All Forum Posts by: Rory Gill

We're waiting out the pandemic for in-person meetups, but we'll have meetings as soon as we possibly can.  In the past, we've met at Nightshift Brewing in Everett.  In the meantime, we're on Facebook:

Network to Grow Your Net Worth

https://www.facebook.com/group...

Rochester is worth getting to know.  I hesitate to talk about certain areas, but you can clearly see the difference between the well-maintained and neglected areas.  Efforts to rejuvenate the downtown keep having setbacks.  However, the statistics - especially very low unemployment - make the market very attractive.

I'm watching closely some outlying smaller cities that still offer some of the amenities of Boston.  It's important to remember that people currently living in Boston and other big cities, by definition, prefer living near activity and transportation options.  For that reason, I'm skeptical (though nobody really knows) that exurbs and rural areas will be the big winners.  Instead, I'd monitor the numbers for places like Salem, Beverly, Newburyport, Framingham, Waltham, etc.

Part of the discussion assumes that the attraction to an urban center is proximity to work.  That's certainly part of it, but it's not the whole story.  People also decide where to live for access to friends, family, and cultural resources.

For that reason, I'm skeptical that the work-from-home revolution will see an exodus from places like the Bay Area to the Midwest.  I also don't suspect that the urban core will disperse to rural areas.  Instead, I'm curious to see what this means for smaller urban centers within metropolitan areas.  In the Massachusetts context, telecommuters may see value in places like Salem/Beverly, Lowell, and even Worcester - places that offer less expensive housing but still have their own cultural centers.

If the work-from-home trend is partial (e.g. only some days per week), some workers may be willing to tolerate a longer commute on the days that they do visit the office.

Option 4: $4,000 (November, December, January, and February rent).  On the summons and complaint form, indicate the total amount of rent owed as of the date of the summons and complaint.  Do not adjust or account for prepaid security deposit and last month's rent.  On the trial date, adjustments can and will be made for any newly accrued amounts (e.g. March and April rent).

Heads up: consult with a lawyer before starting the eviction.  I recommend that for two key reasons.  If you don't follow the exact right sequence of dates (notice to quit, summons service date, summons entry date, answer date, trial date, etc.), the whole eviction can fail and need to be restarted from the beginning.  Moreover, you want to audit yourself for counterclaim risk.  Even technical violations in landlord-tenant law can kill an eviction.  To see many of the possible counterclaims, see this brochure and form written to help tenants: https://www.masslegalhelp.org/housing/lt1-booklet-3-answer.pdf

It depends on the town.  Municipal-run utilities can impose a lien on the property.  Because water and sewer is managed by the city/town, unpaid water bills become a lien on the property.

In most - but not all - cities and towns in Massachusetts, electric, cable, and gas are private utility companies.  That means they cannot attach a lien.  Beware, though, the towns with municipal utilities:

For towns with municipal electricity, see: https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2017/01/qh/electricity2015.pdf

For towns with municipal gas, see: https://www.mass.gov/files/images/massgis/datalayers/NaturalGas2015.png

For towns with municipal cable, see: https://www.mass.gov/files/images/massgis/datalayers/Cable2015.png

Don’t get too hung up on the choice of CRM.  Follow Up Boss is good or your brokerage may also offer a CRM system that integrates internally (be sure, though, that you own the contacts, not the brokerage).  Also, some marketing tools such as BombBomb have CRM-like capability.

Your time as a rental agent should have generated a very valuable list of past contacts.  Capture them in one place, then segment them.  For example, you probably have some student renters, perpetual renters, saving renters, happy landlords, and frustrated landlords in your list.  Develop a plan for each to re-engage them with helpful information.

If you’ve dropped the ball and let lots of time elapse without communication, engage the past clients with helpful information.  Good content could include as relevant: what you should be doing three months before your lease ends, how to save for a down payment, how to get your credit ready for a purchase, how to buy a home with student loan debt, what to do when you’re tired of being a landlord, etc.

Then, continue to provide this content over time.

Once you’ve put this systematic communication in place, then it’s time to work in more direct pitches to everyone on your list.

Good luck!

Hi Monish,

In theory, you could start the eviction process as soon as the tenants have overstayed the notice to quit.  However, there are a bunch of concerns for this:

- You are relying on the old landlord's notice to quit.  If there are any errors at all, you would have to start over.  That means serving them a notice to quit for March 31.  (Yes, March 31 would be the earliest possible).

- You may be liable for any of the prior landlord's errors.  For example, if the security deposit wasn't handled perfectly, the eviction may get dismissed, and you could end up owing the tenant money.

- Even in the best case, the process is not fast.  If you jumped into action immediately, the earliest court date you could get is February 20 (based on summary process and housing court rules).  That means removing tenants in early March.

- The "best case" timing rarely happens.  There are all sorts of procedural tactics that a tenant can use to delay the court hearing.  Sometimes, that means extra months.

- The eviction process is costly.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't proceed, but you should understand the risks that you're taking by committing yourself to evictions.  A close look at the seller's management of the tenancies can mitigate some of the risks, but Massachusetts is notoriously tenant-friendly in its courts.

From your question, it seems like you're not interested in moving.  However, house hacking would require a smaller downpayment.  If not, as you suggest, vacations properties used as short-term rentals are a viable option.

Congrats, Brenna!