All Forum Posts by: Anna Sagatelova

Do the 1/2 bath, renters will be more turned off by a tiny full bath.

@Aaron K. That certainly does happen, but we see that more frequently when a self-managed property is sold. PMs leasing fees and monthly management fees are usually a function of the monthly rent, so PMs are incentivized not to rent below market.

One of the most important things to vet when buying an occupied property, before you even get to the PM question, is how long have the tenants been there? If you are buying a property (especially multifamily), and more than 1 tenant was recently placed, beware - they might have relaxed screening criteria to rent at 100% occupancy. A lot of times this is done at the owner's direction if a PM is in place. Always check for lease terms, rent rolls; the more information you can get on tenant history, the better.

I'm not speaking from experience in NY, only Ohio, but I think it depends on who was listed as financially responsible on both the HAP and the lease.

As a property manager, I respectfully disagree with @Aaron K.

You may be inheriting a tenant, and that tenant is already used to that one PM as their landlord. They know how and where to pay their rent, the maintenance request process etc. The transition of new owner and new PM at once can delay rent payments and cause general confusion for tenants. The current PM and the new one you appoint need to coordinate and orchestrate the transition as to have minimum impact on the tenants, with plenty of notice about the transition, reassurance that their lease won't be affected, etc.

If the current PM in place is doing a good job, why not keep them? A good PM will be vetting you as much as you are vetting them, by the way. Just because we are managing company 123 Main Street for Investor A does not mean we will want to continue with Investor B, if Investor B does not buy in to our processes and procedures or has unrealistic expectations of how 123 Main Street is expected to cashflow, etc.

Vet the current PM, vet a few alternatives, and factor in the added complexity of transitioning management on top of title transfer, especially from the tenants' point of view.

There is virtually no situation where a landlord can kick out a tenant without going through some formal process, typically eviction. There are some expedited situations that can arise out of a Sheriff's Sale, and that's about all. It's still a formal process, however.

If your tenant does not move out as promised and you do end up needing to serve a notice to evict, I highly recommend you don't take any action without consulting an attorney.

It really depends on your lease agreement. In any case "not excessively filthy" is not the standard most landlords use. Most apartment companies have very thorough leases and can even include that professional cleaning will be charged to tenant upon move-out. In some states/municipalities, that may be fine.

Your own practice should be predicated on your lease agreement. It is not common practice, in my market, unless the property was not "broom clean" when possession was returned to you. Professional cleaning during turnover is an expense that landlords are usually required to shoulder, and might be necessary even if the prior tenants thoroughly cleaned everything.

Common things that tenants miss while cleaning:

Leaving ANY (and I do mean any whatsoever) garbage or unwanted things behind. Even things like paper towels they used for cleaning, an empty trash can, etc.

Did not empty and wipe out all cupboards and cabinets

Did not clean appliances - this means taking shelves out of your fridge and washing them, scrubbing the stove top clean, cleaning the oven, cleaning inside the microwave, etc. Obviously only applicable if appliances were included in the apt. If appliances were not included and tenant left their own behind (even if they are clean), that can be a separate haul away charge

Did not clean backsplash

Did not clean bathroom - tub, toilet, etc.

Floors - not swept, mopped, vacuumed, etc.

Dead bugs and/or bug traps not removed and disposed of

Trash in yard - people forget that the yard is part of the property and also needs to be cleaned up. Toys, lawn accessories, garbage, etc. are constantly found.

Also, I should mention that even if they are M2M, there is a lease, technically. It could be the old expired lease, or a written M2M agreement. Nothing is a worse scenario than a verbal lease.

Great advice from @Patricia Steiner.

However, if they don't leave within 30 days, you can't just go in with a sledgehammer on day 31; you have to then proceed with local rules for eviction. If your property falls under the CARES Act, you won't be able to initiate until July 25th.

Glad I could help! Good luck.

Yes, some of that data is quantifiable, but it's hard to find good accurate data online. For example, in my local market, it's well known that the city of East Cleveland is an all-out warzone. However, I've seen online resources that rank neighborhoods declare it "C-class"! 

Additionally, in some areas the data is more nuanced... sometimes literally block by block.