All Forum Posts by: Warren Z.

Hey Everyone! 

I'm headed to Portugal in July and will be there for a couple months to scout some properties. Has anyone purchased any STR investments in the last couple years? I'm specifically looking in Ereciera and the adjacent coastal towns. I'd love to chat and see what's possible in today's market.

@Eric Bjor  

Hey Eric, did you end up pulling the trigger on investing in Portugal. I'm headed out there next month and am also looking at STR.

@Jim Cummings thanks for your response. I will give it a shot and see what happens.

Thank you for the quick replies. To be more specific, I want to add that the assessors have sent reassessment for the past six years and not just for last year.

The assessors are saying that the previous owner had claimed homestead exemption and I was getting the exemption rate for all these years and now I have to pay the difference in full.

I never filed for a homestead exemption and feel that I’m being penalized for the assessor’s error. Do you think I have any case for a concession? 

I recently had my Texas rental property taxes reassessed to a higher basis and am looking to appeal the assessor's decision. I remember seeing a bunch of mailers from attorneys specializing in tax reassessment for no fee (they get paid a percentage off the savings they are able to get). 

Has anyone worked with a reputable no fee firm? I Yelped a couple firms online and was horrified to see all of negative reviews on them. 

Based on past experiences I would not use any kind of home warranty services. Better to save the payments made and use it on the repairs with highly reviewed contractors on Yelp. It'll save you the headache of multiple visits, long hold time on the phone with the warranty company, and dealing with inept contractors. 

I've had both ORHP and AHS and they basically will send the worst contractor over to do the job. You wouldn't believe the contractor clowns I've worked with. I was absolutely appalled to check out the contractor Yelp reviews on the ones that were sent. (i.e. 50+ one star reviews) 

Bottom line, home warranty companies and the contractors they employ do not have your best interest at heart. The warranty companies just want your premiums and the contractors just want to get paid on as many service call payments.  

@Caleb Heimsoth Thanks for your reply

@Karen F. Thanks for your reply and sorry to hear about your state situation. It seems counterintuitive for governors to tell all tenants including those that have the capacity to pay not to pay their rents. Not all landlords are flush with cash and we still have mortgages to pay too. 

@Nathan Gesner - Thanks for the follow up, your comments were helpful. I didn't take it in a negative way :)

It's not a fun situation to be in but if I have to evict, it will provide a good learning experience. Luckily there are a few eviction services in my area that can handle the process once the corona situation is lifted. 

I've just sent the tenant an email documenting the late payments and invited them to jump on a quick call to see if there are some workable options moving ahead. Hopefully they will respond.

Thank you so much for all the great replies! I've been pretty good about screening my tenants and being ultra selective. All my other tenants have been great over the years but you just never know sometimes. 

@AJ Shepard - Didn't know that I couldn't provide any notice of termination.. I'll take a closer look at the CARES act. Thanks!

@Scott Allen - Property is in GA but I think the eviction moratorium is nationwide atm 

@Mary M. - I use TenantCloud software to manage and it should send late notices but I will be sure to send something out right away and document.

@Jhon Restrepo - Hey Jhon, I feel you.. it appears we're in the same boat. Probably should have given them a termination notice when the 1 year lease ended. Wish you the best as well!

@Karen F. - Thanks for the advice Karen I agree. I'm always empathetic with my tenants needs but maintain my ground. I believe Georgia is a landlord friendly state so hope it doesn't get dragged out too long.

 @Nathan Gesner - Hey Nathan, I've self managed all my other properties without any issues until this one (granted I only have 5 at the moment so not that much work). All my other tenants have been very polite, communicative and easy to manage. This current situation has got me thinking about getting a PM for sure!

@Aaron Zimmerman thanks Aaron!