All Forum Posts by: Zain B.

@Ihe O. I do think the tenant was good while the party lasted. I am also glad that I sent him a pay or quit notice which put a little fire under his belly to respond and let me know that he has vacated the property. 

@Dominic R. yes. I sent him an email letting him know whatever is done is done. Please return the keys, mailbox keys and parking permits and we call it even. No response. 

@Dominic R. the tenant is not responding to my requests to have a conversation. He is just ignoring emails, phone calls and text messages. Not sure how I can get him to mutually terminate the lease

@Paul Choi ex-tenant has the keys and is not responding to requests to return the keys. I called, emailed and there is radio silence on his end. I even offered to pay if he mails the keys in and there is no response. Should I call a locksmith and enter the property? 

@Justin Fraser I agree that this tenant is gone. I just need to get access to the property which I plan to do this weekend. I just wonder if I should get something signed or a release letter from him stating that he has voluntarily vacated the property. 

As it relates to sale, you bring up valuable points. I think I should be able to acquire something more locally. It will cost me a bit more since the Northern NJ market is more expensive than the Northern VA but the quality of tenant will be much better and I think the returns will be in line maybe slightly worse but I will have the peace of mind that I can visit the property if there are any repairs, etc... I made the mistake of securing a 15 year mortgage on this property as I envisioned this as retirement income. This was all before I found BP.
The rent that I got from this property covered my 15 year fixed mortgage and left me with $50 per month. I can probably pay $100 out of pocket and get property management which is something I am considering. 

@Justin 

@Justin Fraser and @Thomas S. I went ahead and served him the 5 day notice and got a response first thing this morning. Tenant has vacated the property :(

@Account Closed I like the saying "don't point the gun unless you are ready to shoot". I agree that I had a great tenant on hand. Now I just need to figure out how to move on from this point

All thanks for all of the advice so far. Let me know if you have any suggestions or moving on from this point forward. 

All, so I sent a 5 day notice to pay or vacate the property yesterday and the tenant got back to me this morning and said that he has already vacated the property. He said that he sent me a letter two months ago letting me know that he is vacating the property and that I can keep the 1.5 month security deposit that I have. Obviously I did not receive any such letter.
His reasoning was that his kids were getting sick due to the mold at the property. He has been living in this property for almost 2 years and I have not heard of a single word about any mold issues until now. He claimed that his kids pediatrician said the reason why his kids were getting sick was because of the mold at the property. Prior to him moving into the property, I had done a full scale renovation (~$20,000) and obviously there was no mold in the property or else I would have rectified that issue and he would have freaked out at the start of the lease. My sense is that he probably running into financial difficulty and now moved in with his parents (but that's just my speculation). 

I talked to the agent that helped me acquire the property and his advice to me was to let this guy go and not hold him to the lease which expires March 31, 2018. He mentioned to me that he can rerent the property easily for the same or better rent than what I was getting. He also mentioned that if I pursue this in court, it might cost me more than I will recover as he said that any and all properties may have some level of mold in them. 

I am also leaning towards the agents advice as I do not think I will be able to get him back to re rent the property. My tenant is gone. He has left me with 1.5 months of rent which will help cover my December mortgage payment. Is there any letter that I should get signed by the tenant before entering my property? 

Alternatively, I am considering just selling the property given the 4.5 hours away from home and management of this property will get tough down the road. Until now, everything was smooth sailing since I had spend $$ upfront renovating but I am sure 2 years would have taken its toll on the property and things are going to start breaking down. 

Current rent is $1,550 and the agent believes he can get anywhere from $240k-$260k. My all in cost was $55k - $75k below the price that my agent can get me and I purchased this property about two years ago. Along the way, I took the $1,550 of his rental payment and paid my mortgage which was a 15 year fixed. Property is in the Northern Virginia market which the agent was suggesting inventory is quite low. What would you do? Sell or re rent?

@Olivier Mader great rehab. Are those travertine tiles on the bathroom wall (looks good) and the numbers are great man.  

@Andrew B. I sent an electronic notice as well as a certified mail. I agree with you that the tenant can say he never received the email. I have proof now. 

@Paul Choi I am going to research state eviction laws and than consider hiring an attorney. I will wait for at least till over the weekend before I reach out to the eviction attorney. I did receive a call back from the agent that helped me and he agreed to swing by the property just now. He also said that I should send the 5 day notice via certified mail which will be delivered to my tenant by friday. 

@Ihe O. I agree with you. He is a good tenant and I want to work this out with him as opposed to get attorneys involved and drive up cost here. He has been in my property for almost 2 years and proactively maintains the property. I had an appraisal done to refi recently and the appraiser said that it really looks like your tenant maintains the property and proactively performs routine maintenance.  As long as he pays within the next 5 days and pays the late fee, I will consider it water under the bridge. I have reserves to meet my mortgage commitment just in case stuff like this happens. I mean life happens to all of us. The agent mentioned to me that since I have 1.5 months of his deposit, I am still covered somewhat and if he wanted to pack his bags and relocate, he would have done that last month and not paid last months rent. He might just be backed up and the agent will follow up tomorrow with an in person visit. 

Thanks everyone for the pointed guidance. Really appreciate it 

@Paul Choi I agree with you. This is the first time I have to deal with this issue so I am a bit nervous about the process but agree with your advice above. If I am going to have to evict this tenant, I might as well get started sooner rather than later. Also the 5 day notice will probably shake him a bit and signal that I mean business. I am assuming the "Unlawful Detainer" is the next step in the process? I read something online where I can file the unlawful detainer in VA and have the Sheriff deal with the process of serving him and evicting. I may have to read it more carefully. Waiting to see if there is a response soon