All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Yeah, it's completely nuts to limit STR in Chelan. It's so small and this is basically what the economy is based on - tourism. I lived in WA for nearly 20 years, from the White Salmon area to Seattle, Bellingham - I owned a house in Sumas on the Canadian border, too.

You know what might work for Chelan for the workers who need to live there year round, is to find a LIHTC (low income housing tax credit) investor group to build an apartment complex or two in town.  I lived in Crescent City, CA, which has a population of around 5,000 next to the giant redwoods - it's a tourism town, and I lived in a LIHTC property there.  There are several in town.  

Sometimes they build brand new apartment complexes and sometimes they purchase (with subsidies from city/county/state and feds) old hotels in downtown areas to revitalize an area.  They'll be mixed use, usually, with shops on street level and apartments above.  Sometimes they're family and sometimes 55+ or older seniors/disabled.  The landlords get full market rent, but the renters pay a lower rent and the landlords get subsidies for the difference.  They're really profitable for the investors and supply a low income housing supply for a town.

Maybe you could look into this and find an interested investor group to present an investment project in town.  

Also, presenting numbers can be persuasive, as far as the city council goes.  Show numbers as to how much revenue they're losing, and then propose the LIHTC idea - with a LIHTC representative in tow, maybe.

Anyway, I mention Crescent City because in case the thinking is the town is too small for these investors, it definitely is not, if they build them in such a small, low income area as Crescent City.  It's a very poor area overall.  I doubt Chelan is, but at any rate, it's not too small for these investors to consider.

I know it's a pain and can feel exhausting to go up against such frustration.  You need to vote in a new council.  It can be changed back, it will just be a pain.  I sure wish you the best.  So frustrating to work so hard at building something successful and having a group of nutters mess it up.  I feel for you.

I'll just mention that different regions can have different cultures and ways of operating and communicating, etc., that can add to a learning curve.  For instance, when I moved from the SF Bay Area to TN many years ago, it was really challenging for me to learn a slower way of life and I never did really feel at home, even though I lived there for 5 years and got married there.  Some regions aren't friendly to "outsiders."  Also, a small mountain town in WA I moved to, where my daughter grew up still considered some people there "outsiders" even though they'd lived there for 20+ years.

I ended up figuring it out and made good friends in both places, but it was challenging.  You didn't mention what region you were considering moving to, so maybe it will be similar enough culturally or a big enough town that it won't be an issue.

My first reaction to your post was - No!  You've got such a well-oiled machine, why mess with a good thing?  But, some people enjoy the challenge of building a machine.  I agree with the others who suggested you try to keep your current team, too, if possible.  I get wanting a new challenge, because I was like that, too, but I wish I would have just stuck with some of the good things I had going, that I quit out of boredom.

I admire what you've done and wish you the best in whatever you choose to do next.

 I second this Nolo Press tax guide.  I used it.  Lots of great info.  One of the things I remember learning from this book is that it's usually preferable to repair rather than replace for tax deductions.  And the home office deductions mentioned are great - you can deduct the percentage of square feet of your house that's your home office for more than you'd think, like your home security, utilities, on and on.  

I think the complaints about mold was because she just wanted out of the lease by that point.  She just wasn't happy in the unit, and I kind of don't really blame her.  I think it's really important for landlords to have a unit completely move-in ready, because if it's not, then the tenant starts out with a mentality that the place is not taken care of.  And then, anything that happens after that is proof that the place is a dump, and it just snowballs.

I learned this the hard way.  Even when tenants want to view an apartment before it's ready and insist they'll be able to see beyond the ladders and appliances pulled away from the walls for cleaning, etc. - if they ever see the unit in less than move-in-ready condition, they will always view the apartment as having maintenance issues.  That impression is there and that tenant ends up being a complainer.  

So, it was just bad luck in your case the screens weren't up, but then I admit that would irritate me, and I can understand being grossed out by bats and wondering if the carpet was then full of guano, and then the a/c didn't cool down the unit, and then a toilet leaking on my mattress - yeah, I would have been ready to move, too.  

I can understand how these things can happen, but I kinda disagree with the idea that this was a nightmare tenant.  I think if you got all of those issues fixed, you may be able to keep future tenants.  But, I don't know how you screen for tenants who will put up with all of the above, really, unless they're tenants you really don't want anyway.

I agree. I also don't like any property with a homeowners association, because it's like having a bunch of strangers in the middle of my investment who can change rules, etc., raise the dues, on and on. In my experience, HOAs aren't worth the money, and they can foreclose on you for unpaid HOA fees. Same with these mobile home park fees.

I did want to mention that I think a new investor could buy a for sale by owner with their own buyer's agent and do the deal through a title company or attorney (depending on how it's done in that state - some use attorneys, etc.).  You could offer to pay the buyer agent what they would have received in a buyer's agent commission or work out a deal to split it with the seller.  

Punitive damages are really rare, but it never hurts to ask.  Also, you're not expected to know the law, so don't be afraid to ask for the moon.  I, personally, doubt you could get reimbursed for your time, but nothing bad can happen to you if you ask.  Just be calm and respectful.  Ask for the max amount of money you can think of on the form (within the limit), take documentation and proof of your out of pocket costs with you and any proof of the seller telling you to just sue, even if it's texts - they're admissible as writings.  On the form, also write "and court costs and any punitive damages the court finds appropriate."

The judge normally can't award you more than you ask for, but can give you less than you ask for.  This is why you go ahead and ask for the moon.  Then just tell the judge you weren't sure what was allowed or not, so you are asking for everything you can think of and trusting him/her to award you what's fair.

What a pain.  Good luck.

I skimmed the new regulations.  The good news is that you can rent your place out for 31 days and you don't need to pay a license fee or deal with all of the regulations - or that's what it looked like to me.  The definition was worded weirdly in the negative - "not more than 30 days" - being the definition of a short term rental.  So, maybe target traveling nurses and rent it out for 31 days.

A pain, for sure, but maybe you can turn it into something positive and deal with less turnover.  Maybe a corporate rental - where the tenant is the corporation, but the tenants still turnover more often.  I was once approached about a corporate rental wanting to rent one apartment in a 25 until building to be used for traveling nurses.  The owner didn't like not knowing who would be coming and going, but anyway, you may find it to be an option.

Sorry you're dealing with this.  I wish governments would figure out they can't use private landlords to fix public housing problems that should be government owned or at least subsidized.  There may be a landlord revolution after Covid, and rightly so.

You can often find them on university websites.  They'd be city/state specific, as far as the laws.  

First, I know you said one of your tenants has been nothing but great - but that wasn't the case when there was WW3 and the cops called.  That's not a great tenant, in my opinion.  A great tenant would have just gone back inside the house and called the cops or you and not had a reality TV moment in front of the property.

I'd be careful about the wording of the warning, and maybe be more specific.  Maybe write to both of them and say that if the cops are called again, any tenant that was involved in the situation that resulted in the cops being called, will be given notice to move out.  That way, one tenant can't just call the cops and get the other tenant evicted with them, if they want to move anyway.

I think duplexes can be tricky.  They're oddly kind of like having a roommate, where if they were in a large apartment complex, they wouldn't have the same type of relationship - it would be more anonymous.

Why were they both needing a garbage can?  That seems weird.

Other than your baptism by fire, congrats on your investments.

You might want to post this in the STR forum to get more responses. Best of luck to you!