All Forum Posts by: Franklin Spees

Seeking out competent legal advice or even a savvy investor or property manager is critical.  If I may be so bold....you are letting them run the show, and they are capitalizing.  You are operating and making decisions based on their emty threats, Internet research, and uninformed.  I agree with @Andy Mirza , read your lease and study the respective duties and responsibilities you each have.  Don't let them double dip.  If you are paying for alternative accommodations you don't reimburse for rent.  They bring issues and maintenance requests to your attention and it is your decision on how, when, and who will repair it and in what fashion.  Use the guiding principles of reasonableness and foreseeability, document, and keep them informed of your decisions and progress.  They can decide to stay, move out, make additional requests and you simply respond based on the lease terms.  Best of luck to you.

Curious to know how you are using the first time home buyer "card" but also acquiring it as an investment property with a Section 8 tenant in place. Due on sale clause issue? Lender flag? I say that knowing of course that it is very common for owners to secure the benefits of FHA terms and simply ignore the 1 year occupancy requirement. Maybe you found another legal way to do it? Or quite possible that I read it too fast and missed something. Good luck out there.

@Liam Goble  Yeah, I was just reading about the fact that under Pennsylvania landlord-tenant law, a landlord may charge a tenant the equivalent of two months' rent for the security deposit for the first year of renting and the equivalent of one month's rent during all subsequent years of renting.  Nolo Press Link.

Curious if anyone can explain about how that works in application.  Do you have to reimburse the the deposit amount over 1 months rent after the first 12 months?

Word of caution for what it's worth: lots of loose legal terms and methods related to loans, taxes, and other potential estate planning implications.  I really believe even an hour or two of a local qualified attorney's advice could save some major future pain.  Even family notes being collateralized by real estate and recorded on title can be a good practice and avoid complications in the future.  Also, I'd be careful about sharing bank accounts for the simple fact that if something were to happen to the other account holder, the account and all of its funds could effectively become the complete and sole property of the remaining account holder.

I think one of the best gifts you can give your tenants is consistent structure.  A professional relationship of mutual accountability can reduce turn-over and increase quality of life for your residents.  

Not sure exactly how it works in NY, but in CA you are typically required to first get your salesperson's license and then hang under a broker for a couple years, take a few more classes and another test before you can become a broker. But once you have that it frees you up to set your own course. Of course there are lots of benefits to coming under the wing of a broker who might assist with the details of the business (desk, phone, E&O insurance, leads, etc.)

To clarify, you are looking to assign an offer that was just accepted?

I always counsel my landlord clients that although you can discriminate against pets with a no pets policy, you are automatically knocking your applicant pool in half if not more.  Sometimes you can get burned bad with incontinent cats or one cute little puppy that turns into repetitive cycles of pit bull litters.  

One "quick tip" (to quote the podcasting duo) that I wanted to share was it makes sense to simply take a larger deposit.  Everything can be repaired and the odds of the animal going Cujo on all the drywall and doors in the house, are very low.  But be sure to take just that, an "increased deposit" rather than a pet deposit.  That way if you ever have other repairs beyond reasonable wear and tear, you will not be limiting yourself to those dollars specifically for pet related repairs.

I don't even like to the say the "M" word.  As @Dawn Brenengen pointed out, iterations of mold is all over the place and my understanding is that very few of the cultures are actually detrimental to typical humans.  The real challenge becomes when you have either a super sensitive tenant to any traces...or a super psychologically sensitive tenant that is quick to flex the tenants rights and demand this and that.  Owning a management company we have to confront this issue pretty frequently.  I like to use the reasonableness test in these types of situations.  If a tenant reports a smell, that triggers an observation.  If you see "M" or mildew, it could be treated on the surface with bleach or other mitigating solvents.  If you don't see it or even smell it yourself then you have a decision to make.  If cleaning the area doesn't satisfy the tenant then another alternative is the mold remediation company.  Of course that call is like poking the hive that has now become a whole cottage industry with test-in's, abatement, removal, construction, test-out's...it can be ridiculously expensive.  The worst is when you receive the initial $150 test that they offer and it is inconclusive but there are particulates that are of such characteristics that "M" cannot be ruled out.  Well thanks for nothing.  Now you have to upgrade to the more thorough test and of course they are more likely to find traces of "M" in any of the wet/plumbed areas of the unit.  Apologies for the venting...I digress.

The real issue in my opinion is making sure you track down the source.  Water intrusion or a plumbing leak can be a latent killer that can lead to major wall and sub-flooring repairs if not identified soon enough.  If you do see some signs of "M" or mildew it is at a minimum a sign of trapped moisture.  The most common examples we all see is the poorly ventilated bathroom without a fan or a window...combined with long steamy showers.

I personally manage about 500 doors and have had a pretty good experience with the property management software Buildium (LINK).  They provide the full service of online applications, available property posting, a website, online payment, integrated accounting and reports.  I've looked at several others and they have some distinctions but are all increasing functionality every year.  I also use Yardi Beacon for an affordable property I manage.  Outside of that I used a cheaper website making company (Weebly) to tie all of my real estate efforts together. (www.NeighborhoodREI.com)

Best of luck to you.