All Forum Posts by: Sam C.

@Gwen Fyfe. It is consistent in its discriminatory requirement.  ("we do not rent to close family members of tenants we have had to evict")

There is only one form of legal discrimination left: financial. If they cannot afford it or qualify financially, you do not have to rent to them. Any other form of denial can be open to a discrimination claim.  "A close family member" ( or anyone for that matter) that qualifies financially cannot be denied in MOST cases. And you must use a qualifying process that is consistent and applied equally. A few exceptions I am aware of are:

Convicted pedophiles/ Megan's Law

Convicted Drug traffickers ( recent convictions/still on parole)

Sec 8 recipients ( you do not have to do repairs required by HUD inspector which will not allow HUD to approve your unit)

Recent eviction due to non payment of rent ( usually means they will not qualify financially.)

FYI: Just about any applicant that I did not want as a tenant does not make it through the application process' financial/credit requirements. But that does not mean a "bad" tenant does not slip through. I have other strategies to deal with paying but unwanted tenants. However, legally evicting a paying tenant is very difficult. You have to have a good amount of supporting DOCUMENTED evidence. Common sense clearly exposes bad applicants but find a legal way to deny. And if you are stuck with a "bad" tenant that pays, do what you can through your lease, local ordinances, police reports etc. to file a landlord-tenant action or make it "uncomfortable" for them to stay in your unit/house.

A smart applicant could make a discrimination case if refused based on a "blacklist". Have a consistent process for any application. Most "bad" potential tenants do not make it through a thorough and all encompassing process. 

"So, let's fast forward a couple of weeks"

What did you do with the application in those two weeks?

When was her eviction?

Was the previous landlord contacted?

Income verified?

Info on boyfriend obtained?

I can keep going but:

I'd have to see the application and supporting documents you gathered from that application to be able to have any understanding of what went wrong.

You are now smarter than 90% of the new people that get into real estate. They say that "the truth will set you free" after it pisses you off and possibly scare the s**t out of you. You have what is called a known unknown. You know that there are a lot of pitfalls and variables not only beyond your control but are waiting for you and you won't know them till they smack you. That's actually a good thing. Now go find a deal that makes sense financially and just as important instinctively. Buy it. Don't bet the farm. And make it work. If that whole process doesn't work for you, get out even if you just break even or loose a little and move on. But if you do break even or even make some money ( or even loose some money but earned a very inexpensive education) while the ride was just one great thrilling adventure, well then welcome to the club. Keep buying, fixing, selling and renting and enjoy the ride. 

Sounds like you got a decent credit. Make sure you do the work. City has become intolerant of non-compliance and will tag your property "unfit for human habitation" if not completed within time frame allowed. 

 I suspect your AOS simply states that the seller will pay for the inspection and then you have the right to accept, reject or negotiate for repairs. One thing I've learned over the years; until buyer gets the deed and seller gets the money, anything can happen.

I've done a few package loans. Not complicated. Take 3,4,5+ properties to a lender let them have a roughly 30% position and done. I've sold one inside a package with the worse case being that the lender required i give them the proceeds to pay down the loan. Only because time was short and to reappraise the rest of the properties to see if the ratios held would have caused problems with closing on time ( They were not being altruistic. The pay down increased their position to at least 40% with the remaining properties.) I've since then paid off that loan and will be shopping the properties for new money when the time comes.

Caveat: long term relationship with a local lender or two in your area makes it so much easier. My preferred local lender last 20 years was bought out and new owners are not local and to big to really give good customer service for small RE investors. I saw this coming a couple of years ago so I started increasing my business with a small local lender and will start building a relationship with another one in 2018. There's something about being able to walk into a branch and 3/4 people say hi using my first name. Beautiful (spirit), sharp (smart banker) woman that did a cash out for me recently would start/end our meetings with a hug! And of course bringing them good solid ( for banks that means safe) business helps. 

Sometimes it really is a game of chicken and being positioned perfectly. You want the house but you can't chase them leaving the impression that it may be worth what they want when it's not. At least that's what the market is saying. See if you can get yourself invited to a sit down over a cup of coffee and come right out and ask why they think the house is worth more then the market is telling them. Find out why their selling. Depending on their answers you may just have to wait till they catch up to reality and hopefully your still at the front of the line with an offer. The only time I "chase"a seller is if the upside is much more than the total investment because the highest and best use is not being considered by the seller or they are not aware of it. Which means I have a buyer already or I can get it to the highest and best use with buyers waiting for it.

@Orita Issartel. Actually tenants do have an owneship interest as defined in a lease agreement. Their only obligation at the end of the lease is to return the property to you in the condition they received it less "normal wear and tear". And with proper notice in writing, they can make repairs if they are needed to maintain habilibility and you have not done them or refuse to do the repair(s).

@Rigo V.  Advanced Realty Services, inc. or Apex. 

For the record, I have an ownership interest in ARS but I am not the person deciding on accepting or declining new accounts.