All Forum Posts by: Phil Goodwin

A family member lives in Florida and rents a home.  Lease is month to month.  The ex-boyfriend (and his 3 kids) moved in this year in the hopes of making amends.  Unfortunately, it did not work out and he is verbally abusive.  He is not on the lease.  The landlord provided a verbal approval for him to move in.  Nothing is in writing.  She is so stressed out with the situation that she decided to stay with a friend temporarily (starting last week), she plans to continue to pay the rent so that her credit does not get damaged.  He is not contributing toward the rent, upkeep of the house, utilities, etc.  He keeps saying that he will move out but he is not even looking for an apartment, he is just milking it.

How does a lessee get a non-lessee (and his kids) to move out of her rented house?  

Buildium said I can download the transactions but it was for reconciliation purposes, it would not download into the actual ledger and then allow me to allocate the transactions.  The way Buildium described it sounded very manual to me.  

I have 18 residential units and have been using Quicken Rental Property Manager for years.  It does a good job on the accounting and downloads from my bank easily but there is no property management functionality.  I signed up for Buildium, the property management tools are good:  I like keep tracking of my leases, leases that are maturing soon, tenant contact info, electronic payments, and tenant screening tools are easy to use and help to keep me organized.  I have not started using tenant work orders yet but plan too.  Buildium does not sync with my bank account like Quicken, at least I have not figured it out.  I was hoping to download transactions from my bank (PNC) and then I could allocate the transactions to the correct property/tenant/unit/expense, etc.  Does anyone have any suggestions?  Am I missing something?  

I won a judgement in PA and the tenant didn't pay within the required 10 days. I can file for possession now, but how long of a window do I have to file if I want to wait? 30/60/90/180?

I have a 10x20 garage rented to a guy that is storing personal property:  tools, furniture, books, clothing, etc.  There is mold growing on the drywall ceiling.  I hired a mold remediation company to inspect the garage and the mold guy thinks the water is intruding through the brick and mortar wall.  He won't know for sure until he tears down the ceiling.  The mold guy said the garage needs to be empty in order to tear down the ceiling.  The garage is packed full. there is no way to move the stuff to one side, and I do not have any other space available, etc.  There is some mold growing on some of his stuff and I can understand that he would be a little upset.  However, my tenant has really been uncooperative throughout this ordeal over the last several weeks, repeatedly cursing at me over text, calling me a scumbag in one of the texts.  His lease goes through 9/30/19.  I do have an indemnification clause in the lease protecting me from any claim against damage.  I offered to tear up the lease, let him move out, and refund him 1 month's rent of $120 to offset his moving costs.   He refused and just continued to yell at me.  He refused to let me move this stuff too.  What do I do?

I am not an insurance agent so be sure to inquire with your agent. An umbrella protects you and your personal assets over and above your general liability policy on the actual property. If someone falls and breaks their leg on your rental, your existing liability coverage should cover you. However, if you have a major loss (death, permanent injury) as a result of your negligence, then the policy on the rental property may not have enough coverage and the plaintiff can sue you for everything else you own. The umbrella protect the "everything else you own". I own properties in LLC's and in my own name, the LLC will give you some protection but the plaintiff's attorney will sue both you and the LLC. I have about $300,000 of equity in my house plus $700,000 of investments that are not in a 401k, therefore I need a $1,000,000 umbrella policy. Investments in a 401k are off limits to plaintiffs (I think).

@Eamonn McElroy what I meant was if you and your partner agree to a equity/ownership interest then ask your attorney to draw up the operating agreement but ask him to keep the language as simple as possible where applicable.  I agree your attorney absolutely needs to protect you and you should ask him to explain anything you don't understand.  I am a commercial banker and I am sure as a CPA you would agree that most of the time attorneys do a good job of representing their client BUT sometimes attorneys get in the way of a transaction.    

Forgot to add, I have equity in other properties and other personal investments which is why I bought the umbrella policy.  I have regular insurance on every property and liability insurance is also always part of the policy.  The umbrella premium is about $300 for an additional $1,000,000 of umbrella liability coverage...this let's me sleep at night.

I wanted the best interest rate and terms possible.  1-4 unit properties qualify for Fannie Mae financing, commonly referred to as "agency financing."  The best possible deal is to get a 30 year mortgage, typically putting down 25%.  You have to buy in your individual name in order to qualify.  30 year mortgages allow for the lowest payment, and highest monthly profit in my pocket.  When you buy a property, you can opt to gain equity quickly (15 year mortgage) or buy for monthly cash flow (30 year mortgage)....each investor has to make their own choice.  I buy for cash flow.  

Buying in an LLC requires the mortgage to be a commercial loan even if you buy 1-4 units. 5+ units are all commercial loans, regardless of the property type (industrial, apartment, retail strip center, etc). A common commercial mortgage is a 5 year fixed rate with a 25 year amortization, balloon payment due at the end of 5 years. They also have prepayment penalties and you usually pay 1/2 point to a point at closing. And the end of 5 years, you have to pay for new appraisal.

Who owns the property, it is in your individual names?  If so, only insurance will protect you from liability.  I own a triplex with agency financing with my brother in our individual names.  The leases are in our names and the rents is payable to us; we file taxes under a GP.  I get a K1 and he gets a K1.  We have good insurance coverage plus I bought a separate umbrella policy for $1,000,000 to protect my personal assets, premium is $300/year.

You can transfer properties from your name to the LLC but you will pay transfer tax because technically it is a sale, even if it is only for $1. And you will void your mortgage because in the note there is a "due on sale clause" and you will void your title insurance.

You can buy properties in an LLC, but if they are 1-4 units then they qualify for regular 30 year mortgages. If you buy in LLC's, then you have to get a commercial mortgage with higher rates and you can't get 30 year mortgages.