All Forum Posts by: Peter M.

@Anne Pitkin Have her seller finance to you. Her capital gain hit will be smaller since it is spread out. You'll have to offer her better terms like higher interest rate but remind her that if you fail to pay she will get the properties back.

@Karla Simmons Use petscreening.com even for tenants without pets so they have to acknowledge your pet policy. Its free and they verify the emotional support animal is legit. If the emotional support animal is bs, this scares away 90% of people. Put the no pet clause in the lease and use an addendum if you will allow pets. If they bring one in then you have cause to evict because they broke the lease.

Depends on the pet but usually $15-25/month. I also make them register with petscreening.com, pay a pet deposit, and require they have the property professionally cleaned if they want their full deposit back. But mostly I just don't allow pets unless it is a SFR with a fenced yard. Pets in MF are a nightmare.

I don't understand this post. Yes of course you should fix it before putting tenants in. Depending on how much water it is will determine if you can dry it out or have to replace it. Mold will start to grow if it isn't dried out completely. You also need to check the electrical that got wet as that can be a safety hazard.

It really is up to you and you never know how a judge will see things. You have set a precedent by allowing the late rent however if you decide you are done with it, send a letter after the next late payment stating that late payments will no longer be accepted. Then the following month when he doesn't pay on time you send the pay or quit notice, then wait 3 days and file for eviction. This way you have proof ending the precedent and have a stronger argument. In reality it doesnt matter and by the letter of the law you can evict anytime the tenant defaults but like I said, every judge is different so anything you can do to give yourself a stronger position will help when the time comes. But you may get lucky and he just leaves before it gets that far. 

Check your state property code for how this is handled. Did you get a copy of the lease when you closed? Does it allow subletting? If so, did you get a copy of the sublease? Most likely you will have to evict them without a lease which usually takes a few weeks longer even in landlord friendly states. Hopefully you have the occupant's name so you can file properly. You should take a little responsibility in that you should have taken it upon yourself to notify the occupant and not rely on the word of the other tenant but its in the past, live and learn. This will be a learning process for you, I can guarantee that. 

Yes get it all in writing in the form of a lease amendment. The tenant moving out agrees to forfeit their deposit (or whatever terms you come to). Make sure the staying tenant can afford the unit on his/her own. Get copies of police reports in case it goes to court. 

Looks like you have an eviction on your hands. Youll have to evict the sister who isnt on the lease which will make it take more time. And you could go after the original tenant in small claims court for lease violations and damages but all you will end up with is headache and wasted legal fees. You can evict for things besides non-payment of rent. Landlords just usually go that route because it is the most straight forward. Good luck

@Kelly Pierce You have to wait until the lease is over to get them out unless you talk to them and they are willing to go voluntarily. Like a cash for keys situation. Guarentee all their deposit back and maybe give them extra for moving fees?? As for getting them to sell at the same time you can just go month to month on the first one that expires. Or you could sell them with tenants to another investor. An investor would understand the 1031 process and you could make it contingent on finding your replacement property. Not sure about the right of first refusal laws in CA. Good luck

@Nathan G. Even in landlord friendly Texas i have rentals in municipalities the require registration. The SFR didn't have an inspection but the MF do but it just depends on the city. The other thing that grinds my gears is when HOAs do it too. Same thing with STR and taxes. If you have the state, city, and HOA trying to get a piece, it could be 20% of gross rent. Its frustrating but I see it as cost of doing business and ultimately is passed onto the tenants/guests. I think its helping to drive the STR craze. Landlords are realizing they can get $100/night plus $100 cleaning fee and the guest will pay another $75 in taxes and fees. Its crazy to me that people will pay it but they do and the evidence is staring me in the face every time I look at our airbnb calendars.