All Forum Posts by: Michael Badin

Well that is a big problem. You don't know what the market calls for. That means you either bought or are considering buying a property in a market that you have not researched/done your homework for.   You need to step back and do your market research. @David s  Makes some very good suggestions in his above post. However If you have already bought this property how do you know that you bought it at a price point that you can make a profit if you haven't done any market research? Not knowing what the market will call for means you haven't looked at comparable properties.  You also did not have a full renovation plan in place before purchasing the property. This means you did not have a budget in place before purchasing the property.  Without running comps or having a renovation budget in place before purchasing a property to complete a flip you're asking for trouble.

What insurance company do you have?

Please take no offense to what I say here, I say this only as a fellow investor and someone trying to help.  I have been an insurance adjuster for about 15 years now.  I know that when the disasters happen it can be hard to get a contractor.  However, to hire someone that refuses to give you a receipt was not a good decision.  How did you plan to use the expense as a write off? Receipts are important in a business.  Everyone comes out of the woodwork after a disaster and their rates go through the roof, but they still give receipts.    From what you have said it sounds like you were able to track them down and get the receipt retroactive which is good but you should never have had to do so.  Receipts become even more important when you pay cash as I believe you stated you did.  What proof would you have had that you ever paid them?  

With all that said, let me now try to help you with your situation.  You have receipts for the work you did not perform yourself (I believe).  Try to have the contractors provide you an updated invoice indicating paid in full/ work completed.  You should have or be able to obtain receipts for any and all materials you bought to do the repairs you performed yourself.  If you don't have the receipts but used a credit or debit card the company/ store you bought the materials from should be able to look up the receipt for you.  

Contact your agent, inform them that you are working on the requests of the insurance company.  If you believe you will need additional time to complete the request ask for it stating that you just became aware of the requirement to provide the documents on such and such a date as the agent never informed you previously.  (However, check letters that were previously sent to you by your adjuster.  I can't tell you how many times I have been told "You never told me that!" when it was sent to them in black and white in a letter.)  

Once you have obtained the receipts for all materials you bought to complete the repairs and gathered all updated invoices for other work performed; write a letter stating that you completed the following work yourself.  List all work you performed.  Explain your experience, are you a contractor, been performing repairs on your rentals for x amount of years etc.  Then take the letter and have it notarized.  Send the notarized letter and copy of all receipts and invoices in to your agent AND your insurance adjuster.  

This should satisfy their requirement.

What does the market call for? What will give you the biggest return? Most likely the best option is opting for the large master with master bath but without more info it is impossible to determine if the market calls for it or will give you any increase in rent, or are you flipping? Will you get you money back +?

For rent, rentometer is a good place to start. Then do your leg work, look at other local listings, call them and see what they are offering. Compare that to what you have (Apples to Apples). That should give you a good idea of the local market rent. You can also look at reports from IRR.com and or www.marcusmillichap.com for a more broad overview of the market.

For market cap rates look at the report put out by CBRE "US CAP Rate Survey Advance Review 2018"

Definitely, do it. I have a property that has 5 garages on it, they are a great source of additional income. I never have a hard time renting them.  

Laws for evictions and what not are a little different though so be sure to study up so you know what you need to do. Not hard, actually sometimes easier / better as you can sell off the stuff they leave behind. Ever see the show storage wars? 

I think what he is looking for are the "Member Perks"  Landlord forms.  If you go to the top right of your screen where your profile picture is; put your curser over your picture and a drop down menu will appear.  Click on "Member Perks".  Then at the top of the page you will see your picture.  Directly below that you will see three tabs, one for "Pro Perks" one for "Perks" and one for "Landlord Forms".  Click on the one you want and you are good to go.

Welcome to the Pro's   ;)

Do you have a clause in your lease addressing this?  If you do not and he asks for reimbursement you should do so.  (After having it inspected to make sure everything was done correctly.)  Have him give you a receipt and only reimburse him his cost.  If you give him double his cost like some others have suggested but then tell him to never do it again, it will happen again because he made a profit off of it this time.  

If you have a clause in your lease which addresses it and he asks for reimbursement, refer him to the lease and politely decline.  

I have a clause in my current lease but will be replacing it with this in my new leases:  

13.  Tenant’s Maintenance and Care of the Premises.

(A)   In addition to the duties imposed upon Tenant by this or other provisions of this Lease, Tenant shall at all times maintain the Premises in good condition and in reasonably clean and safe manner. In addition, Tenant shall not knowingly, intentionally, deliberately, or negligently destroy, deface, damage, impair, or remove any part of the Premises or knowingly permit any person within Tenant’s control to do so. Tenant shall use felt pads, rugs or similar scratch prevention materials under all furniture items or other items placed upon any hard surface flooring in the Premises. Bathmats or rugs shall be used on the floors in all bathrooms in the Premises to help prevent standing water on such floors. Tenant shall not place any additional locks on the Premises, including, but not limited to, exterior and interior doors. Landlord shall provide a key to the Tenant for the Premises and Landlord shall keep a duplicate key for access. Tenant shall not cause any of the locks or cylinders in the locks to be changed or re-keyed in any manner. Tenant must keep the Premises free and clear of all debris, garbage and rubbish.

(B)   Except as may otherwise be permitted by applicable law, Tenant shall not perform or contract with third parties to perform any repairs of any kind on the Premises without the prior written consent of Landlord. If any repair which is the responsibility of either Tenant or Landlord becomes necessary, Tenant shall notify Landlord, in writing, as soon as possible and allow reasonable time for the work to be completed. Any unauthorized work performed or contracted for by Tenant will be at Tenant’s sole expense and no deductions or offsets in Rent or Additional Rent will be permitted.

(C)   Tenant shall not make any additions, improvements, or alterations to the Premises unless prior written consent is given by Landlord, which may be given or withheld in Landlord’s sole and absolute discretion. Any additions, improvements, or alterations made by Tenant must be completed in compliance with all local, state, and federal laws. As used herein “additions, improvements, or alterations” includes, without limitation, lock changes, painting, replacing fixtures, installing wallpaper, attaching shelves, installing curtains or shades, or other permanent or semi-permanent changes to the Premises. Additionally, no trampolines, pools, satellite dishes, TV antennas, air conditioners, spas, swing sets, or other similar features shall be added to the Premises by Tenant unless express written permission is given by Landlord, which permission may be granted or withheld in Landlord’s sole and absolute discretion. Any additions, improvements, or alterations to the Premises made by the tenant of a permanent or semi-permanent basis become the property of the Landlord. The tenant cannot remove additions, improvements, or alterations made to the premises (even if the Landlords permission to install said additions, improvements, or alterations was not obtained) and the landlord does not have to pay for any additions, improvements, or alterations made by the tenant.

(D)   Tenant shall be responsible for all costs related to any repair or maintenance of any plumbing stoppage or slow-down caused by Tenant, whether accidental or purposeful. Tenant agrees not to place into any drain lines of the Premises any non-approved substances, such as cooking grease,sanitary napkins, diapers, children’s toys or other similar object that may cause a stoppage. Tenant shall notify Landlord of any plumbing leak or slow drainage within twenty-four(24)hours. Landlord shall use reasonable efforts to remedy the plumbing problem. Tenant shall only use a plunger to attempt to fix a slow or stopped drain, and shall not pour chemical or other drain cleaners into any stopped or slow drains.  Tenant shall also be responsible for any plumbing system freeze-ups occasioned by Tenant’s negligence.

I used the service for my last vacancy, I was pleased with the service.  As for the application fee, it depends on your market.  What are others charging for an application fee in your area?  For the last one I did I charged a $40 application fee as the area supported it, however at one of my other properties I would not be able to charge that much.

As a Pro member there are many forms that you can download, including state specific forms and leases.  I just recently downloaded the lease they have, so I have not yet used it and I am still reviewing it to determine if I will, however it does have a clause in it for pests:

(F)     Pest control, after the first ten (10) days of the Term of this Lease, shall be the sole responsibility of the Tenant, including, without limitation, prevention and remediation. Tenant shall keep the Premises free of pests, including without limitation, rodents, fleas, bed bugs, ants, cockroaches, gnats, flies, and beetles. Tenant shall pay for all costs associated with remediating pests from the Premises and shall inform Landlord at first sighting of any pests in order to avoid any infestation of pests.  In signing this Lease, Tenant agrees that Tenant has examined the Premises and certifies that it has not observed any pests in the Premises

It's very easy to make a property look good on paper.  Verification is always needed.