All Forum Posts by: Michael King

Interesting topic. My first entry into MFH was a 12 plex near a college that I got real excited about but was not ready with finance. Before I could get the $$$ it was gone. At the time I figured that was bad luck, but now in hindsight I consider that better luck.

When I think of the phrase, "I went to college at....", my mind pictures a physical presence at that college. Can you still say you 'went to college', if you never physically did?

 How can she be a little slow on the paying side of things, yet never be late?  She's late or she isn't, in my book.  If you have a grace period of 5 days, for instance, and she pays within that grace period, she's not late and that's acceptable.

Heck, I pay within my grace period, because I get paid by SSA on the 3rd, which is when my automatic payment pays my rent, which has a grace period of the 5th.

Anyway, I'm curious as to what you meant by this?

I'm still a little leery about how she took care of the last place and think you should ask for more deposit money.  It was in bad shape and the stove was really gross.  Sure, you were going to replace it anyway, but what if she leaves the new stove really gross before you intended on replacing it?  Etc.?

I just see you being "nicer" than you should be.  There's nothing wrong with being business-like with your tenants.  You can be business-like, and still be respectful and even friendly - yet, expect the other party to perform as agreed.  Being too soft-hearted with tenants usually doesn't work out well.  In my experience, they will keep pushing the boundaries.  It's so much easier to just have firm boundaries from the very beginning.  I learned this the hard way, so I'm in no way being critical.  I'm trying to help you avoid learning things the hard way, like I did.

Excellent and well received advice as always, Sue. I have a lot of respect for your words because you often times speak harshly, but also take the time to explain why. Critique backed up with explanation is gold for me to learn from.

So when I say a little slow but never late, I mean that she does not proactively pay on or before the 1st, but she also does not go late after the 5th. So yes inside the grace period - a little slow is really meaning by my standards, not by the lease agreement. I have been sending a reminder text to her on the 1st and she has been complying. 

I do know she was leaning toward not staying after her lease was up in July, however now she is paying $25 more a month and signing for another 15 months. I feel like that was a double win right there. And the additional $375 in rent won't pay for the light rehab I did, but with a granite countertop and SS appliances, it will be a more desirable option for the neighborhood. 

I'll have a better idea of how she has taken care of the place tomorrow since I have a city inspection in the morning. I did go in a couple of months ago to replace a GFI in the kitchen and it really wasn't so bad; she had it the best she could I think given the age and condition of the property.   

Maybe I am a little nicer than I should be, I won't really know until a little later. I'm not a pushover, but I guess as each tenant takes their own little advantages, my control will get just a little tighter each time. And I'm sure I'll learn from mistakes as I go along. And of course, hopefully I won't tick off a bunch of people here on BP and I'll still get my questions answered!

Thanks as always for charging at me with your input! :)
 

@Kyle J.Thank you Kyle. 

@Account Closed Thank you Sue. 

I also broached the subject with a realtor yesterday. He said that any new lease I sign with her supercedes the old one and it just fades away. Even though I did research a lease termination and have it prepared just in case. 

As far as the deposit is concerned, I'm going to just keep the same one. The apartment she was in (she didn't waste time moving!), is a bit of a dump. The PO really didn't bother doing much at all to it in his ownership. I told her not to worry about cleaning the stove since it was a pretty crummy one and I'm going to put a new one in anyway with the rehab. I don't think she'll trash the new apartment at all; if I believed she would, I would not have offered it to her. She's not a bad tenant, easy to talk with, she's a little slow on the paying side of things, but hasn't been late yet. 

She said she showed it to the tenants upstairs and they were very excited about it. I feel like they are somewhat down in the dumps because they are paying the same for an unrehabbed apartment. Maybe I'll let them have the next one I rehab, even though I feel like I'm just spinning my wheels doing it. Or maybe it will entice them to stay longer and save me turnover costs down the road. Now that I've learnt how to cut granite, and have the tools...it's a plausible plan to put granite in all of the units.  

Something interesting my realtor guy said was that there has to be a waiver for COVID19 when he shows properties for purchase or rent. He sent me a copy of it, it was drawn up by lawyers for St. Louis Realtors. 

@Stephen J Davis thanks also for chiming in. I really appreciate the help guys. 

My question is about your quarantine. Why are you in quarantine, and if bonafide, why are you allowing strangers to come into contact with you?

@adam f.

@Jesse Hodges Hey mate thanks for your service.

I don't know much about the VA, but maybe they can steer you in the right direction. I'm sure your intent is to buy a place to live in once you return from Korea. I understand they do have a requirement that you live in it for at least one year before you rent it out. So maybe you'd be paying for it empty for that 1 year? Thinking out loud, really.

I am also interested in local meet ups when they start up again.

You can save $29K per year, that to me requires no more thought. Use that savings to buy 20 $400 HD TVs for $8K. 

I'd look at the worst case scenario and see if that is a good deal. Do you have to pay the owner $95K, and is it worth $115K? That $20K spread can get eaten up real quick in the rehab. I wouldn't think putting half a new roof on is a good idea; I would go with a full roof. Also, you are guessing what the owner owes. You need to find out for sure, or get a ballpark from them. It does sound like it could be a good starter investment property, providing the numbers are as you say.

I'm waiting for reasonable prices of properties to start appearing, and restaurants to start opening. Then it's time to reassess and consider buying - for me. What about you?

BP friends, I have a question. I bought a 4 plex in January and took on the existing tenants and leases. My plan was to just let the leases expire naturally then replace them with mine. What could be a more brilliant plan?

Well I finished rehabbing one of the vacant units and let an existing tenant peek inside. She fell in love with it and wants to move in immediately (with a nominal rent increase). Her current lease expires in July, and the lease is an agreement with the prior owner. I'm thinking that I can't just terminate that lease, nor make an amendment to it since I'm not on it. So the dilemma is that she has an agreement for 1 apartment with someone else and now I want her in another apartment, and an agreement with me. How do I go about this?

I'm thinking I'll just start a fresh lease agreement between her and me in the new apartment, and let the old lease just run it course (obviously without enforcing any of it). Or should I provide a written notice terminating her current lease?

I guess in future with inherited tenants I should have the seller terminate all leases so I can go in and start my own leases. 

I feel like I'm running behind the short bus here.