all.  I have agreements with a few different companies just based on who happened to install the unit at that particular place. 

At my own house I have never had service agreements - I just change my filters every now and then and have rarely had an issue!  

I cringe every time they call to set up an appointment for the annual furnace check or a/c check because they always seem to find stuff wrong! ($) In my mind I know it's probably the right thing to do to have the routine maintenance, but I sometimes wonder if I couldn't just deal with issues if and when they arise.  In this market it costs around $200/yr for a twice-a-year check up (furnace in fall, ac in spring).

I guess I'm leaning toward putting out requests for quotes for the whole portfolio to see if I can get a quantity discount on the checkups.  Alternately, I may just bag the checkups by HVAC vendors and have my handyman schedule filter changes on a regular basis - then deal with breakdowns when they occur.

Any suggestions? (be kind, haha!)

The City denied her request...I didn't really get a lot of details from my daughter but it sounded like they just limit the number of licenses they give out in certain neighborhoods.

My daughter ended up selling the house. Long term rent rate estimates didn't work for her financially, and although STR would have been a great option, she was told she couldn't obtain a license.

My daughter is moving from Nashville but wants to keep and rent her house in Nashville TN.  Any recommendations for good property managers in the East Nashville area?

I have a rental duplex and am about to enter into a lease with a tenant who intends to do short term rental arbitrage in one of the units. Does anyone have any recommendations for what type of insurance clause I should include in the lease for this type of arrangement? I am thinking of requiring the tenant to carry $1mil biz liability insurance naming me as additional insured. And, with a tenant doing short term arbitrage in my building, does that require me to get the more expensive STR insurance myself, or would my normal landlord policy be enough (in combination with the tenants extra coverage), since I'm not personally running that STR business?

Thanks for any suggestions! 

I have a relatively pricey rental ($1,950/mo) with a tenant who renewed their lease last November for an 18 month term ending in May 2022.  Then, they found a house they "fell in love with" and ended up buying it.  They contacted me in January to let me know they would be moving out March 1.   I of course reminded them of their lease obligation, and let them know they would be responsible for the lease payments until I could backfill it.  So far no takers though.  

My question is...what would you all say is a customary or reasonable termination fee if I were to agree to that rather than continuing with the "monthly rent until backfilled" approach, thereby taking on the risk and letting them move on with life.  Right now, rental activity is a bit slow due to the time of year, but I expect activity will be picking up as we head into spring. 

The tenant is acknowledging their responsibility...no problem there...but has asked if I would consider a settlement.

This was ours (it's already a week old!)  It's an amalgamation of thought from myself and a couple of other earlier posts that I liked...

3/17/20

Dear Tenants:

First of all, we hope you and your loved ones are healthy and remain safe during this difficult and crazy time! Some of you have reached out indicating you have suffered layoffs related to the recent pandemic. We are certainly sympathetic and just want to assure you that we will be working with each of you that have been negatively impacted financially to ensure that housing is not added to the list of your worries.

We, like you, are a little nervous because we still have to make mortgage loan payments on each of your homes as well as pay property taxes, insurance and other operating expenses. So, it is crucial that we work together in order to get through this.

While the situation seems to change on a daily basis...here are some of our initial thoughts on what “working together” might look like for tenants suffering corona-layoffs:

• First, if you are experiencing financial distress due to this crisis, reach out to us immediately. Proactive communication is key (thanks to those who have already reached out!). We can afford maximum flexibility if given the courtesy of knowing what’s going on with you before it’s too late.
• Please research and take advantage of any personal/family resources and rental assistance programs you may be eligible for, as well as unemployment and other governmental benefits. Be aware that there is typically a three-week delay in receiving unemployment benefits from the time you apply (hopefully that will be expedited).
• We plan to waive late fees for those of you that are unable to make your full payment on time, effective with the April 2020 rent.
• Upon request, we may defer a portion of your rent payment (on an individual basis) while you are unemployed with the understanding that once this crisis has passed you will resume regular rent payments plus an installment of deferred rent (interest-free) on a schedule mutually agreed upon.
• If you determine you need to “move back in with the ‘rents, or some other such arrangement in order to survive...we will be happy to negotiate a fair early exit from your lease.

For those of you that are suffering from layoff, cutback, etc., we want to help you through this and are hoping and praying that this doesn’t last long. Hopefully, some combination of belt tightening, side-gigs, unemployment insurance, assistance from your own families, and possible stimulus funds from D.C. (seems like there may be some of that in the works) will help you and us stay above water.

Again, communication will be key; please stay in touch and if you haven’t already, please contact me (John) asap if you anticipate having trouble keeping current on your rent so we can plan accordingly.

Sincerely,

John & Sally Kennedy

We have 13 units in Indy and here's a letter I'm about to send to my tenants...

• 1) We will waive late fees if you are unable to make your full payment on time, effective with the April 2020 rent.
• 2) Upon request, we may defer a portion of your rent payment (on an individual basis) while you are unemployed with the understanding that once this crisis has passed you will resume regular rent plus a payback of deferred rent (interest-free) at a rate mutually agreed upon.
• 3) If you determine you need to “move back in with the ‘rents, or some other such arrangement in order to survive...we will be happy to negotiate a fair early exit from your lease.

(not sure I should offer #3 above...but the tenants that I'm concerned about have leases ending in just a few months anyway...)

Since hard money loans are fairly commonly used for BRRRR projects, I wonder why the BRRRR calculator doesn't seem to be set up to accommodate them? Am I missing an easy hack?

Thanks to all for the feedback!  I sent the tenant a $200 rebate...