All Forum Posts by: Adam Martin

In theory cutting taxes to allow people to save more would make sense. You pay 7.5% payroll tax and your company does the same and I would prefer to have the extra 15% in my 401k. The issue is that we need to save people from themselves because most people would not save and then you would have a large percentage of the population with no retirement who would either have to work until the day they died or until they could no longer physically work and be supported by welfare. Yes this would be their fault and they could have prevented it however a large percentage of the population can't look past today. Outside of real estate I am a financial advisor who specializes in 401k retirement plans and occasionally crosses over into IRA's when it makes sense and I see people working against their own self interest every day. I have people in their 50's who just casually call in to cash out what little retirement they have to buy a new car or pay off cc debt saying they have plenty of time to save, you do not and you most likely won't. I am fiscally conservative with government policy generally and feel the gov. should stay out and let markets dictate how and where people spend their money but based on my experiences this is one of the topics I do a 180 on. I am actually for the taxes going up 50-100% from where they are now and increasing benefits proportionally. SS is not designed to live off of it is there to provide you with your basic needs and if any of you talk to people who failed to plan you know there is a struggle. The economy as a whole would be better off if seniors were better supported through SS as that would be more money pumped into the economy and a lot of them are on gov. benefits anyway this way they at least paid for them throughout their working career.

This thread is taking a lot of turns but I like it.

A Gmail account is free to set up as is a Zillow account.  You would probably have to meet with the tenant and help them set both up however they have recurring ACH at no cost for either of you.  It does take 5 days for you to receive the money but the bank would hold the check as well so it may be about a wash for you.  You can also give them deposit slips for your bank account and have them pay at the local branch where they can use cash, checks, or money orders.  I prefer online as you never have to worry that the check was lost in the mail however if they have been paying like this for a while and are long term renters with a good track history I may also just accept it.  Older people may be less likely to move and you may have long term renters on your hands.  I'm sure your bank has a mobile app you can deposit the check from so this really shouldn't be too big of an issue for you.  

There are already states and localities that don't allow the landlord check eviction records with some going as far as to try to seal them so there is no way to find out without a warrant.  These are very landlord friendly places and not the places I'm looking to do business but I feel this may be more widespread.  I have been thinking of this exact same question a lot lately though and wondering for those who get evicted are landlords going to be willing to house them or what will they do.  I for one plan on holding my course and rejecting applicants with evictions on their record especially if it were actually enforced by the courts vs. just filing.  While I know every landlord isn't as forgiving I think as a whole people are giving chances to set up plans and there was a moratorium on evictions.  At the same time stimulus checks have gone out, enhanced unemployment benefits for those affected were making some people make more than they did when they worked and the CARES act gave unprecedented access to retirement accounts.  Suspending payroll taxes will put more money in the pockets of workers however this is where funding for SS and Medicare come from and I think this funding should be treated as untouchable and not a political pawn used by both sides of the isle since the buck will be passed to future administrations when the funding runs out.  If its not funded by taxes though the printers will fund it, there isn't a politician out there who wants to run on the platform we stole your SS money over the years and now you have nothing for your retirement, best of luck with that.  There are plenty of companies near me deemed essential or have since opened up that are begging for workers since so many are happy on unemployment that I don't buy the fact you can't find a job.  During all of this the tenant not only couldn't come up with rent but refused to make alternate arrangements to vacate on their own and drug the process out as long as possible to get the courts involved.  This is costing the landlord money and actively acting against their own self interest by marking their profile with an eviction that I just can't look past.  If it was filed and they left on their own they will have an easier time and it may not even come up in some background checks but if I find out that is a no for me as well.  Good luck to them and I wish them the best as everyone needs a place to stay however it will not be with me.  Sorry for the long post but this has been on my mind lately but I'm curious to see what others think.  

NYC is having issues with high vacancy but that is only part if the issue.  At least you aren’t loosing money with a non paying tenant who won’t leave and there isn’t much you can do.  With that being said if they recently graduated with cash reserves and if their guarantors are parents with strong finances I may consider.

I understand not wanting to babysit but that’s part of the job especially when you are renting to section 8 tenants which is one of the reasons I don’t.  They are likely to not have savings and a low income which is what qualifies them for the program. If they can get away with not paying which as if this point you have trained them to do they will likely continue to believe they can get away with it.  I don’t want to come off as harsh and it sounds like your heart is in the right place however you need to regain control.  I can almost assure you that the rent did not go into a savings account to pay you back later and the longer you wait the deeper the hole they are digging for themself.  Under this thought you are actually doing them a disservice by not enforcing your contract and letting their debt pile up which could jeopardize future housing.  You need to make a decision to either enforce the lease or cut your losses on these and either move on or forgive the debt.  You say you want to keep them due to being a known risk but these don’t seem like the tenants I would be looking to hang onto 

Wow that is intense.  Make sure you notify hud  and I would send this one to collections.  You will never see the money but hopefully you can get her kicked out of the program or at least put other landlords on notice.  I would get a few quotes to see if you can do better since it looks like you live in NJ so it may not be feasible to do some of it yourself.  My lease also states if the house is uninhabitable the lease can be terminated.  If yours said this once you learned that the house was going to take significant time to flip you could have had her out and just secured the property but I don’t know what section 8 would say about that.  I 

Is your agent a real estate agent who specializes in buying and selling or rentals.  If it is buying they may have no idea my real estate agent is a close friend but doesn’t do much with rentals.  He was also off by several hundred dollars based on what he guessed it was worth but also freely admitted he didn’t really research rentals much.  If it is a property manager who does this for a living I would be more likely to trust them more.  If you feel you can get the higher price based on your research list for that you can always walk down if you need.  Also ask what comps they used and you may find the actual price is somewhere in between.  

The tenant is most likely not going to be paying you it will be nationwide so the rent is basically guaranteed.  These people frequently have problems finding housing for their clients and from hearing other stories their first offer is usually negotiable.  I would still want to run a background check for criminal and then request an additional 45%.  This puts the rental over at the end of February but the repair may go over schedule and you are getting more than enough extra per month to cover a bit of vacancy.  I would personally take it but not for less than 40% over to compensate me for my extra turnover time.  

I actually prefer people who have dogs and install fences to encourage them.  I charge a refundable deposit of 600 so they are incentivized to keep up with the place to try to get it back.  It is also just an addition to the security deposit with no mention due to the dog so it can be used for other things and my lease states if you break the lease early you forfeit the deposit.  There is an additional pet rent of 35/dog and no one has complained yet.  Now cats are another story and I do not allow them under any circumstances.  I am biased since I’m allergic but for most houses you can smell them from the moment you step in and getting the smell out is far more expensive than most dog damage.  

Agreed on point 2 but if for some reason you wanted to keep her this isn’t one I would let be below mkt rates on.  I would probably price slightly above mkt to make it worth my headache.  On the other hand though tenants come and go but you may be stuck with neighbors for a while and it’s always good to keep the peace.