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All Forum Posts by: Nicholas Miller

Nicholas Miller has started 18 posts and replied 171 times.

Post: First Property - My Agent Has a 6-month Client Option

Nicholas MillerPosted
  • Residential Real Estate Broker
  • Fort Wayne, IN
  • Posts 171
  • Votes 116

In the jurisdictions I operate in judges normally postpone evictions for 3 to 4 weeks around Christmas.  This means around the 1st of the year there is a temporary boom of unqualified renters entering the market and to make matters worse the temperature normally drops tremendously which increases the danger of frozen pipes or high utility bills (choose one or the other) insurance agents tend to frown upon vacancies...  All this to say, a voluntary vacancy in January is filled with temptation to either lower one's standards or pay a high price in utility bills, insurance premiums and potentially emergency repairs.  You would be wise to schedule your vacancies when the weather and the tenant pool are both desirable.  

Post: firecode, joint-custody confusion.

Nicholas MillerPosted
  • Residential Real Estate Broker
  • Fort Wayne, IN
  • Posts 171
  • Votes 116

I had an applicant who has 1 child. I rented him a 1 bedroom apartment only to find that he has joint-custody of 3 other children on the weekends. 5 people in a one bedroom apartment are (as I understand the fire code) over capacity but it is just on the weekends. What do you do when you have a renter who does not disclose joint custody dependence? Are temporary but regular residence treated the same as a full-time resident in the eyes of the law? 

Post: Best background checks?

Nicholas MillerPosted
  • Residential Real Estate Broker
  • Fort Wayne, IN
  • Posts 171
  • Votes 116

What are the best resources for tenant background checks?

Post: ridiculously high amount of rent

Nicholas MillerPosted
  • Residential Real Estate Broker
  • Fort Wayne, IN
  • Posts 171
  • Votes 116

@Deanna McCormick let me throw another element into the equation, the tenants were not properly screened by the management company that placed them.  Both households have had multiple evictions, the last being two months ago for the new arrivals and two weeks ago filed by me for those originally placed by the management company.  The only income is SSI, a minimum wage job that has been established for two weeks and money from donating plasma.  

Both households have open cases with CPS and they have been told that if they become homeless or move into a motel they will lose custody of their children.  While at eviction court I advised them to look into the salvation army, the rescue mission and other non-profits who house the homeless as I knew this would be an uphill battle for them to find a legitimate new home but there is no vacancy in these establishments and they have been turned down by every landlord they have applied with.

There are two non-profits willing to pay some of the rent to keep the renters in my unit and from becoming homeless and losing their children to foster care and CPS has inspected the unit with the 8 occupants and is allowing the living situation.  

I didn't feel comfortable when I found that the unit was housing 4, I am perplexed that they fit 8 in the unit.  But the circumstances are not promising either way.  On Monday I can cash the check from the church that is helping them stay housed and file a dismissal with the court.  Or, on Monday, I can file for writ of possession, have the Sherrif come remove them from the home and subsequently make 4 adults homeless and put 4 children into foster care.

Post: ridiculously high amount of rent

Nicholas MillerPosted
  • Residential Real Estate Broker
  • Fort Wayne, IN
  • Posts 171
  • Votes 116

I have a small, one bedroom apartment that was filled by a property management company with a household of 4 ( 2 adults 2 children ).  Being a one bedroom 900 sq ft space I thought a household of 4 was a stretch but who am I to question a professional management company.

Two months ago the renters allowed another 4 people to move in, taking the total household size from 4 to 8 (now 4 adults and 4 children).  I filed for an eviction and it was granted but now the renters are offering to pay an extra 50% over the originally agreed upon rent if I let them live like this.

I hate the fact that each member of the household has 100 sq ft of space, I hate the fact that there is no privacy and I feel like that is no way to raise children however this is what they want and they are willing to pay for it.

What are the repercussions for creating a separate lease and allowing so many people to share such a tiny space?

On the upside, the monthly income from the building is going to jump to 8.8% of the original purchase price which is an insane return on investment.  I know I will likely have a new set of headaches in 4 months but at least I postpone those headaches until the winter months have passed.

What do you think, should I take the high rent and let them live with just 100 sq ft per person, should I go through with the eviction or are there other legal ramifications that I should be concerned about?

Post: Is it legal to charge more...

Nicholas MillerPosted
  • Residential Real Estate Broker
  • Fort Wayne, IN
  • Posts 171
  • Votes 116

@Carolina E. In this market it is legal to charge a monthly fee for high-risk renters...  He advised me that there are national laws that protect those who have declared bankruptcy or had a foreclosure so charging fees due to credit score is likely shaky ground and would not be something he would want to test in court.  

Post: Is it legal to charge more...

Nicholas MillerPosted
  • Residential Real Estate Broker
  • Fort Wayne, IN
  • Posts 171
  • Votes 116

@Max T. So people who go through an eviction should be homeless?  Should they be confined to weekly rents at the hotel?  Should they lie on applications until they slip through the cracks?  Should they "move in" with their girlfriend/boyfriend after that partner has secured a lease and thus avoid being on the application?  What does your intuition tell you?  Maybe we should discount the rent and make it a little easier for them? 

The truth of the matter is, sometimes people make stupid mistakes, sometimes those mistakes are the result of being habitually irresponsible, other times those mistakes are due to misinformation.  Last night I found some legal advice on masslegalhelp.org (I am not affiliated with this site) 

The entire article was humorously uninformed and horribly destructive but I digress.  I have a renter who was recently evicted from a unit.  The former landlord was a maintenance free kind of guy and she thought she could forgo paying rent since the landlord did not make necessary repairs.  She was wrong, and she paid the price for a few weeks at a hotel as she could not find a unit to rent.  I accepted her but made it very clear that I would evict without mercy if rent was late.  She has yet to be a day late in paying rent, keeps the unit in good condition and is locked in regardless of what the lease says since most property management companies in this area have a policy that prohibits residents who have been evicted within the past 3 years.

Since buying the building in 2012 I have raised the rents 17%, I have decreased the high turnover due to better management practices and better tenant screening* and I have won favor with the neighboring homeowners as I have made visual improvements to the structure.  So maybe I am already adding in that "high-risk premium"  but I am curious, the next time I get a vacancy could I add to the bottom line by creating a high-risk fee?  Or conversely, if someone who has recently been evicted knows there is a high price premium for individuals like them...  maybe they won't call and I will filter my prospects without the hassle of taking phone calls. 

Post: Is it legal to charge more...

Nicholas MillerPosted
  • Residential Real Estate Broker
  • Fort Wayne, IN
  • Posts 171
  • Votes 116

I talked to my lawyer today regarding this matter and he advised me that it is not legal to charge additional fees to individuals due to bankruptcy or foreclosure however it is perfectly legal (in my area) to charge a monthly "high risk fee" individuals who have recently been evicted.  

Post: Is it legal to charge more...

Nicholas MillerPosted
  • Residential Real Estate Broker
  • Fort Wayne, IN
  • Posts 171
  • Votes 116

Is it legal to charge more rent from an individual who has had a recent bankruptcy, eviction or a low credit score?  I have searched the net in search of an answer but have not been successful and was wondering if there is a legal way to do this.  Lenders do this in the form of higher interest rates, can landlords?

Post: How do you protect yourself from the protected criminal?

Nicholas MillerPosted
  • Residential Real Estate Broker
  • Fort Wayne, IN
  • Posts 171
  • Votes 116

I trust most active landlords have heard of the April 4, 2016 "Office of General Counsel Guidance on Application of Fair Housing Act Standards to the Use of Criminal Records by Providers of Housing and Real Estate-Related Transactions" 

For those of you who have read the guidance, what "policies and practices" have you put in place for specific prior criminal behavior? What are effective ways to word, non-hypothetical policies to ensure the safety of your residents and property?

--

For those of you who have not, here are some highlights of the 10-page guidance.

-Section 2 top of page 2

"Across the United States, African Americans and Hispanics are arrested, convicted and incarcerated at rates disproportionate to their share of the general population. Consequently, criminal records-based barriers to housing are likely to have a disproportionate impact on minority home seekers.  While having a criminal record is not a protected characteristic under the Fair Housing Act, criminal history-based restrictions on housing opportunities violate the Act if, without justification, their burden falls more often on renters or other housing market participants of one race or national origin over another

Section 3

"A housing provider violates the Fair Housing Act when the provider’s policy or practice has an unjustified discriminatory effect, even when the provider had no intent to discriminate."

There are three criteria that must be met to prove the landlord/provider is liable for discrimination.  (Again, if you have not read this document you really should as you could be found guilty of unintentional, but punishable discrimination)

Section B

"In the second step of the discriminatory effects analysis, the burden shifts to the housing provider to prove that the challenged policy or practice is justified – that is, that it is necessary to achieve a substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest of the provider.  The interest proffered by the housing provider may not be hypothetical or speculative, meaning the housing provider must be able to provide evidence proving both that the housing provider has a substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest supporting the challenged policy and that the challenged policy actually achieves that interest.  Although the specific interest(s) that underlie a criminal history policy or practice will no doubt vary from case to case, some landlords and property managers have asserted the protection of other residents and their property as the reason for such policies or practices. 23 Ensuring

resident safety and protecting property are often considered to be among the fundamental responsibilities of a housing provider, and courts may consider such interests to be both substantial and legitimate, assuming they are the actual reasons for the policy or practice."

Again, my question is, what "policies and practices" have you put in place for specific prior criminal behavior?  What are effective ways to word, non-hypothetical policies to ensure the safety of your residents and property?...  Another question is, why has it become the responsibility of the landlord to fix the shortcomings of the criminal justice system?