All Forum Posts by: Mike F.

Thanks Greg!

Any recommendations for books/resources to help the newbie through the process of how to go from start to finish with the development process and each of the steps involved in buying land, going through zoning and planning, how especially to forecast costs and do the due diligence to forecast the potential to divide the plot into smaller lots and build duplexes to hold and rent? I'm in the Denver area.

Any recommendations for books/resources to help the newbie through the process of how to go from start to finish with the development process and each of the steps involved in buying land, going through zoning and planning, how especially to forecast costs and do the due diligence to forecast the potential to then divide the plot into smaller lots and build duplexes to hold and rent? I'm in the Denver area.

You should reveal it without being asked if you think it's to your advantage. You should reveal it if asked as it's the truth.

Personally I don't think it's going to be much of a secret.

Here is the problem- 

If you supply the washer and dryer they are listed in the lease and the tenant has responsibility to maintain properly and notify you if there is a problem and if he doesn't maintain or uses the washer when it has a problem and never notifies you and the washer damages the property he is liable. If you don't supply the washer per your lease, but do supply the washer for whatever reasons you have you've eliminated the tenants liability to damages. 

In short I'd recommend you either supply the washer as you have been but add it to the lease and make them responsible for maintaining it and notifications or remove the washer from the property.

You could offer some alternative options right now in regard to the washer problem:

1) Tenant pays to fix washer, if he doesn't want to you remove it

2) You split the repairs,  if he doesn't want to you remove it

3) You pay for the repairs

4) You remove the washer

All but number 4 leave you liable because your lease doesn't put any responsibility on the tenant. If you do 1,2 or 3 you should add and addendum to the lease.

All of your questions are why cash for keys is ridiculous and lazy, rewarding illegal behavior and sends the wrong message and creates more of the same type of problems for everyone else,  quite frankly those that get burned doing it, more power to those savvy enough to do it to them.

Use the proper legal means, do it right and all of these issues aren't issues. You're looking for the easy way out, but as usual what looks easy on the surface often times turns into something a lot harder than just buckling down and doing it right from the start.

File the police report, file the eviction, serve her, throw her out on her ***

 Statistically, almost never. Engineers are typically required when something is structural. 99.99% of rehabs don't involve structural changes, but if yours does such as opening up a kitchen by removing a load bearing wall, or adding an addition or moving beams, putting in a window that wasn't there, then you'll need one. Very rare that a GC would be an engineer and wouldn't have to hire one for a stamped letter to give to the building dept. The building dept really will have the final say in the matter and this could vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. I've completed over 1000 remodels and have needed an engineer once.

 If you have the paint you should be able to blend in the patches as long as the repairs blend with the finished wall surfaces. For what it's worth, nail holes shouldn't be 'patches' it's a nail hole, it should be filled with caulk and touched up and they should disappear not 'patched'. If they did big patches using drywall compound you can probably just wipe them and remove them with a wet sponge and then fill, not patch the holes and touch up and be on your way.

We had a tenant do something like this a long time ago, they patched over their tiny nail holes, turning a 1/16th hole into a 4'-5" god awful mud smear over textured walls, they then for some reason primed over the patches, that was considered damage to us, as it required retexturing the walls to blend in the patches and then repainting the entire walls, the patching cost that tenant about 2K.

Great job.

To answer your question, the stock market. Looking at 65% return on oil since February and this return is just getting started.

The marrying a service member, their personal details are all irrelevant. You have two tenants who want to move out, all it comes down to is re-leasing the property, how many months it takes is what they owe you to move out plus any early termination fees if you have them plus any damages if any.