It seems like we will be losing tenants from at least 3 of our 7 apartments, and maybe as many as 5! We are happy about 2 of the tenants who are definitely leaving. One has struggled to pay the rent on and off from the beginning. The second is the unit we are trying to evict. Unfortunately the other three are all fabulous tenants. One family has lived in their unit for over 4 years. We will certainly miss them, and Hubby will be very busy trying to fill vacancies as they come up. Luckily things seem like they will be spread out a bit, so we won't have 5 empty units at one time.
One of the problems with move-outs and showing is that you have almost the same problems as showing a house, but none of the control. Hubby showed one of the apartments tonight, but the woman who was interested was really turned off by the mess, from both the interior of that unit, and by another tenant who has junk all over the place. We may need to wait until the tenant is completely out, and force the other tenants to clean up their act before even trying to show the place. This definitely means lost rent as the place sits vacant.
The renovations are continuing on the flipper and we are still waiting to close on the 2nd flipper (although the realtor says he has a buyer for the 2nd one. All we have to do is get thru the buy and renovation!). Hubby is continuing to work with folks on craigslist about the wheel chair ramp and I finally finished up with all the eBay stuff. Hubby is enjoying working on the property half days. He may put in some "overtime" this weekend to paint the basement!
Showing posts with label tenant issues. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tenant issues. Show all posts
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Starting renovation and court decision
Well, it took all week, but Hubby (with help from Son) finally started the renovation for the flipping property. It literally took almost two weeks (and lots and lots of trips to Good Will) to get all of the previous owners belongings out of the house. Some tips: Good Will will take as much as you can give them, but not furniture; many people will recycle scrap metal, and will come pick up unwield objects like stoves and refridgerators; even with all of the above, a lot will need to be thrown out. We ended up completely filling two big dumpsters and we didn't really have a lot of furniture. Hoping to sell a washer/dryer and still have a lot of stuff on Ebay tonight! Also, put a "free stuff" posting on Craigs list about the wheel chair ramp. Many inquiries. We won't make any money directly, but won't have to pay the labor or disposal costs for taking it out (plus I feel better by not throwing it out).
Hubby and son basically did some demolition today. The kitchen cabinets were removed and some weird ceiling tiles were also removed (luckily the ceiling above these tiles is in pretty good shape). Still lots of dust and I'm worried about son's allergies and asthma. He said the biggest problem was the overhead stuff. Hopefully we won't need another dumpster, because there actually was not that much demo on this place. It will be exciting to see it take shape. It already looks bigger because the contents are gone.
Unfortunately the day ended on a sour note when Hubby got the results of his eviction proceedings in the mail. Very frustrating, but the judge did not grant the full amount. It appears as if May's rent was not included. The tenant now has until a certain to pay or we can file for "possession". The possession thing means that they will be given 10 days to move out or we can lock them out. I'm not really crazy about this prospect, and we still aren't sure about the process for collecting on the judgement.
Hubby and son basically did some demolition today. The kitchen cabinets were removed and some weird ceiling tiles were also removed (luckily the ceiling above these tiles is in pretty good shape). Still lots of dust and I'm worried about son's allergies and asthma. He said the biggest problem was the overhead stuff. Hopefully we won't need another dumpster, because there actually was not that much demo on this place. It will be exciting to see it take shape. It already looks bigger because the contents are gone.
Unfortunately the day ended on a sour note when Hubby got the results of his eviction proceedings in the mail. Very frustrating, but the judge did not grant the full amount. It appears as if May's rent was not included. The tenant now has until a certain to pay or we can file for "possession". The possession thing means that they will be given 10 days to move out or we can lock them out. I'm not really crazy about this prospect, and we still aren't sure about the process for collecting on the judgement.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Yard Sale and more Tenant Issues
So, we did the yard sale for the contents of the flipper. It was a huge bust. Made barely $100. Ugh. I will do a little better because I'll sell some stuff on eBay or Craigs list, but most of it will go into the trash or have to get donated to Good Will or something similar. At least we'll get a tax write off from some of it!
Digging through the contents was a dirty/demoralizing job. Found some old pics that broke my heart. Of course, most of it was just junk (no dead bodies or millions dollars - lol!). Ended up selling a box full for $5 today. Hubby has a scrap metal collector picking up some of the appliances and bigger things tomorrow, but it still feels really wasteful.
The tenant situation is getting bad. Still no judgement from the court, officially, so the tenants who haven't paid in four months are still living there without payment. One other tenant texted Hubby that she isn't going to pay this month and will move out by the end of the month and he can just keep the deposit. These folks don't realize that it doesn't really work that way! He will probably be happy just to get her out! The guy on the payment plan paid on Friday, but came up a little short <sigh>. Our most reliable tenants of three years are having another child and will move out over the summer. Well, at least Hubby can now dedicate full-time to getting good tenants in place.
Digging through the contents was a dirty/demoralizing job. Found some old pics that broke my heart. Of course, most of it was just junk (no dead bodies or millions dollars - lol!). Ended up selling a box full for $5 today. Hubby has a scrap metal collector picking up some of the appliances and bigger things tomorrow, but it still feels really wasteful.
The tenant situation is getting bad. Still no judgement from the court, officially, so the tenants who haven't paid in four months are still living there without payment. One other tenant texted Hubby that she isn't going to pay this month and will move out by the end of the month and he can just keep the deposit. These folks don't realize that it doesn't really work that way! He will probably be happy just to get her out! The guy on the payment plan paid on Friday, but came up a little short <sigh>. Our most reliable tenants of three years are having another child and will move out over the summer. Well, at least Hubby can now dedicate full-time to getting good tenants in place.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Court Case Results
So, after all the worrying, the tenant didn't even show up for court this morning. This usually means that we get an automatic judgement. The judge is going to figure out how Kae can manage to get the money we are owed (4 months rent! + court costs). It may involve attaching their paychecks. Of course, this doesn't mean that they are gone from the apartment. In 10 days we file for possession and if they are not gone within 10 days after that, we can change the locks and sell all of their stuff. This is a little scary. We've never actually thrown anyone out before. We really don't feel bad about the guy that we believe is causing all of the trouble, but he lives with his girlfriend and her teenage son, and that does bother me a little. We will have to see how it goes!
Closing on the house that we will be flipping today. Started getting organized for the yard sale, and met with our HVAC guy to get an estimate on the furnace, which will have to be replaced. Also found out that we won't actually be tied into the property for 90 days like we feared. It turns out the 90 clause is just for short sales, not for general sales or foreclosures. That is a big help because we are hoping to turn it around in about 60 days.
Closing on the house that we will be flipping today. Started getting organized for the yard sale, and met with our HVAC guy to get an estimate on the furnace, which will have to be replaced. Also found out that we won't actually be tied into the property for 90 days like we feared. It turns out the 90 clause is just for short sales, not for general sales or foreclosures. That is a big help because we are hoping to turn it around in about 60 days.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Bid accepted - project moving forward
Bid officially and finally accepted by the bank on the townhouse we first saw weeks ago (the one that was waiting for an owner occupier bid first). Title search has begun and the inspection is scheduled for Saturday. We know the inspection will report a lot of problems, but Hubby uses that report as a sneak preview of what will be found when he goes to resell (pretty clever!). Our handy man called today looking for work, but the closing can't take place before the end of April due to all of the paperwork and because we are dealing with a bank, not a real human being!
Lost the bid on the other townhouse, someone offered more than asking price. Oh well, plenty of other fish in the sea. We worry sometimes because we pay some one to do everything. Most people who flip houses do a lot of the construction work themselves. Paying for everything lowers our profit, so we will have to make up in volume (we are happy to make 10K on a property, others want to make 30K).
Meanwhile Hubby is really really frustrated on the eviction process. We are getting zero help from the local and the county courthouses. The judge wants us to give another notice to one group owes almost $1000 and another unit owes even more than that. First eviction notice filed on both, but because we entered into a payment agreement with one group, the judge says we have start the process from scratch! A lawyer we hired for an opinion says that the tenant has waived his right to a notice in the lease, but we are bound by what the court will say.
Could not find a constable who would deliver the eviction notice for us, but we remembered a friend who's a parole officer and PI. Going to ask him to officially deliver the notice. Hoping this will really get the tenants attention!
Lost the bid on the other townhouse, someone offered more than asking price. Oh well, plenty of other fish in the sea. We worry sometimes because we pay some one to do everything. Most people who flip houses do a lot of the construction work themselves. Paying for everything lowers our profit, so we will have to make up in volume (we are happy to make 10K on a property, others want to make 30K).
Meanwhile Hubby is really really frustrated on the eviction process. We are getting zero help from the local and the county courthouses. The judge wants us to give another notice to one group owes almost $1000 and another unit owes even more than that. First eviction notice filed on both, but because we entered into a payment agreement with one group, the judge says we have start the process from scratch! A lawyer we hired for an opinion says that the tenant has waived his right to a notice in the lease, but we are bound by what the court will say.
Could not find a constable who would deliver the eviction notice for us, but we remembered a friend who's a parole officer and PI. Going to ask him to officially deliver the notice. Hoping this will really get the tenants attention!
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Search came up empty today
Hubby went out to look at a few more houses today to see if they had any flipping potential. Saw one that he really liked, but the neighborhood is not the best (and you can't fix location). Going back to the two we saw the other weekend. Planning to put in a bid on Monday.
On the rental front, all March rents received with the exception of two apartments. One of these will be given an eviction notice on Monday, but they swear they will be current when their tax refund comes (heard this story before - from different tenants) - time will tell. The other late group are the ones on the payment plan. The next payment date is Monday. Waiting to see if we actually collect rent or just collect yet another story. So far 5 out of 7 paid!
On the rental front, all March rents received with the exception of two apartments. One of these will be given an eviction notice on Monday, but they swear they will be current when their tax refund comes (heard this story before - from different tenants) - time will tell. The other late group are the ones on the payment plan. The next payment date is Monday. Waiting to see if we actually collect rent or just collect yet another story. So far 5 out of 7 paid!
Friday, January 20, 2012
PayDay!
While eating dinner last night Hubby mentioned that he had texted one of his tenants who owes him some past rent money. She never replied. I asked why he had decided to text her on a random Thursday. He said "she got paid today". LOL. Now we are keeping track of paydays for everyone! But, truthfully, it helps. Some of our tenants have very very poor money management skills. Staying on top of these things allows him to collect the rents, and also "trains" (a terrible word, I know) the tenants to pay their obligations first, before they blow the money on crazy things. Several of his tenants have started out with this type of bad habit, and have, after months or years, actually learned how to manage their money properly. They've improved their credit, and gotten better jobs. Of course, then they sometimes move out - LOL!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)