All Forum Posts by: Thor Camargo

Hello all!

I may be in need to sell 2 of my investment rentals (a couple of joined townhomes on Cottage ave; off MLK Drive) in Bloomington IL and would ideally like to 1031 them in the process. The timeframes can be tight on these - so I was curious if anyone was interested in a package deal like this and if they had experience selling rentals in this area and could help me estimate how long it would take to get them sold in the next few months?

I appreciate your feedback.

With tenants that are moving out, how would you feel about patio furniture being left like this?

They're claiming "normal wear and tear" but am I wrong in thinking this is excessive?

That being said - SOME normal wear and tear is expected, but with these needing to be completely replaced, would I take 80% of the replacement cost out of their deposit? More/Less? By how much?

Originally posted by @Taylor L.:

I would definitely not replace a whole floor over just this unless there were absolutely no other options. See if there's a way to fill the holes first. Cost/benefit analysis, what does replacing the floors gain you? Naturally a guy who replaces floors for a living has a major incentive to tell you that you need a floor. I do agree this goes beyond normal wear and tear, but you don't replace your whole wheel and hub assembly when you get a flat tire!

Agreed.

But if the professionals won't fix the flat tire, and will only go about addressing the problem by replacing the wheel and hub assembly - how much of the overall cost do you take from the security deposit?

In the end - this is the biggest question; assuming I can't find a company that will do the repair work.

Originally posted by @Greg Scott:

Thor:

Regarding your previous post, your exception to Fair Housing has no bearing on this second question.

If it was a service animal, it is not a pet so forget any idea of pet deposit.  If the dog was a pet, simply follow the language you have in your lease regarding unauthorized pets.  If your lease does not address unauthorized pets, lesson learned.

Oh one more thing - if the exception doesn't allow me to charge for a pet deposit, then would my only course of action had been to just tell them that they can't have the dog living in the home?

Had some tenants that used a plastic carpet protector on wood laminate floors. The plastic had spikes on the bottom to keep it from sliding, and those spikes ended up digging divets into the laminate floors.

I assume this goes beyond "normal wear and tear"?

As for assessing damages, I had a flooring company come out - they said that because the planks were "scraped" to give the texture of wood, they couldn't just sand those planks down and refinish them. They said they'd just recommend replacing the entire wood floor on that level of the home.

How do I assess the amount to charge against a security deposit in this kind of scenario? Is it a flat % against the total cost to replace the floor? Or do I need to keep trying different companies until they give me the cost for a direct repair on only the damaged area?

Originally posted by @Theresa Harris:

If they gave you documentation stating it was an emotional support animal (which is NOT a service animal and which is mostly BS to get a pet), then no you can't take the pet deposit out of their security deposit.  What you can do is charge for any damages whether it was caused by the pet or not.  This also includes any cleaning.  Take photos for documentation and give them an itemized.  Check your local laws as this often needs to get done within 2 weeks.

As for their financial situation, it is irrelevant.  Treat this as a business.  Also you can often get pets for free, you don't have to buy them.

Does there NEED to be damages to carpet to charge for cleaning on account of animal hairs that would impact allergies? Not sure how I would prove something like that.

Originally posted by @Greg Scott:

Thor:

Regarding your previous post, your exception to Fair Housing has no bearing on this second question.

If it was a service animal, it is not a pet so forget any idea of pet deposit.  If the dog was a pet, simply follow the language you have in your lease regarding unauthorized pets.  If your lease does not address unauthorized pets, lesson learned.

Ah good to know. I thought the exception would still allow for a pet deposit.

If it's a service animal - is it still ok to deduct for shampooing/cleaning the carpets for dog hair due to allergies?

So I had tenants that have already moved out. During the last part of their stay - they brought in a dog, without any notice, claiming it was a service animal.

Turns out the rental falls into an exception for the "service/assistance" animal law.

At the time we didn't really want to push anything since we had already had a date for them moving out set and it was in the middle of Covid, and they were hit pretty hard financially (which, if some of you are thinking "then why get a dog???" - we're right there with you).

Our question is - can we take the pet deposit we would have charged out of their normal security deposit now that we've confirmed the
"service/assistance" animal law never protected them?

Originally posted by @Lauren L.:

So the first offer I ever made on a rental property has been accepted and I am feeling all sorts of emotions.

I hope to replace my W-2 income with a combination on multi-family properties and vacation rentals. This is possibly the first step for me but I am seriously nervous.

- I am terrified that my offer was accepted because I am overpaying for the property

- Terrified that the tenants will abandon me and I can’t find new and I am entirely SOL and send my family into financial ruin

- Terrified that I will have to spend significant efforts on this whole landlording thing and I have less time and less flexibility than ever before, when my goal is to have more

- I am nervous the deal just isn't good enough, it only cash flows $500/mo with a CoC of 10%. Will it lead me to other good deals or just be a headache while I have to keep my W-2 job?

I’m sure these aren’t even all the things I’m afraid of. I bet there are more I’ve momentarily forgotten.

I’m hoping someone can tell me my feelings are normal and you got over it and enjoy the extra income!

Also, do you have any best practices or words of wisdom? It is safe to say I need them!!!

Thank you for your support!!!

Yes on all accounts, lol.

But seriously -

If you overpaid - by how much? Is it worth worrying about if you're going to end up making money and come out ahead in the end? Unless it's enough to justify backing out, I'd just commit and put it behind you. Hopefully you did enough research and calculated income vs the monthly bank payment where you felt comfortable with the amount you offered. If you're good there, then no need to sweat at this point.

You have a lease agreement for a reason combined with a security deposit. If your tenants abandon you, you have some legal protections to help you out. It's also highly unlikely that all tenants will abandon you at the same time.

The time required will likely fluctuate. But if you want to make it the easiest on yourself - figure out in advance who you'll use for plumbing, HVAC, handyman, etc. problems when they come up. Because they WILL come up. At which point, you can save yourself the stress now by figuring out what number you'll call to get the issue fixed.

Your feelings are completely normal - but nothing that you can't prepare for. Expect the worst, pray for the best. Once you run into a handful of issues, you'll become more and more acclimated to dealing with them as they come up.

Originally posted by @Greg Scott:

A true service animal is not considered to be a "pet", so your HOA probably couldn't restrict the dog anyway. A better question is if it is really a service animal. Many residents claim their pets are service animals so they don't have to pay pet rent or they can get around breed restrictions. For about $20 there are we sites that will print up official-looking paperwork and maybe even send a red doggy vest with "service animal" on the side. Given your residents did not show up with this dog or mention it when leasing, I'm skeptical that it is a true service animal. Ask to see the paperwork and then do some research.

It is also my understanding that you are correct about the exceptions to FHA and that if you have 4 or fewer units, those laws do not apply. So, you could just call it a lease violation and have them remove the animal. That said, if it is a true service animal, you could experience some social media backlash so it is good to know whether or not the tenants are lying before you proceed. Since social media does not do any fact checking, you may STILL get some backlash. Just be prepared.

Personally not really concerned over the social media backlash - but that's a really great thing to consider in the future. Appreciate the thought.

And I agree about being skeptical about the legitimacy of the "service" animal - but in the end, even if it was, it seemed like it wouldn't matter because "reasonable accommodations" weren't possible based on my personal medical condition as the owner and resident of the home along with the 1st and 2nd exceptions under the law anyways.

How does it work if they've already moved out and I would have charged them a non-refundable pet deposit? Do I just take it out of their normal security deposit?