All Forum Posts by: Steven Virgil

I have a few properties in South Bend and I personally believe SB has a lot of potential long-term. The attention Pete Buttigieg Has brought to the region, the project underway to shorten the commute to Chicago on the South Shore train and the exodus of Illinois residents seeking lower taxes all have me very optimistic. 

To answer your question, according to the contract they would be entitled to 10% of the gross monthly rent for the remainder of the time the contract was supposed to cover on top of the $100 fee. I would only be terminating the contract a month early so it's a no-brainer. I have a SFH that they also manage that I'll likely terminate at the same time.

I purchased a 4 plex last year in South Bend, IN and was somewhat cornered into keeping the existing PM due to being out of state and some unethical actions by the seller. The 4 plex is in a rough area and is 3/4 occupied, 1 of which is Sect 8. Anyway, the PM is very slow to respond, poor at screening tenants, has neglected to send monthly income statement a few times as outlined in contract, charged 24 hours at $49/hr for very minor repairs and cleaning, all without prior approval. The contract says I must pay a $100 cancellation penalty plus remaining management fees (10%) but I’m wondering if there is A: a way to recoup some of these excessive charges and/or B: avoid the cancellation fees due to breach of contract.

My last correspondence with the PM was an email sent on April 3 that they haven’t replied to. This isn’t a new issue, unfortunately and I already have a new PM who is interested in managing the property.

Thank you in advance for any advice or suggestions. 

I had this same issue in South Bend. It took 3-4 months to start receiving Section 8 rent for one of my units. My PM said things were backed up due to a recent FBI raid at the South Bend HUD office.

I wanted to revive this thread and see if anyone can offer advice or suggestions for my situation. I just closed on a foreclosure purchased through an auction and am currently dealing with a squatter. The realtor has some rapport with the squatter and informed me that he has been living there for free for about two years and according to him his mom owned it. Fortunately the realtor in the transaction has a rapport with the squatter and has been extremely helpful by having an open line of communication with him. The squatter has been texting the realtor saying he's working on moving out but giving excuses and pushing it back. The latest is that he needs time because he's trying to sell the stove and wants to clean and mop before leaving (obviously BS). He claims his personal effects are all out of the house and he's almost done. I suggested offering cash for keys but the realtor seems to think that the squatter will just try to control the situation and demand more money and try to screw me. I'm trying to remain civil in hopes of keeping any property damage to a minimum. Since I'm the legal owner now can I call the police and have him removed as trespassing? Do I have to file a formal eviction? Any help would be greatly appreciated. For what it's worth this is in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, just outside of Cleveland.

This post has been extremely helpful. I bid on auction.com and I'm closing on my first occupied foreclosure on December 30. I am both intrigued by and dreading approaching the current occupant to determine the situation. I did my best to push closing until after the holidays for obvious reasons. It's a SFH in the outskirts of Cleveland, OH and I purchased it for about 45% of local comps. I drove by the house and it's in a well maintained area and aside from a little exterior damage appears to be well kept. I'm hoping being cordial and being able to work out a lease with the tenant or PO, even if it's below market value.

South Bend Water Works does not allow renters to have service in their name. They require that it remain in the owner’s name and usually won’t start/switch service without closing paperwork showing ownership. 

@Brian G. thanks for the great advice. Our goal for our first property is to use it solely for STR with the bulk of our income coming from college football home game weekends. We wanted to start relatively cheap and if all goes well, expand to more expensive properties. In this market, STR rental rates aren't linear with home value from what we have found.

Good morning. We are looking at buying our first investment property in the near future and were surprised to find out that banks are very reluctant to mortgage investment properties under $120k. We have the cash to purchase our first property ($50-$60k) however with rates still low we would like to finance if possible. I'm wondering if it makes sense to purchase the house cash then go back and take out a home equity loan on the property instead of doing a personal loan. We both have ~790-800 credit scores so our rates should be pretty low.