All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

I gave April rent as a gift to my three tenants today. Not a deferment, a gift. Told them to buy food instead. Bought them some stuff to help keep the plumbing working and informed them they had better not break it because I won't be coming out in a quarantine to fix it. I told them we would see what next month brings next month and for today, we all need to look out for each other and spread the love.

I dunno. I say uncertain times maybe need uncertain measures.

 Whoa whoa whoa whoa there. Where did you "hear" this? Where did you hear that the government of the United States Of America is offering bailout money in exchange for an equity position in private companies??? The USA took over FNMA because FNMA was going to fail. Yes, they were supposed to sell it off and now that you have me thinking on it, I'm not sure if they ever did. We all understand how insanely dangerous and stupid that is, RIGHT????

 Hard to get an eviction through court when the courts are closed and the police that are tasked with escorting people from your property are quarantined or told not to do it - lol. I don't think people are really grasping the gravity of the situation and what everything that is happening really means. It's one thing to take a stance of no stay no pay - it's another to enforce that. What then??? I'm not saying I have the answers, I don't, just saying I think people have ideas of how they want this to shake out that are different from how it's really going to happen.

And yes, it's never good if your tenant thinks paying rent is not a priority - lol. I've been using the "gift" and "I'm paying your rent for you" rhetoric whenever I've had this sort of conversation with tenants that want some slack on paying. I'm not normally tolerant of failure to pay whatsoever. I have actually said, "No pay no stay" to certain tenants, which is always a crowd-pleaser let me tell you - lol (there are better ways to communicate that sentiment).

 Yea...I knew when I wrote it that it's easier for me to consider the idea than it is for many/most. I get that.

I also realize it would be really great if I said more with less - lol. (My wife wishes that too - says so almost every day)

But for a second I ask everyone to take a deep breath, and take a good look at what's happening. Take it in. What do you all really see? Forget about what people are telling you. Answer your own question. What are we looking at here?

Nobody has any real answers do they? And isn't that really the problem? Some say don't worry the sun will shine another day. And they're right. My first question to that is this, what will mankind look like in that light tomorrow? My second question is what can I do to make my world better? I find it easier to answer the second than the first. Maybe I read too much history. Maybe I'm too cynical. Maybe I'm a fool. Maybe I'm dead-to-the-nuts right-on-the-money with what's going down. I know this, not one person here can tell me definitively one way or the other what's really happening, and that's the heart of the problem for today.

I can't even ****ing explain it. I'm going to fix what I can today and fix tomorrow what I can fix tomorrow.

I own a whopping two duplexes with three tenants, one vacancy. I'm a small minnow in RE. I have never advertised otherwise. I recognize the people with tons of properties have more on their hands than I do - not even comparable. The only thing that is comparable is that we're all in the same boat, all of us, all of our tenants, and everyone else who could give a **** about real estate too.

Today I personally went to my properties. I purchased lint-traps for the washing machines, wire-catches for the sink drains, plastic snakes, and garbage bags for all my tenants. I was able to meet with all of them personally. I told each of them I was waiving this months rent entirely, not a deferment, a gift. I told them to go buy food, today. I explained to them that when the world becomes quarantined, I will not be able to come to the building to fix anything, so it's on them to make sure they don't break anything, most importantly the plumbing. We went over stupid stuff like flush-able wipes are not flush-able. I showed them how it all worked as best I could. I told them we would see what the world looked like in a month and revisit the issue, but in the meantime the only thing to do right now is treat each other with love, so the world doesn't go crazy. Have to have a roof and food to do that. Maybe the people with A-Class (I always hated rating property like that) don't understand. Those of us with D class get it. The people who live in D class get it. And let me say this, the gratitude I received back was more than just a little genuine. It was massive relief, tears in one case. I gave them a touch of hope. Hope that maybe, just maybe, the world is not full of ******** and maybe we will all get through this, if we love one another and work together. One tenant lost their job today, the other two are already struggling with hours and see the loss of theirs coming soon. Screw it. We shall all live today and figure out tomorrow tomorrow.

Maybe some of the people reading this understand why I did what I did and maybe some don't. Peace to all and I aint judging. As I started this post, this stance is easier for me to take than most. I feel just as bad for the landlords who stand to lose their properties as I do for the tenants who stand to lose their housing. Would I do the same if I was over-leveraged? Hard to say definitively, but I think I might.

 I think if this is something you are willing to do, it's simply a matter of getting in touch with your management company and letting them know your wishes. My cynical minds says make sure the PMC doesn't just screw the tenant and pocket the money - lol. Calling your tenants personally to confirm the management company is doing what you asked would do the trick with that.

You don't need permission to enter a property you own. What you need is to provide appropriate notice. You might need to show up with a key. Considering CA issued a state-wide quarantine today (haven't you heard?) I think you missed your window.

The PM ought to have been more assertive and met the appraiser with a key - you had your shot with that approach - water over the dam. Maybe your lender will allow a refi without an interior inspection (Exterior-Only Appraisal, also called a Drive-By). That would be my question to the lender at this point.

All said, obviously being nice and coordinating with tenants is the best approach. However, tenants try to refuse entry all the time, not just in times like these. That's when the owner must assert their authority to enter. The balancing act comes into play when you have a crazy tenant. I dunno, what's your financial situation? Will being nice result in losing your property??? I certainly hope not.

Good luck!

65 is absolutely the new 45 and you'll be just fine - I suggest a healthy diet!

I want to thank you for being vocal to this community concerning what the best move for landlords is in times like these. As usual, you were on the mark and ahead of the curve. Maybe we differ on how to handle an outbreak, but not so on what to do after. I started a new thread that skips the financial discussion and gets to the morality of it all, seeing as timing can be crucial. I think the time to mull it all over is past. Be well.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/892/topics/817929-corona-consequences-landlords-are-part-of-the-solution

On my mind this morning too. I started a thread too, sorry to jump yours here my friend, except I am because I think we need to skip to the end of the discussion and take action now. Thank you for being the compassionate and reasonable person you are.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/892/topics/817929-corona-consequences-landlords-are-part-of-the-solution

I think this conversation is beyond a financial one, and is now a moral one. I started a thread about that if anyone is interested. Landlords can help the situation if they choose to. I am sure this thread of 16 pages has had much talk of this already (didn't get through it - sorry).

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/892/topics/817929-corona-consequences-landlords-are-part-of-the-solution

We have all been thinking about and living the Corona Virus. I suspect that most of the BP community is in the same state of mind as me which is, doing everything I can to work it out in my head but obvious and definitive answers to all questions seem hard to come by. 

I have been preparing my own house as has everyone else. My properties are part of that house, and the people that live there are people I am responsible for. You can argue that point if you like but you would be wrong.

I don't want my people to get hurt if possible. I don't want my buildings to get hurt either if possible. I want my people to stay where they are, and my buildings need to stay there too for the sake of they're lives first, and my financial interests second. I am not saying my financial interests are not a major consideration here, just illustrating how the one protects the other.

How one protects the other. My story is going to skip over all the little stories in-between and is going to jump to the end. There is no time to waste. The State Of CA quarantined the entire state today (March 20, 2020). The rest of the country will follow. I expect this to last 2 months, equal to Asia. Our renters are going to panic, as they should. In my opinion, in the best interest of everyone, for sometimes the same and sometimes different reasons, the people who can step up and do something ought to do something. The thing landlords can do, that's all of us, is get in front of this thing and take measures to settle the panic.

I am going to get in touch with all my tenants today and let them know I am accepting whatever they can afford in rent for this month and for the near future. I am going to tell them to purchase groceries instead. A frank and honest talk of the financial challenges for all is going to be had. My people need to know that they have food on the table and a roof over their head. If too many people are unsure of these things, people will become desperate and irrational, leading to desperate things, leading to irrational things. The suicide stories are already coming around. Just like I am frustrated to go through all of this without enough information and answers, so too are the people who rent from me, WONDERING WHAT MY ANSWER IS. I intend to give it to them in no uncertain terms.

I ask all landlords to do the same.

I predict my call for landlord unity to take similar measures will be futile in many cases. I get that. But I urge you to use the speculative mind I know you have and see the different outcomes. If we take the harsh and self-serving at-all-costs approach, the suffering for all will be worse. If we were to seize the moment and take the we're-all-in-this-together approach, it is very possible those efforts could really go far to HELP EVERYONE, saving lives even, quite literally. Maybe we won't be thought of as greedy and heartless afterwards either. Much talk of our tenants true colors showing though has been made in this forum. What are your true colors?