All Forum Posts by: Jeff G.

@Brian V. yes, network. There is a large REIA in Troy, MI not far from you. They meet on Square Lake Rd. You can check them out here: http://www.michiganrealestateinvestors.com/

Welcome to BP!

@Randy King if they're good tenants, have rented from you for more than a year, and you've have never had a problem paying on time you might consider extending the grace period. The tenant was courteous and called you as soon as she knew rent would be late. Which, lets be honest, is more than a lot of tenants would do.

@Steve Babiak is right, you're a business. But, you also have a soul. If I were in this situation I might approach the problem like this:

• Call the tenant back and ask, "I understand your situation and, I'm really sorry. That's terrible. IF I were to extend the grace period, how long do you think you'd need at most?" Just listen. If the number the tenant comes back with is acceptable to you send them a written notice that you've agreed to their terms as a one time extension. If not, by all means enforce the terms of the contract. In either case end the conversation with "I'll see what I can do."
• In the name of "going the extra mile." You might contact some local charities to see if they can offer some emergency assistance to your tenants. Don't spend all day on it of course. Even if you do end up enforcing the late fee or perusing eviction you've shown genuine compassion for the tenant--and they know it. If you decide to do this, I'd start with the local food bank in your area.
• If they don't pay by the 25th of the month, start the eviction process--period. Once they're two moths behind (in 5 more days) they're not likely to catch up and they'll be playing the same tune next month. Consider finding a local attorney who will do "flat rate" evictions in your area if you need to evict. They tend to be reasonable and it's much of a less headache for you.

In the above case you're getting a revised payment date from your tenants, so you're not letting them of the hook or being overly flexible. If it isn't going to work, you're still evicting them in a timely manner. That's still professional and you're not just rolling over for them.

I have to second @Michael Noto I hate parking issues. People get so upset about not being able to park it's not funny. I pass on all deals that don't have (or could be made to have) adequate parking.

Also, no board ups on the same block. They're magnets for trouble and insurance headaches. 

@Jon Adams consider a lost leader like "free 40 (or 50) inch TV" with a 14 month lease. In some areas this approach works well. You'll get a lot more calls and the extra two months on the lease will recover the cost of the TV. That's my two cents.

Let me know if you end up using this approach and how well it works for you.

So, back in the day before the (in my view wholly unnecessary) Dodd-Frank Safe Act it was common to perform a lease option as follows:

• Large "option payment" as a faux down-payment.
• Charge well above market rent
• Provide generous rent-credits based upon the performance of the tenant-buyer.
• Make the tenant-buyer pay for repairs below (say) $500.
• In the case of a Subject-To deal the prior owner might be contractually on the hook for repairs above $500.

I realize Dodd Fank changed much of that. I have a partial grasp of what has changed: within market rent only, capped option payments, rent credits are by decree now magically redefined as a security, etc.

My question is: having done some reading I've gotten the general impression that requiring the tenant-buyer to do repairs that traditionally fall to the landlord also violates the act. Is this understanding accurate?

I realize few of you are lawyers, and those that are aren't my lawyer, and so forth. Any clarification on this point is welcome.

@Chris Jones you don't have to be a millionaire to be a sophisticated investor. But, the annual income requirement is high. See this Wikipedia article for details. You don't need to be a sophisticated investor or an accredited one to get into multifamily real estate.

From 1-4 units its not really different than buying any other kind of house. Anything in excess of four units is generally considered commercial real estate.

I'm a wholesaler in CT and I'm just starting out. I've been at this about 2 months and change. I've found good tools for analyzing properties, including rent-o-meter pro for analyzing rental comps extremely quickly. But median rent is one thing and the amount of pain you have to go through in order to extract it is another.

Is there a good tool out there for analyzing neighborhoods or several square blocks for things like average credit score/rental turnover, etc? This way I can get a feel for "A," "B," "C," and, "D" neighborhoods without having to leave my desk? I realize a ton of this is individual tenant screening but some areas attract certain strata of tenants (and no better) and others aren't as problematic in this regard.

Ideally this would be something on par with Trulia's area crime reports that I could easily print out and make a standard part of the property dossier I provide one of my cash buyers.

Thanks in advance!

Yes, @Melissa Melia is correct. An improper serve of notice often results in starting the process completely over!

@Andrew Ginsburg anything larger than four units is commercial. I have to agree with @Kyle Gregg go for a triplex and see if you enjoy the experience.

@Lawrence Rutkowski I second @James Wise post a 3 day notice and start the eviction process.

If you're new to this you can usually find "flat rate" eviction attorneys that will handle the whole thing for a fee. As a rule of thumb: working with a previously good tenant is fine, done sparingly, but never ever ever a thousand times never fail to start the eviction process before the 25th of the month no matter what their excuse is. 

Why? because an tenant getting evicted can sometimes extract concessions from the judge in terms of time order to "find a new place." Except, they should have already been looking.