As I mentioned before, we have two apartments that are really problematic right now. One is on a payment plan and they are doing great. They should be completely caught up by the end of the month (fingers crossed). The others missed payments in the plan right away and are now 4 months behind on the rent. We have a court date scheduled on Tues to evict them. While hubby was fixing something at the property today, one of the tenants told him that the man that we are trying to evict is going to tell the court that there is a problem that we refuse to fix and that is why he is withholding the rent! This is very frustrating, especially since hubby takes care of every single little problem immediately, and usually at great expense. The tenant never reported the supposed problem to us. Unfortunately, the judge has been very difficult to deal with through out the process, so we are very concerned that he will take this guy's word for it and delay the eviction. Did I mention 4 months without rent!!!!!!!!! The "problem" would cost all of $50 to fix. Don't they think we would have fixed it, if it was true that the rent was withheld because of it? Grrrr!!!! A lot tenants get behind because of job losses, etc. I'm not saying that they are perfect, but we have such a history of working with people to try to help them back on their feet. The folks in this problem apartment both have good jobs, but they just will not pay the rent. It's days like this that we feel like being total slumlords, or throwing in the towel!
The flipping properties seem to be back on track. Hubby will close on one on Tues (busy day!). We are going over tomorrow to take a look around. The house is not empty, so we have to figure out the best way to get rid of the stuff left behind: dumpster, yard sale, or craigs list! Hubby was able to negotiate a deal with the home owners association for the 2nd flipper. They are going to waive a $2000 charge because they can't produce a receipt. The seller has agreed to pay the rest of the amount owed. Hopefully we will close on this property sometime next week.
Showing posts with label maintenance issues. Show all posts
Showing posts with label maintenance issues. Show all posts
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Tenants and Maintenance
Hubby spent all afternoon reinstalling a cabinet in one of the units. I am convinced that the tenants were rough with it, but no way to be sure. The guy who owned the place before us was fixing it up himself and the cabinet was clearly not anchored properly. Hubby said it looks a little crooked now, but is at least usable.
The thing that frustrated me is that this unit is one of the no pay/slow payers. At least one of the adults now apparently has a job and promised his whole paycheck next Friday toward the rent we will see!
Hubby went to the courthouse to take next steps against the unit that violated their payment plan. Some towns have really helpful people working at the courthouse and they help step us through the eviction process. Unfortunately, this is not one of those situations. Ended up making an appointment with the judge for Monday and hiring a lawyer friend of ours to make sure that we have done everything legally so far. Very annoying.
On the flipping front, it appears like we will definitely get one of the places that we bid on, in spite of a paperwork snafu this week. The other bid has been put "on hold" by the bank that owns the property (whatever that means). We were only a couple of thousand dollars apart on that one so it seems like we should be able to work something out. Our realtor insists that "on hold" in a good thing!
The thing that frustrated me is that this unit is one of the no pay/slow payers. At least one of the adults now apparently has a job and promised his whole paycheck next Friday toward the rent we will see!
Hubby went to the courthouse to take next steps against the unit that violated their payment plan. Some towns have really helpful people working at the courthouse and they help step us through the eviction process. Unfortunately, this is not one of those situations. Ended up making an appointment with the judge for Monday and hiring a lawyer friend of ours to make sure that we have done everything legally so far. Very annoying.
On the flipping front, it appears like we will definitely get one of the places that we bid on, in spite of a paperwork snafu this week. The other bid has been put "on hold" by the bank that owns the property (whatever that means). We were only a couple of thousand dollars apart on that one so it seems like we should be able to work something out. Our realtor insists that "on hold" in a good thing!
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Latest updates
Wow - I was away for a week and a lot happened! Hubby put bids in on two places. One is the townhouse near us that he was blocked from bidding on and they accepted his bid right away! Woo Hoo! Flipping house number 2 in in the works. Very excited but working with the banks is frustrating. They wanted everything submitted thru a website, but once they accepted they wanted original documentation fedex'ed right away. Of course, Hubby did that, and, of course, no word from the bank since!!!
The second bid went in for a condo near one of the rentals we own. Listed for $57K, he originally bid $49 and is in negotiations. Says the highest he can go is $52 and still make what he considers to be the min profit. The place is really dirty and needs paint (I haven't seen it, but that is what he says). $10K max. After all that it should sell for something in the high $80s, giving at least a $10K profit once you consider closing costs on both ends. Feels like things are moving now!
Still dealing with frustrations from tenants in 2 apartments. One group has not paid the rent in 2 months. They claim that a tax refund is due on April 3rd (was originally March 26th). On top of all of that, these people are constantly complaining about something with the apartment. Today it was a cabinet that is loose. As far as I'm concerned they have no cause for complaint given all the leeway that Hubby has given them!
Another group of tenants is on a payment plan, but already falling behind. The excuses are amazing: can get rides, paycheck eaten up by child support, etc etc. They are always running around, but never have money for the rent! Luckily we have 5 good, reliable, tenants because these two units would spoil him on the idea of landlording forever (at least they would for me - he has more patience!). Going to court tomorrow to start eviction for these folks!
The second bid went in for a condo near one of the rentals we own. Listed for $57K, he originally bid $49 and is in negotiations. Says the highest he can go is $52 and still make what he considers to be the min profit. The place is really dirty and needs paint (I haven't seen it, but that is what he says). $10K max. After all that it should sell for something in the high $80s, giving at least a $10K profit once you consider closing costs on both ends. Feels like things are moving now!
Still dealing with frustrations from tenants in 2 apartments. One group has not paid the rent in 2 months. They claim that a tax refund is due on April 3rd (was originally March 26th). On top of all of that, these people are constantly complaining about something with the apartment. Today it was a cabinet that is loose. As far as I'm concerned they have no cause for complaint given all the leeway that Hubby has given them!
Another group of tenants is on a payment plan, but already falling behind. The excuses are amazing: can get rides, paycheck eaten up by child support, etc etc. They are always running around, but never have money for the rent! Luckily we have 5 good, reliable, tenants because these two units would spoil him on the idea of landlording forever (at least they would for me - he has more patience!). Going to court tomorrow to start eviction for these folks!
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Eviction time and mold problems
Came home today to learn that we have mold issues in one building, and that is going to cost us $2000. Can't mess around with mold however, so we have our handy man working on it already. The rents in this place are really low and the tenants are just not used to a landlord that really fixes things when they break. We continue to hope that they will take this as a good reason to work hard to stay up with their rents. One guy was actually waiting at the apartment at the appointed time on Sat to pay his rent! Says he is trying to save up for a house and that is why they want to live as cheaply as possible now. What a perfect tenant!!!
On the bad news front, another apartment is already 2.5 months behind and it doesn't look real promising. We were supposedly waiting for their tax refund, but they are now ducking calls, etc. Looks like a trip to the courthouse is in order. What a weird process that is. Hubby has to go to courthouse and pay something. A hearing date will be set and the tenants will be served notice. At the hearing, they judge will usually give the tenants another 10 days to pay in full everything they owe. Last time it all worked out (not in 10 days, but over the course of a few months). Let's hope this time it does too. The sad part is that most of these people are really really nice. They just cannot get their lives together.
On the bad news front, another apartment is already 2.5 months behind and it doesn't look real promising. We were supposedly waiting for their tax refund, but they are now ducking calls, etc. Looks like a trip to the courthouse is in order. What a weird process that is. Hubby has to go to courthouse and pay something. A hearing date will be set and the tenants will be served notice. At the hearing, they judge will usually give the tenants another 10 days to pay in full everything they owe. Last time it all worked out (not in 10 days, but over the course of a few months). Let's hope this time it does too. The sad part is that most of these people are really really nice. They just cannot get their lives together.
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