All Forum Posts by: Brian Tome

John,

You should contact Michael P. Morton the next time you have a tenant who fails to pay rent.  He is the gold standard for landlord representation in Delaware.  Once you have paid him to handle one case for you, ask for a copy of your file.

In the file, you will have models for all the necessary letters and pleadings for the price of one eviction proceeding (less than your security deposit).  Be forewarned however, once you use Mike's office, you might not want to do it yourself.  He is that reasonable and that good!

Richard,

Your friend needs to hire a lawyer in Prince George's County and get them to file for eviction in the District Court.  Given the ongoing negotiations, the bankruptcy filing, and the failure to serve and lock out, I would say the prior eviction order is almost certainly unenforceable at this point.

Maryland's Landlord Tenant law (like most other states) is fairly paternalistic and tenant friendly.  I would not advise your friend to take any action that might be construed as a 'self help' eviction.  They could face substantial penalties and treble damages for their trouble.

The Fair Housing Act, as amended in 1988, prohibits housing discrimination based on disability. It is unlawful to "discriminate in any aspect of selling or renting housing or to deny a dwelling to a buyer or renter because of the disability of that individual, an individual associated with the buyer or renter, or an individual who intends to live in the residence."

It even requires landlords to make reasonable exceptions in their policies and operations to afford people with disabilities equal housing opportunities and reasonable access-related modifications to their private living space, as well as to common use spaces (landlord is not required to pay for the changes.)

I understand that the intent is not to discriminate based on the disability itself, however, since the tenant's income source is controlled by his disability, I think the HUD Office of Fair Housing would pursue fines and damages against a landlord who denied a tenant because "you cannot garnish wages from people on disability." That distinction seems tenuously semantic and would most likely be viewed as discriminatory.

Also, if the disabled individual has good credit, favorable rental references, and a security deposit, the risk of having to garnish wages would be no greater than any other tenant.  That should be the guide for all tenants.  You should plan to cover any lost time for eviction proceedings, not to garnish wages in order to collect.

If you were my client, I would advise you to screen carefully, but eliminate "disabled" from your list of persons "not to rent to."  Oh, and lawyers too, LOL!

In Delaware, why not try Muhammad Razzaq.  He is a new BP user and his website is

You are correct Brad.  The only reason to defer the capital gain would be to reduce the tax liability in the event someone anticipated a lower tax burden/rate later on.

There is also the potential that your purchasing power could be stronger in today's market than it would be in a future market and keeping that money in circulation will benefit your portfolio long term, but that is even more speculative than trying to determine what tax rate you will pay in the future, and the longer you plan to hold the resources before cashing out and paying the taxes the more speculative it is.

I am looking at a 7 unit short sale with only one occupant and no financials (because managing partner is not cooperating with the bank).

In preparing my analysis for investors/financing, I am trying to get a rough estimate for wastewater costs.  The property is on a well (with public water available that I may hook up to in the future) but the septic is a public utility.

Is there a formula for average gallons per day use based on bedrooms/bathrooms that I could use to apply the unit costs to and estimate my operating costs?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Thanks guys!  I was leaning in that direction for the reason Nathan stated.  Also hoping the increased cash flow will allow me to further improve the property and maintain good tenants.

It is a big step for me.  Up to this point, my wife and I have only invested in building lot buy and holds with much lower cost and much lower risk.

I am looking at my first multi-unit property and using the deal analyzer to determine my ROI and CAP rate. However, the numbers vary widely depending on which amortization period I use.

I am interested to know what amortization period others have chosen and why.

Thanks in advance.

Thanks for the insight Ryan.  That is very helpful.

One thought about:

1. "I would NEVER give ANYONE control of a company I own. ... I have had buddies get burned by spouses when relationships went south. ... My business partner and I have a truly 50/50 arraignment. We split the work, profit, time, and decisions."

I recognize the concern of letting someone else make decisions for me, but when it comes to my wife, I have no hesitation.  The desire to preserve what one builds is valid, but we should spend more time building up our spouse than building up our business.  Either can be taken from us at any time, but we can always rebuild a business.

A business partner may be terrific, but a wife is the greatest treasure a man will ever have.  So, if I ever begin to experience any divided loyalties, I always default to her.  Even if it would mean losing millions.  I know I will never regret making her happy, and when she sees that in me, she knows she can trust me to make decisions, even if she is nervous.

I am not preaching, just testifying to my own experience.

Ryan,

Why did you decide on an LLC as opposed to an LLP?