All Forum Posts by: Tom Coakley

Looking for some advice. My wife and I have a rental property with tenants in it. After years of no water in the finished basement and laminate flooring, we recently replaced the flooring with vinyl flooring. Sure enough,  we had a nor’easter here in New Jersey over the last few days. Of course, there is now water in the basement. It’s not a ton of water but I can tell it is all underneath the vinyl flooring but there is no damage (at least visible) to the sheet rock or floor moldings. My plan at this point is to bring in a water company to remediate. They will pull up the vinyl flooring and dry out the basement. My question is what do I do next? We’ve never had water and I’m not even sure where it is coming in from now. How do I find out where and why we had this issue? Because of the finished walls, I can’t see much of the cinderblock walls. After it’s dry, do I just have the vinyl flooring Re-laid ? …. Or am I just asking for more problems since we now have had water in the basement once, should I expect to have to deal with water under the vinyl floor again? should I hold off on having the vinyl flooring reinstalled?

I am in the process of refinancing my rental property and just received the lender disclosure document. It shows a large open water and sewer balance. I called the town municipal office and found that my tenant has not been paying the water bill. The lease states that tenant is responsible for all utilities and the tenant has registered the water account in their name. As part of my Re-fi, I need to pay this at close. Is my tenant ultimately responsible for this outstanding amount and What is my next step?

Thanks,

Tom

@Daryl Luc

Thanks!

@Patricia Steiner

Thanks!

@Christine Kankowski

Thanks!

Need some help with my first investment property lease agreement. I have been showing the property and as of yesterday have someone who expressed interest in signing a lease. I sent the lease last night and haven’t heard back (an acceptable applicant, but not the strongest). I have other people looking to see the property today. If I show the house today and they ask for, and complete, a lease before the current applicant-then what? Who do I move forward with?

Thanks,

Tom

I have just found a tenant for my single family investment property in NJ. How best do I go about opening an account to hold their security deposit? An escrow account or a trust account? Is this something I can get done by simply going to my local bank branch?

Thanks,

Tom

@John Thedford

Great stuff! Thank you. Do you require potential tenants to fill out applications BEFORE seeing the property?

@Taylor L.

Thanks!

I have a new (first) investment property and I am screening potential tenants through Zillow. I have read that I should have a pre set level for standards that must be met to be considered. How / where do I set those requirements? Is there a certain credit rating I should stay above? Automatically exclude anyone with an eviction? I’m getting applications that provide information to me but I’m not quite sure how to evaluate that information.