All Forum Posts by: Bryan Devitt

@Bjorn Ahlblad in some places that much is illegal and you can only get 1 month and a security deposit. In MA 1st, last and security is standard though. The state maxes it at those 3 plus a "reasonable lock changing fee"

@Matthew McNeil PMs are like girlfriends, if you're asking yourself that question then it's already past the point of no return. Make yourself happier and start searching and interviewing

@Jonathan Watt there are many different "warrants " out there but I can't think of any I would say yes to. In some places people can get them for parking tickets, not paying certain fees and taxes or even their kid skipping school too much. So I don't consider all people with warrants the same but all the ones I can think of give me reason to say no.

@Michael Neves if they are so far below market rent that you have to ask, you probably don't want them as a tenant. If they could afford that much they would have found a better place that was below market but at their limit already. Figure out what it should be, raise it to that and prepare to turn it over and get a new tenant

Keep the tenants, have them sign a new lease for 6 months with a 2 month early termination fee. Tell the other people sorry but the tenant decided not to move out and it is no longer available. 

Where does it say there was standing water for months? Either I missed something or people are jumping to conclusions that the basement was turned into a swimming pool. I also love everyone saying he needed to make it a priority. When a foundation contractor has a backlog do you just demand to be put to the front of the list? Those kinds of people are usually told I am all set and don't want the job at all. I had a water issue in my basement for a while thanks to a crack in the foundation behind a wall, when it down poured the floor got wet and there was a musty smell. Same solution above and in the meantime the water had to be mopped now and then or left to evaporate. I don't think this was handled right, but I in no way think this situation is as bad as people are making it out to be unless I missed something very big. If they lost access to that area for 4 months before it was 100% fixed, how much is that worth? IMO you're probably going to get whacked for 25% of rent for the first 3 months while that area wasn't useable and 25-50% for the 4th month while work was going on. So be prepared to get that judgement against you which might offset the judgement you're going to get against them. If you left it alone then it might not have ended up in court and if it did, you could have counter sued to get to the same outcome with less headaches. Everything is a lesson in life, depending on the judge this one might get expensive. 

@Bradley Johnson so he can't pay bills currently and you're afraid he won't leave... but you don't want to bother with the court process? What happens when you're right and he just stays? Spending the time and money on court will be cheap insurance compared to how much it will cost if you wait until you're done listening to promises of "I just need one more month" ..." I just need 2 more weeks" ... "I'll have all your money once I get this check and then I can move out in 2 months". What is your cutoff and how long are you willing to let him go like this and what is the max you're willing to lose? Plan for the worst and hope for the best

@Dennis M. I know of a person in their late 30s from Florida who has never worked a day in her life. As a kid her and her siblings were diagnosed with ADHD (she said they are fed high doses of sugar and crap to get them to spaz out during the observation period) and the parents collected their "disability" checks until they turned 18. When they turned 18 all of them were diagnosed with misc mental disorders and not one had ever worked. Her entire family has been on disability for 3 generations now. Some of these scams are ridiculous they even work or the government would ever give a check for a "disability". There are places where SSDI approvals are over 90%, which is unheard of. Meanwhile in some places you can have 5 vertebrae fused, you can not lift over 10lbs for life and told you can still train to get a desk job so they won't approve you.

@Anastasia M. Go do an inspection and see what is dripping or if the toilet is running off and on when no one has touched it.

@Kevin Kelly it is block by block in some places, find a realtor that is from the area and knows the city to guide you through it. Some areas that were sketchy last year are gentrifying now and the best places to buy for appreciation.