All Forum Posts by: Victor San Gil

Definitely agree with everyone here. My properties are on a small island outside the USA where things really are more laid back in every aspect of life haha. I was able to speak to a supervisor and we worked out a system where power would be out for about a day until their new system is operational in March, which will support landlord revert utility transfers. 

Thank you for your reply! Currently our utility company does not allow us to switch it to our name until the current utilities are turned off by the tenant nor can we schedule it ahead of time (This is a work in progress as per the customer service agent as they are upgrading their system -- we only recently got online bill access and payments). The utility company is a government entity but does not put liens on properties if bills are not paid. I'll just have to deal with it for now rather than rack up unpaid expenses. 

Hi all,

I have 28 units all with separately metered utilities. In our area it's just electric and water (we don't have gas, sewer, etc). Currently when a tenant moves in, we have them transfer the utilities to their name and they handle payments directly. 

The "problem" we're having is when a tenant moves out, we have to go to the electric and water company and reconnect services which can take 3-5 business days after processing, which delays repairs. Also, if a tenant moves out and forgets to disconnect their utilities (we do remind them and follow up, but sometimes they lie -- we also can't verify as we are not the account holders), we have to provide notarized documentation that a tenant moved out, wait for that to process and then reapply again, which leaves us without power and water at most 1.5-2 weeks.

Would it be best to just leave the utilities in our name, pay it and then bill the tenants directly? We would get separate bills for each unit so we can provide them with documentation on their exact usage and how they're charged. The dilemma I'm having is what if a tenant doesn't pay or abandons the property then I'm stuck with the bill. If we leave it in a tenant's name and they don't pay, the utility company does not put a lien on the property and goes after the tenant for unpaid bills. 

What would you all do? 

I own and self-manage 28 units and I've been using Buildium for a few years and really like it. 

I only recently started using all the other features like eleases, setting up vendor accounts, and property inspections with happy inspector. It's simple and intuitive for me and my tenants. My tenants love having the ability to use an app to submit maintenance requests and pay their rent. There's still a lot more features i haven't go to yet.

All in all its been a huge time saver for me.

Thanks for the insight. The ISP wants to be the exclusive provider in terms of "traditional" ISP. Cell hotspots and starlink wouldnt apply. 

I did however read the link that Greg M. sent, and it states, "While a service provider may not enter into an agreement that grants exclusive access to an MTE property, a landlord may still choose the providers it allows into the building, even if that means only one company provides service."

Hi all,

I am renovating 28 units and a local ISP wants to have exclusive rights to provide service to my units. Tenants would still have to apply for service under their names. Giving exclusive rights to provide service is new to me, should I negotiate to get a certain fee per month to agree to this? 

Any pros, cons, legal issues that anyone can provide insight on?

Thanks!

@Brian Adzadi thanks! I know that's the point, but this is my first tenant move out and I'm kind of uncomfortable charging them that much, but I'm protecting my investment so you're right. I appreciate it!

Hi Everyone,

I had a construction company rent 5 of my units with 4 guys in each unit. They moved out last week, but I found out that the counter tops have been stained due to the tenants not cleaning their unit. Here's a picture of the countertop: Countertop image. The stain is the dark area on the countertop and we have tried many cleaners and hired a cleaning company to try and remove it, but no luck. Is it wrong for me to charge the tenant the full price to replace the countertop?

Thanks in advance! 

Hi all,

I recently inherited 28 apartments units, a commercial property and an industrial warehouse property all of which we rent. Right now, we currently only have one bank account for everything! After reading the bigger pockets books and learning that I should be putting money away for vacancies, upgrades, repairs, etc...should I have separate bank accounts for security deposits, vacancies, and maintenance? Should I have all these accounts for the commercial, industrial, and apartments?

Thanks for the help!

@Matthew Irish-Jones I actually met up with a couple of eviction lawyers already and while I haven't used their services, I am very comfortable engaging with them. I have to admit I've only been doing this for about 8 months now and have been very lenient. Only just last month is when I put my foot down and actually started handing out pay or quit notices and being very stern with my tenants. At first I wanted to be their friend and a nice landlord, but I realized that's where the business when down hill. Our old tenants took advantage of us and we're still not fully recovered from the financial dismay it has caused. Starting to get back on my feet!