All Forum Posts by: Missy H.

From what I am reading, you did purchase the house for him.  However the house is in your name.  Therefore, unless there is something that I missed in all of the posts, it sounds like your intent was to purchase the house for him, but the deed was never signed so the house is technically yours. 

Are you saying that it was your intent to act as the "bank" and finance this property for him? If so, and if the house is in your name, you are the owner and he is the tenant. 

You may be an unintentional landlord.  On the bright side is that you would still maintain control of the property, if it is fact in yor name.  He can't evict you, but you can evict him.  Give him the "cash for keys" and have a locksmith standing by.

If there is something that I missed, please let me know. 

@Yolanda Mestas

After you have listened to the podcast to gain a little more information on which way you want to go, two things that I would consider.

1. What role will each of you play in this partnership.  Whatever you do think it over carefully, write it down and make sure that everyone is in agreement and has a role to play.

2. How much money can you get pre-approved for.  Know your numbers before you start looking.

Just my opinion.....

Whose name is the house in?

Are the repairs worth $4000.00

You may want to treat him like a tenant and just pay him to leave, especially if the house is in your name.

@Cheri Schaffer

All of the posters have made great points.  The decision to allow pets is a personal one.  I allow pets in my apartments and so far all of the pets are clean and the apartments do not smell.  If i ever did notice a smell or see "pet mess" I would automatically advise the tenant of my observations and put them on notice.  I already have it in my lease that the pet has to be maintained in a clean and hygenic environment (a.k.a no pet smell/mess).

I do not charge a pet rent since the rent is already at the high end of the market, but the tenants do pay a pet deposit that is equal to half a month's rent.

Hope this helps.

@Ryan Schreiber

I agree with @Tony Christian.  Let them move out and find new tenants. 

I have a duplex and the upstairs tenants were there first.  They never wanted to do maintenance or just regular care for the yard.  I always ended up paying someone to just mow the lawn.

When I did find tenants for the first floor, they inquired about use of the back.  I took this opportunity and offered them exclusive use of the yard but they would have to do the maintenance.  They said yes.

I informed the upstairs tenant that the downstairs tenants would taking over the maintenance and as such would have exclusive use of the yard.  They could not argue the point since I had offered them the opportunity to care for it and use it over the years, but never agreed to do so.  This was also written into their lease renewal.

Just be sure to tell all prospective tenants about the first floor's exclusive use of the back yard moving forward. 

Let us know what happens.

Missy

@Dori Rutledge

If the decision was mine to make, i would have the owner replace the furnace(s) and the window panes.  However, I would want to know is it one furnace for all three units or does each unit have its own heating system.  It sounds like it is just one furnace. 

I would want to know what type of furnace is he replacing the old one with. Would I be able to choose it. With such a wide range of furnaces on the market today, you want to make sure that you are getting one that is reliable, energy efficient and has solid reviews.  Who is paying the heating cost?  You or the tenants?

I would also want to know how many times the roof has been re-covered in the past.    If it is shingle, how many layers are on it?  If there are too many layers, the shingles may have to be removed and replaced altogether and not just re-covered. 

The reason that I would go for the first option is:

1. A new roof is definitely low maintenance.  You could make that replacement purchase yourself and be nearly worry free for at least another 20+ years....and it comes with a longer warranty than a furnace.  People usually don't call up roofing companies for yearly service maintenance.

2.  A repaired furnace would most likely need another repair by the next winter. 

If it were replaced with a brand new furnace, the only maintenance that you would have to contend with are the yearly service calls at the beginning of each winter.  If it is cared for properly, you should be worry free. 

I installed a brand new roof and two new furnaces for my duplex 10 years ago and have been worry free on both of them.  The heating company only comes out once a year for general maintenance.

Hope this helps but there is more information that I would want to know.

Missy 

@Jason Garrison

Perhaps, I was not clear enough.  I apologize.  I am not gving you advice as someone has indicated.  I did start out by saying "While I can't tell you what to do....."

My intent was only to share my experiences. 

If you would like to hear about my experience marketing my properties and how I handle the utilities, let me know, least anyone else think that I am giving you advice. 

Good luck :)

@Mike Baker

I am glad that I can brighten your day. :)

And you did bring up a great point.  I should call the plumbing company to come out with a video camera just to make sure that my investment is paying off.

Thanks!!

@Donovan Plummer

I would not toally discount @Michelle Watt's advice.  While it may not be the best decision for you in the Las Vegas area, you never know what the future may bring and where your next property may be located. 

You may find yourself with a property in an area that would be more suitable for section 8.  Your initial question was not whether or not to rent to section 8 in Las Vegas.  Your question was - what are some of the does and don'ts of Section 8.  She did help to answer that.

With that being said, I would also suggest that you calculate the rent so that the tenants have to pay a portion of the rent so they have some "skin in the game".  In some states, it is difficult to evict tenants and failure to pay rent may be the only way to do so.  Give yourself a leg up, if it should come to an eviction.....just saying. 

Missy

@Kewin Garabito

The question on whether to do a background check on tenants may depend on whether or not they have a month-to-month lease or a yearly lease.  If they have a yearly lease, you will most likely have to honor it so a background check may not be immediately beneficial.  It depends on how soon the lease expires.  However, if they are on a month-to-month lease, you will want to do a background check to help you decide if you want to take the property with or without the tenants.  It may go without saying that if the background check comes back as unacceptable to you, you could ask the seller to turn over the property without tenants. 

Hope this helps.

Missy