All Forum Posts by: Nicholas Olson

An attorney I know who is pretty into the real estate game gave me that legal advice.  I tend to believe him but maybe it's not the case.  If prior leases must in fact be honored the PO did have the following clause, "Illegal, unsafe and repeated rude or inconsiderate behavior to residents/tenants by other tenants or their guests can be considered grounds for eviction."  

One of the tenants called the cops on the other tenant last night but it only resulted in a chat.  I honestly think if I gave either of them the option to break their lease and leave they probably would.  

I'm unsure of just how this will play out but thank you everyone for all the comments.  It's a lot easier for me to go forward with this situation after hearing your thoughts.  

Thanks for all the responses.  I think the consensus is that it's not my responsibility to handle squabbles.  I agree but I'm also curious how people feel about banging on the walls and parking all over the place.  I feel like to a certain point this is my responsibility to enforce.  I'm just a little foggy on how to do so. I like the idea of installing posts in the ground for parking.  As for banging on the walls and creating a disturbance, is this something that most landlords refer to the police?

@Matt Devincenzo  Maybe the laws are different here or maybe I'm ill informed.  My legal counsel claims that prior leases are between two parties, the PO and the tenants, I am neither.  The one exception is if the leases were recorded at the courthouse but to my knowledge that never happened. 

I have two tenants living side by side in a triplex  who are at each others throats and they are relying on me to settle the dispute.  I just acquired this property two months ago and it's my first time being a landlord.  I'm not entirely sure how to best handle this.

 Allegedly the children of one unit are bullying the children in another unit and their parents are self disciplining the other units children.  As you can imagine this has led to some pretty upset parents, and it's hard for me to determine who is actually more in the wrong and what to do about it.  It's sort of a he said she said where both tenants are from what I have been told, going out of their way to annoy the other tenant.  From parking in an annoying manner to use up extra spaces(I have no parking lines in the dirt parking lot) to banging on the walls of their neighbors to yelling at each other outside.  

I don't want to get in the habit of micromanaging tenants personal issues, but at the same time I want to provide a safe welcoming place for people to live.  Banging on walls, verbal abuse, and improper parking in an already small parking lot isn't something that I want to set a precedent of being ok to do. So, how would you handle this?  3 strikes you're out? Ask for video evidence of alleged banging on walls? How do you cut through the he said she said to find out who is actually at fault?

Things to keep in mind. This is winter in Maine, painting parking lines in a snowy parking lot is out.  Doing an eviction this time of year may be necessary but only as a last resort.  The PO had leases that rollover in the summer, I acknowledged that I would honor those leases but have not had anyone sign new leases, so basically everyone is month to month at the moment. 

@David Marshall Sorry for the delayed comment.. Yes, I'm up for a chat sometime.  You must live just north of Portland?  Cafe Creme in Bath is a fun place. 

@Andrew Magoun Thanks for the info.  I'm thinking sometime this spring I'll start reaching out to local banks.  I've been with Camden National forever but I'm hearing credit unions are more receptive.  Maybe we should also get together for a coffee sometime..  It's funny you made this comment today, I just listened to podcast 55 (literally an hour ago) which was hugely informative on commercial lending. 

Thanks for the comments @Tammy Richards and @Katie Magoun.  Portland is on fire from what I've seen.  I appreciate the words of caution, it's one reason why I'm trying to learn a little more before jumping in.  However I do believe that in any market that transactions are taking place there's money to be made.  I'm just not sure where in that market I'm going to find my niche.  My goal is buy and hold as passive income is my end game, but as @Ed Emmons said, I may have to go off market or try some off the beaten path tactics.  

Ed, it's interesting you mention the auctions.  When I was a youngster my parents bought some homes from auction and rehabbed them.  This was 20 years ago so it's hard to say to what extent things have changed but from what I know they always did well on them.  Thanks for the heads up on the Bank as well, First National will be on my short list when it's time to make some contacts. 

Hey there fellow Mainers!  There are a few of you actively on here.  Excellent excellent excellent.  

@Bob Langworthy Thanks for the welcome Bob. Do I understand correctly that you are an accountant who also does REI? We may have to link up in the future...

@John West I have also dug a lot of clams growing up.  That is one back breaking job!  I don't miss it in the least. I made a connection a few weeks ago with a BP member who recommended Kennebec Savings for portfolio lending.  Do you have any recommendations?  I completely agree with your advice and I do want to start making connections early.  

@Tim McIver I spent 4 years living in So Po attending USM, I love that place.  Thanks for the kind words and for wishing me good luck, I may need it!

@Chris Grenzig Thanks for the offer for help.  I may take you up on that in the future when I get closer to execution time. 

Hello BP community,

I'm a 29 year old lobsterman from midcoast Maine, with an addiction to traveling on sailboats.  Two years ago I sailed my 40 foot boat down to the Bahamas for the winter and that experience changed my life. I feel like I finally found my place in life, and that place is under a coconut tree.  I have a bachelors in marketing with lots of credits in finance.  I've been a self employed commercial fisherman my entire life, since maybe 6 yrs old?  I have never filled out a job application and the only job I have ever done that isn't fishing is a three year stint co operating my fathers wholesale lobster business(4-6 employees, 10 million in annual sales, what a headache).  

According to the book the millionaire next door, my net worth is above average for my age/income, however I don't like the idea of doing any more physically demanding work than I have to in order to achieve my financial goals. Over the past 5 years my avg income has been over 6 figures and I think going forward I can most likely save 60-80k year for investing(as long as the economy and the lobster population remain constant). My goals are to create completely passive income equivalent to the avg doctors salary after taxes. This year I think I saw that the average doctor salary is around 90k, to be clear, that is what I want to take home after taxes. To achieve this goal in 5 years would be amazing, I really hope that worst case is 10 years. Based on my current savings, my anticipated earnings available for reinvestment, and the CoC returns I'm seeing people achieve on BP, this goal seems realistic in 5 years, iff (a joke for you math nerds) properly executed. What would I then do with my life you ask? Obviously sail the world and have as much free time as I want to pursue anything my little heart desires. I may find I love managing from afar and do just that.

I'm leaning towards buy and hold in the multi family Class B sector.  I like the idea of local because from what I have learned of business in my 3 years of running a company is that knowing your market inside and out is the best way to succeed.  I feel that knowing all the players, what their needs are, and who is in positions of weakness or strength are the best ways to spot opportunity.  I feel that for my personality, investing in outside markets may not be the best fit.  

Right now I am in the planning and learning phase.  I suppose some wise cracks will say, "the learning never ends!"  To which I agree, but also know that my level of knowledge is not at a level where I'm comfortable to start throwing money around. I hope to be at that phase in the next 6 months, but as far as I know, hoping has never gotten anyone anywhere. 

I'm looking forward to engaging you in intelligent discussions in the forums, but for now most of my questions have already been asked.  

Peace from the Downeast,

-Nick