All Forum Posts by: Amy A.

What does your lender think of this turn of events?  Many get nervous about non-paying tenants or vacant apartments.  Most contracts are contingent on obtaining financing, so you get your deposit back if the lender backs out.

I've seen this in several houses with finished basements.  Whatever the original odor source was (dead animal, sewage, oil, water (mold)), it wicked up the paper on the back side of the sheetrock.  This doesn't happen on the painted side, which is why you don't see the stain.  You can take off the baseboard (carefully, so you can put it back if that's not the source of the odor) and cut out a piece of sheetrock to examine. 

I had a client with a house that cost him thousands in a lawsuit from a tenant due to an oil odor making her sick.  Nobody, not even the state dept. of environmental protection, could figure out where the odor was coming from.  Eventually, they started tearing out the finished basement and found the oil on the back side of the sheetrock, wicked up from an oil spill.

Good luck!

Sorry,  I got them mixed up because both are the same night, both have "Southern" in the name, and both are at a Sea Dog's Brewery!  I can't go this time, but maybe next time.  Have fun!

I think the last post by Ivan said 6. Is it at 5 or 6 ? 

I've used cash-out refinances for the long-term low interest rate to get down payments to buy more long-term-hold rental properties. I've used HELOCs for flips because the short time period means there is less risk of interest rates going up. A HELOC would also work for a BRRRR, but I like to have cash flow from day one on the rentals, so haven't done any of those. So, the answer to your question depends on your strategy.

...never had a property manager charge them for replacing a stove, then had the tenant withhold rent because he has no stove!

...sits helplessly in her office while her buildings deteriorate, tenants stop paying rent, and eventually loses her buildings to foreclosure.

The first has happened to me, the second I've seen happen to others and would happen to me if I truly treated this business as "passive" and solely trusted others to take care of my business.

I allow up to two cats with additional deposit.  Cats are easy to sneak in, so I'd rather get the deposit.  Dogs are difficult because they can be loud, leave a mess, and guard the apartment when somebody needs to go in to fix something.  It's a pain to have to match your schedule to the tenant's schedule every time you have a fire inspection, appraisal, or plumbing leak to fix.  I used to allow dogs, and the tenants all blamed each other for leaving waste in the parking lot.  Some condo associations do DNA tests of the waste so they can fine the right occupant!  It's drama I like to avoid.  I also had some tenants who started doing drugs and became so lazy they wouldn't take the dogs out.  The urine soaked into the framing!  At least cats have a box.   

If you decide to allow pets, make sure that the tenants are highly qualified otherwise.  People who are responsible in their financial and personal lives are often good, responsible pet owners.

I've had some experience with this type of thing, but not as bad. Lowe's didn't take the old fridge from a 2nd floor apartment because it was "too heavy".  Yes, it's heavy, that's why I paid them to take it, not me! After I called to get them sent back, they said they couldn't get into the apartment - they went to the wrong door, after having entered the correct door just a few days earlier to deliver the new fridge.  I had to keep calling until they finally went back.  My husband and I took the old fridge apart as much as we could to lighten it for them.  Another time this happened with a smaller fridge and the manager went out with his own pickup truck and get it after the crews kept saying they'd take it but not showing up.  I buy a lot of stuff from Lowe's and I know it's as hard for them to hire good employees as it is for all of us.  

Passive investment....riiight....

I would ask for 2018 tax return and credit reports as well as check references.  They must have had proof of income to qualify for all those loans, although I don't have much experience with consumer loans.  Three days before Christmas is a terrible time to have a vacancy, so if they check out as legitimate, I wouldn't be too picky.  Of course, when somebody moves 3 days before Christmas, that's also a red flag.

It sounds like it won't qualify for financing due to the condition.  If you can purchase with cash, or a line of credit on another property, just assume that you'll have to replace everything and reduce your offer accordingly.  However, the reason it has not been for sale may be that the title is tied up in court.  I see this a lot.