All Forum Posts by: Jared K.

Where to start...lol! I have owned multiunit rentals for 10+ years and I started at age 26 so I have learned some GREAT lessons..haha! Honestly I am thankful for each and every one of them b/c I have learned from them!! I love some of he previous comments...funny!!

 I was busy here a while back with all sorts of stuff and a younger investor friend called me to ask for advice. We taked for a few minutes and I told him I needed to call him back later but he should probably ask his lawyer about this issue. He said he called but htey hadnt called him back, he was mad and wanted to know what I thought real quick. He stated while on the phone he had a tenant that was a couple days past due beyond the grace period on rent. When he has been to the property and called them he gets no replies whatsoever and feels they are just dodging him to pay the rent. He said all of their stuff was still in the property and wanted to know what he could do about it legally, what have I done to handle this type situation? I told him that in our state if the tenants havnt been seen or heard from in X # of days and they will not reply to door notes and phone calls its considered abandonment (which it is). He asked what to do with their stuff in this case and I told him he had to put it in storage for 30 days to give them an opportunity to pay their debt and release their stuff back to them. I told him  I had changed someones locks in a similar situation after putting a "24hr notice of entry" letter on their door when I had this problem and they called me REAL FAST, we resolved to issue, and they agreed to moved. 

 So my buddy goes and changes the locks, cleared the house out, and low and behold he gets his phone call alright!!! These people were LIVID mad...lol!!! They caused him more drama than a night in jail (I have never been to jail)!!! Lucky for my buddy (not really) the female tenant's parents owned rental property so the tenant and her parents let him know real quick that he couldn't legally do this and it was a huge mess!!! They said they were just out of town for a few days and had planned on paying him... but I highly doubt it!!! These probably were the worst people ever to rent to in the first place b/c he seen several warning signs since they moved in!!! The cussed him, texted him, threatned courts and lawsuits and everything!!!! 

So...he used his head about the situation to try and ease out and let it go freeing them of any costs for rents and damages. He gave the kids clothes to the parents to show he was making an effort to resolve the issue kindly, he told the tenants that he wouldnt report the pills and bag of pot he found if they resolved it in a civil manner, and he gave a rent-to- own company their couch back so the tenants wouldnt get prosecuted. In the end he resolved the matter and re-rented his house but man what a mess. 

In the sequence of his questions and me being in a hurry I forgot to tell him the steps of the process and told him we would talk later. You can change the locks with a 24hr notice and it falls under security maintenance and you will get a phone call from your tenants in most cases wanting in their place...lol, hey..works for me!! You have to file for eviction, serve court papers, go to court, wait out the grace time given by the judge, and use the proper paperwork before removing their possessions!!!! 

The screw up on my part was me not thinking he might do it ALL TODAY RIGHT NOW and I forgot to call him back shortly after I was free. I felt terrible, even though I told him to consult with his lawyer, b/c I could have got him into a huge legal mess unintentionally. The big screw up was mainly on his part for just taking off and doing it without getting more details from me and/or talking to his lawyer first. Next time I will try and remember to HIGHLY caution people to consult before doing anything and not give them quick answers to questions like these.

My buddy said he would never go and do that again...lol!!!!!

@Account Closed What is vet them? Please elaborate what to ask also and why? I would really like to know how you handle this.

There are many threads about this issue! From what I know you have more liability when you do have a license than when you do not and a double close is the best way to do it. When you have a license you are held more accountable b/c they consider you to have knowledge above the general pubic that could be used illegally, thus requiring a license. Many commenting are correct in the fact that you cant represent yourself as someone who is going to "market" the property for them, thus acting as an agent without a license on the sellers behalf. What you say in these transactions and what you do/say to sell the property is important. Too many guru's and courses dont cover important issues such as this. It is important to check your state laws related to representation etc. I have found it is best to tell the seller that I am an investor that buys/sells properties and I am not an agent somewhere in my conversations!! I usually drop it in there casually like "I thought about becoming a licensed real estate agent but I decided not to". If you do that every time you KNOW you told them if it ever becomes an issue AND if you close on every deal, you have a past history of buying/selling properties which would weigh in your favor as an investor. You could also put a disclaimer that you are not an agent/broker on the bottom of your P&S agreement. Most chances are it would be overlooked anyway and not affect the deal.

Disclaimer: I am not an attorney or real estate agent nor do I claim to be in any way, shape or form.

:)

@Rodney Byers Oh I just seen your recent updated comment after I hit enter. I had that problem too where a title company didn't know what an assignment was. You might call another title company's closing agent to see if they do them and have no problems

I have been running into a similar issue when in the past I never had a problem. Title companies have been telling their employees "flipping is illegal" when in reality it's not but it depends on how its done. They just want to prevent getting in trouble themselves and I don't blame them. From what I have gathered it depends on if the transaction is all cash or a mortgage is being used but I could be wrong? The HUD laws are in place to prevent flipping due to over inflated home values for a quick profit, mostly mortgage fraud issues. I have been reading up a lot on this myself. Most title companies have been making their "B" clients in the transaction bring their own $ to the table to close and not letting the "C" clients $ fund the deal to prevent any double close or simultaneous closings due to the HUD laws. It just makes things more difficult but it can be done depending on the situation. Hope this gives you somewhere to start finding a solution. I will try and follow up also.

@Bill Gulley Like your way of thinking my friend and thanks for the reply!! I am sure many of those are not typical places people look for leads so this will be useful. Sounds like you have done your fair share of being creative for them! I live in a small town so when people really need to sell they go to the brokers, builders, and the few other investors that people know that buy/sell property and he who has the $$. It makes the competition fierce when everybody knows everybody!! Deals are tough to come by here b/c all of the above mentioned people buy em up themselves so I try and be creative!! I am always looking for deals but I don't run around pretending I am a rich guy that buys a ton of houses either b/c I don't want to look like an idiot, which is what would happen here in my small town. People talk and everybody listens so it makes it tough and that's why I try to be so creative in finding deals. I try to not worry what people think but it makes it tougher in a small town.

I am glad to see you posted this! I know a lot of hedge funds are acquiring properties across the country and I hope to see some more information on this post about them. I am interested to see how this turns out as well. Hopefully they want to acquire more properties through your supply and and it is very beneficial. Always wondered myself.

Best of luck!

@Rick H. Cool story, too bad it wasn't a huge find but I bet you figured out a way to make some $$ of of it??  

@Dev Horn Thanks for the compliment!!! =)

It is much respected and appreciated by someone such as yourself!!

For as long as I can remember I have kept contracts in my vehicle b/c you never know when your gonna need one!! I have heard about people seeing someone stick a for sale sign in the yard while they were driving down the road and got a great deal b/c they had their contracts in the car.

I use to go to a lot of yard sales, I have bought and sold a lot of stuff for extra $$ and I figured out a few things along the way! People quite frequently have yard sales for a lot of reasons that may benefit your real estate business!! 

Here are a few: Need cash to stay afloat, preparing to sell, preparing to move or bailing out b/c they cant afford the home, a family member deceased and they have to sell the stuff before selling the home, raising $$ to help a family member in distress, raising $$ to make repairs they cant afford, and their are probably so many I cant remember or think of!!!

I have found just a few that I was capable of handling and I don't always beat the streets looking for leads like this but one thing is for sure I always ask when I am at a yard sale if they are going to be selling the property or know of anyone who is? I don't direct mail but if I did I would definitely use the newspaper yard sale addresses!!!!!!!

What are some rarely discussed places that you have found for leads???

THIS SHOULD BE INTERESTING!!!!!