All Forum Posts by: Bernard B.

Hello BP Nation, 

    Strangely enough, I did a forum search for sheriff eviction set outs, and I did not find anything. I completed my second sheriff eviction set out yesterday. For those of you who don't know what a sheriff eviction set out is, it is simply the final step in the eviction process. In Huntsville, Alabama, the judge will typically give a move out date after the pay rent or quit notice period has expired and the tenant has appeared in court and lost their unlawful detainer(eviction) case. Sometimes the tenant will move out before the set out date, sometimes they will wait until the last possible minute and get their possessions set out on the curb. The set out day is always a stressful situation because the sheriffs have to arrive, the moving people have to be there, and the locksmith has to rekey the locks. For some reason, the tenants typically act surprised that the set out date is real and that it is actually occurring at the documented time. 

     On both occasions, I have had tenants cuss me out and say that I did not give them enough time to move their possessions. Strangely enough, they ignore the court dates to move conveniently and easily before the sheriff's set out date. On the actual date, it is the mental part that drains me more than anything else. You are constantly wondering if the required parties will show up and will they do their jobs. Well , I just wanted to pass along a little bit of eviction education to some of the newbies out there, and hopefully , you will never have to go through this process. If you have to use movers, please get more than one estimate to do the move out ( several companies will try to screw you for four hours of human labor). Well , with all of that said, continue to do your tenant screening and hopefully, you will avoid this problem.

Put me in the don't rent to her column. As other posters have said, she definitely has financial issues. Bankruptcy, delinquent credit card payments, not enough minimum monthly rental income, "hopes on future alimony checks", supposedly a $60 grand savings account that was not used to catch up on any bills. Don't be desperate, be patient and find a potential tenant that does not have that much drama. Her problems are not your problems, you could be setting yourself up for a lot of future sad stories.

Hi Mihir, 

Once , one of my properties had two bad bedroom floors ( the hardwood floors had buckled up and the bedroom doors would not close) , and the bathroom floor had become extremely soft from a slow dripping toilet shutoff valve. The tenants let me know about the floors. In my opinion, it was not their fault for the floor issues( maybe some local blasting cause the buckling issues, and leaky valves just happen). Anyway, I was not a happy camper, but I got the floors repaired, while the tenants continued to live there. I figured that it was better to absorb the repair cost, than to have a tenant get hurt and possibly sue. Well, that was my story, I hope that that helps. 

My advice , for what it is worth , it to adapt your rental signs to the different communities. If you advertise to a class A neighborhood , maybe use online and a detailed for rent sign in the yard and window. If you advertise in a class C/D neighborhood, maybe use a generic for rent sign from a big box hardware store. I tried to use a detailed "pretty" for rent sign in a Class C/D neighborhood and my sign , came up missing? That nice , detailed sign, cost me $34 dollars. You have to basically decide what is best for you . 

It is definitely a challenge to make money in a C/D neighborhood. My properties are located in such areas. The weird thing about it, is that you can make the rentals look presentable, and safe, and take pics of it before they move in. After most of them move out , you will see holes in the wall, doors snatched off of the hinges, ceiling fan blades broke off, smoke detectors removed, light bulbs and covers removed, window panes broken, then they want to call you a slumlord. Maybe these tenants are just pissed off at their position/station in life? Rent will generally be late, but after the 7th of the month, in my state, definitely start the eviction process. If you wait until the 15th, and they know it, you may not get paid until the 20th or the 25th, they will drag out the rent payment period, and offer every excuse imaginable. 

     So, with all of that said, can a landlord make money in these neighborhoods? Yes, you have to realize that low income individuals need a place to live also, and not all low income people are bad or destructive. Instead of trying to make our properties "perfect", we have decided to make them "pretty good". They may not have perfect paint, or granite counter tops, but they fit in with the majority of the houses in the community. One last piece of advice for these areas, is to be flexible, but firm. Let them know that when you say that you are going to do something ( repair, eviction, etc. ) that you will follow through on your word. 

I use an excel file to track my business miles. I have it divided up to track my car and my truck miles. It is not fancy , but it works for me. 

Good morning, 

     I just signed up a new tenant to a rental property. I clearly explained to the tenant that the utilities would come out of my name on a certain date( I gave them nine days of service in my name). I also sent a text to the tenant to remind them of the final transfer date. The tenant acknowledged the text and said that they understood that they had to put the utilities in their name, before that final date. Fast forward to the day that utilities are cut off in my name, the tenant calls me that morning and says that the utilities are turned off and that he can't take a shower. I asked him , did you transfer the utilities to your name? He said yes, but the utility company said that he put the utilities on the wrong property address , and that they wanted an additional connection fee. I expressed my empathy for him and advised him to take his paperwork to the utility company and talk to them in person. If it was a mistake on their part, they would reconnect the utilities promptly, it was a mistake on his part( like he gave the wrong address) , he may have to pay the reconnect fee. By the way , I double checked the property address on the lease and application , to make sure that I did not give out the wrong address. 

     Update, the tenant just called me back and stated that he just met with the utility company in person. They straightened out the address misunderstanding, and he said that supposedly , I told them to turn off the utilities completely that day? No, I repeated to him exactly what I told them ( take the utilities out of my name, and possibly a tenant would be putting the utilities in their name before that final date). Final solution , the tenant paid the reconnect fee, and got the utilities in his name. The tenant just wanted to vent out some frustrations.

I use Quicken Home and Business. I use a different category for each rental property. Supposedly , people had said, that if you later decide to upgrade to Quickbooks, your Quicken knowledge will easily transfer and would not have been a waste of time. 

Well, since you have already talked to the mom and grandmom, I would call the police next. Not to arrest anyone , but to talk to the adults and possibly scare the kids with punishment options. The kids may just need be "scared straight" to show that you are serious about your property not being damaged.

Believe it or not, I try to network and become friends with my competition. I look them as "frenemies" , friends and enemies at the same time. My philosophy is simple, there are more than enough properties and deals to go around. If I help them learn about real estate, hopefully I can also learn from them about real estate. My most recent experience however, is that my competition  seems to be secretive and not willing to share information that could be beneficial to both of us in the near future. Anyway, my opinion , for what it is worth , is that we should all network with each and try to grow the profit pie.