All Forum Posts by: Stephen Bell

Hello Mary Alling , its good to see another Eastern Ct investor on this site. I am currently located in Lisbon! So about 25 minutes from you! This site is full of great useful information. If you have any questions, just ask!

Never never never never never never never ever let it slide or it will become an ongoing issue. I can't bring my tenant's excuses to the ; bank, town, water/sewer company, insurance when I can't pay my bills.

Sam Leon my lease reads like this, paragraph 33, vehicle policy, "the tenant agrees never to park or store a motor home, camper, or any sort of recreational vehicle on the premesis and to park only "x" automobiles, license plate number "xxx-xxx" make of automobile, __________ only on the paved area provided in the designated and labeled parking spots. Junk cars, cars in blocks, non-functioning or unregistered vehicles are not permitted on or about the property, landlord may remove above said vehicles at personal property owners expense." It goes more in depth in my actual lease but you get the picture. I am not an attorney nor am I giving legal advice so take it as you'd like.

For all of my leases, it specifies how many vehicles are allowed to park off street. I also have them write the year, make, model and plate number in the lease so I know who is who. Also my properties have assigned spots with signs so everyone knows where they are to park. Any vehicles not on my leases are to park on the street. I have it very spelled out in my leases because I ran into issues in the last few years and got tired of the complaints and headaches and now I have no issues with parking. 4 cars for one apartment is too many and unfair to the others. Just because he can take his vehicle home doesn't mean he has to.

Hi Alan Berlin , as an agent, I see where the other real estate agents are coming from. It hard to take a verbal offer from a buyer because they dissapear like the wind. I would recommend you go and see the properties first anyway before submitting an offer, they could be in terrible condition too. Also, even if the agents gave them the figure, if I was a seller, I would be weary to accept an offer (probably well below asking price) from someone who has never seen the property and does not have a formal offer with proof of funds to accept.

It absolutely amazes me that in situations like this, nothing can be done to ensure the safety of your tenants and that the law is more concerned with his rights to his apartment than others lives... Merica!

I agree with what everyone else of this thread is saying, do the moral thing because that is priceless. Bearing that in mind I am going to play devil's advocate here. If you or I were to make a bad business decision (i.e. Renting to a bad tenant, paying too much for a property etc.) we would be stuck with what happened, it's the nature of any business, owning up to your mistakes. Now the question lies in who does this 2-3k mistake impact more? A small time investor who watches every dollar? Or a multi-national company who brings in billions in sales every year. Unfortunately everyone and (Business alike) make mistakes and we must own up to them, it is simply to cost of doing business. Again, I say do the moral thing, but just some food for thought to complicate your decision :)

I'll tell you what happened to a seller of a property that my buyer was buying from. Bear in mind this is in CT though and NOT NJ, the seller wanted to back out a day before closing, her attorney politely informed her that if she haulted the sale she could and would be sued for the commissions of agents and brokers, the closing attorneys, and compensating the buyers (who became "homeless" two days before closing) paying their movers and paying to put them back into an apartment. The amount totaled about 25k, the seller reluctantly sold the property. Again this was in CT. Speak to an attorney if you really want to do it.

Hello Leo Don , I am an investor and real estate agent in CT. I am assuming since you are from NY you would like to stay closer towards that side? The western side of CT has all of the money and expensive housing. Without needing extensive rehab, you probably won't find much/ if anything in Fairfield County. New Haven county is reasonably priced but you'll just have to stay out of the warzones. I myself live on the Eastern side of CT and frequently travel to Fairfield County, I prefer to keep my money on the eastern side where properties are cheaper and the rents are still good.

Hi Joey, It's pretty simple to deny an applicant. I always tell my potential applicants that I accept applications until a certain date and then pick the best of the applications. I never give a reason for denying an application because that opens you up to liability. If you don't feel comfortable denying an applicant, just don't call them back as it sounds like you wouldn't want to rent to them in the future anyway.