All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Johnson

Thanks @Levi T. but why both regular and certified?

Do I just write a short: 

"Dear [Tenant #1],

We have decided to not renew your lease and give you this 30 day notice to vacate the unit. All prepaid rents and security deposit will be refunded upon move-out.

Sincerely,
Jon Johnson [+signature]
[Date]"

Thanks so much everyone, very helpful stuff. A few clearifications:

1) I did receive the pre-paid rent from the previous Landlord. I wasn't clear, but I meant that the pre-paid rent was accepted by the previous LL. I wouldn't accept pre-paid rent.

2) Tenant #1's lease is up. It ended in April, but he's prepaid on a month-to-month through July.

3) I do plan on giving the prepaid rent back, I'm just not sure if I should do it immediately or wait until he's moved out?

4) Their lease allows for a new property owner to renegociate/terminate their current lease within 30 days of purchase, which was May 8th.

Questions:

1) When serving notices, do I have to personally give it to them? I'm about an hour and a half away. We are usually living there on the weekends.

2) When to give the prepaid rent back? ASAP or when he's moved out?

Thanks for all your feedback and answers: @Levi T., @Thomas S., @Nathan Gesner, @Deanna McCormick, and @Marcia Maynard

Hello BP,

I've inherited some unsavory tenants. I was mostly fine with it because all the leases were going to be up in July or sooner. HOWEVER, I was not aware about just how bad it was.

Tenant 1 - wanted to talk to me in private. He's a college kid, prepaid his rent for the next two months with the last landlord, his apartment was a mess, and... he's registered with a possession of child pornography crime. He was very honest and upfront with me and I think his parents help him pay his rent.
I have a baby girl and we are moving right across from him. We are not ok with him staying. In his lease, the last landlord included this paragraph:

My question: According to this, do I just give him a letter stating we are terminating his lease? What do I do with the prepaid rent? His deposit is fine because there doesn't seem to be any repairs needed. 

Tenants 2 - Boyfriend and Girlfriend. Boyfriend was recently incarcerated, and will be for a long time. Tenant 1 says the girlfriend already has a new boyfriend and hasn't been seen in a week or two, which isn't too long but is concerning. Their lease is up in July, but I'm having a hard time figuring out how that's going to play out with all his stuff in there. Should I just get them out now?
What if she just dips out? They are both on the lease. 
Do I need to do something specific with his stuff if she dips out and leaves it all there?

@Amy Emmerson Rentigo! new one to add to my list. My list is based on software others recommend, which is always changing. Just haven't heard of that one yet. At a glance I love that it's free, but it's pretty basic in what it offers.

I have only really tried Cozi.co - I liked Cozi because it was absolutely free to send and receive payments and that's all I needed at the time.

 I'm in the process of switching to Tenantcloud because the user interface is easy and organized. I have calenders, reminders, contact lists for tenants/owners/service pros, I have a message board that I can message those T/O/SPs, I can set up easy online leases that you can digitally sign, tenants can take pictures of repairs needed - send it to me - and I can send it on to a service pro - all within the system, 

I'm excited to use TC because it comes with a lot of helpful reports:

I'm sure there are other great softwares out there, but TC is free to manage and only $9/mo to receive payments online. I like the look and there's a mobil app that goes with it as well, that sold me over Rentecdirect.

@Robin Boyer Since we are living in one of the units, we are living there for about $140. Once the rents go up in July, the property cashflows $140. When we move out after a year and rent the one we were living in for $600, it will cash flow $700. But that's not taking into account savings and management.

I don't think this was the absolute best deal, but a key part I haven't mentioned yet is that my wife was on board with this one. There is huge equity in having your spouse see something become a success. 

@William Jordan @Igor Gajic @Isiah Ferguson @Leslie Pappas @Zack Karp Thank you very much!

@Scott Harper Thanks! There's a few entrances. Apt B has it's own, A shares a stairwell with D, and C is around back. They all have mini-kitchens and one bath, the efficiency I can't remember actually where the kitchen is.

The bathrooms and kitchens are the most outdated. The appliances, sinks, and bathtubs are all old and need to be redone. The $4,500 for repairs and the two months before the first mortgage payment should cover getting it ready for the new tenants.

@Matt Jones Thanks, All were rented, but we asked the 2-bed room apartment to be vacant on closing so we could move in. The previous Landlord was an attorney and had a sweet lease that he made up. It had a paragraph that said something about if he were to sell, the new owner could renegotiate a new lease or end the current within 30 days.

The other 3 apartments leases are ending in two and three months, I plan to let them stay until then and let them go. The rents are about $50-$100 under what the local market offers. There's also some updating that needs to be done.

I'd like to set the rents for $500, $600, and $700 for the efficiency, one bed room, and two bedroom respectively. My mortgage and insurance is about $1000 a month.

@Jessie Nunley Great plan! I would recommend purchasing a house every year with the VA-loan. I just finished purchasing a 4-unit Monday after having a SFH for a little over 2 years. You can refinance out of a VA loan and then use it again and again.

Note that each time you use it, the VA fee (which goes into the loan) goes up just a little.

Also, it takes a long time to find and eventually close on an investment house so always be on the lookout for a good deal.

@Gavin McHenry

Fairly tough, this was the only 4-unit I've seen in a long time in the area. I didn't do anything fancy but watch zillow, realtor.com, and trulia for duplexes, triplexes, and 4-units.

That needs to be decided, there's no real rule about it. Usually the buyer pays for it though. Everything is negotiable but I would have that conversation in the offer and beginning communications.