All Forum Posts by: Stephen Jeffers

Hey Pez, welcome to Indy and investing here.  I'm at Lilly too, LTC South, would love to link up over coffee sometime, shoot me a PM!

@Jose Trujillo

You recourse are the terms of your purchase agreement. If the possession is granted at closing there are daily penalties. Sometimes it's for valid reasons and then there times like this. As a realtor you need to have your realtor friend check with the local board of realtors for process of mediation and resolving disputes. Small claims court should ensure all the non possession fees are paid, and basically outside of that you'll just have to sit back and collect $100 a day, I mean unless you plan to live and are without a place to stay they are essentially screwing themselves, unless you don't have that possession clause in your purchase agreement, which should be the case if you're using NAR contracts.

@Erik Whiting

As me motioned here I’d look into the detailed capital expensing. Identifying the age and condition of key components and putting it into your calculation is key in identifying if you’re truly cash flowing. Something that can truly come back and burn you. Making $100 a month cash flow and having to spend that $1200 from multiple years in a 4K roof eats ALL your returns and essentially isn’t true cash flow.

@Chris LeMay

Also you said they actually already signed the lease? What was the date of the lease. Was possession defined in the lease? To me it sounds like you have a legal contract. I know some states allow backing out of certain types of contracts within a period of time so though. But that is for purchases to my understanding.

With a signed contract they should be more concerned with you trying to enforce and wary termination assuming you have one than getting their deposit back.

And I don’t agree with those saying you shouldn’t consult an attorney, this is a long game, you may pay now to ironclad your lease for future issues, well worth it IMHO.

@Chris LeMay

Sounds like a live and learn opportunity.

To secure a property a deposit and intent to lease should be signed. This should define that not moving in will not return the deposit. Of course, verifying the legality of this for your state will require an attorney and it’s well worth the consultation. At this point you need to consult your legal ability to not return the deposit if you did not have that in place.

Basically when you look into home warranties you want to check their fine print.  Are they a exclusion, or inclusion type company.  Exclusion referring to coverage excluding the following items, or coverage for or including the following items.  Understanding what is likely to fail, your access to reliable contractors, and your risk tolerance are the factors that help drive the decision.  Its insurance,  if you get stuck with out it, it burns, if you have it and don't use it...welp its there just in case.  

I definitely think that its a benefit, I'd make sure that you express to your tenants that you are using a home warranty company and that it may delay how fast and the process for repairs.  Also how repair deductibles are paid and contact with the contracted companies is managed for access to homes.'

I did get burnt recently on a rental where the water heater went out and the plumber that they sent out said the the failure occured before the home warranty was purchased.  I ended up having to spend money to purchase and install my own water heater, and still have a $600 home warranty on the home. :/

@Robin Cornacchio

$200 non refundable per deposit, $25 per pet per month up to two pets.

Don't forget about the crack fries, they are awesome!!

Our policy is a 2 month early termination fee, and 60 days notice to terminate early.  This provides a 4 month payment instead of an entire lease.  Also I don't engage in leases over a year, or under a year.  Over a year they want special pricing, but ultimately as a PM the conversion makes more money.  Like referred all suggestion are subject to legalities in your area.  Unless we are being real sticklers we usually don't even enforce the additional rent if they move out immediately and pay the termination fee and we get a new renter, but legally according to the contract we can.

@Neal Ward

No partial payments. Ultimately it’s a determination of providing good faith to the tenant. Based upon their record and ability to provide documentation and basically whether you want to.

Personally, I’d give them a ONE TIME waive of the late fee if they gave me a date on which they plan to make payment.