All Forum Posts by: Michael B.

I got a call from a landlord in another city yesterday asking about a young couple that rented from me for a while a few years back. They were great tenants and I gave a glowing recommendation.

But that got me thinking. Most companies don't give employment recommendations anymore. They're afraid they'll get sued because an employee says something that's no true, or at least not provably true. Nowadays about the only thing large companies will say is something like "John worked here from mm/dd/yyyy until mm/dd/yyyy."

Has anybody ever heard of landlords getting sued or threatened for giving bad reviews to tenants. Especially when the parting is acrimonious with fights over amount of damage, etc.

I've never heard of a landlord ending up with legal problems over giving a bad recommendation. Just wondering if anybody else has.

It may sound like a good idea now, but it probably won't later.

You guys will in all likelihood diverge in interests over the next few years. Don't get caught up in a partnership that both regret later on.

You can usually get an apartment cheaper than a house/condo with a lease option. Don't make long term commitments that you'll regret later. Go for cheap and concentrate on your studies.

You probably can't.

Most 401K providers keep the money until you leave employment. Especially most large corporations. Only after finding other employment can you move it to an IRA and then to a SD IRA.

Check with your HR dept to see if it's possible. But almost certainly you're confined to the investments their brokerage partners lay out for you.

I'm actually really high on 2 bedrooms right now.

Two bedrooms are cheaper than larger houses, but the rents don't drop off as much proportionally. Also population trends for a number of years have been going toward smaller household sizes. Therefore I'd expect more appreciation over the long term than with 3 bedroom houses.

Two bedrooms fill the needs of single parents with 1 kid and for dual income married couples. That's a pretty good segment, lots of people look at moving to a small house as an alternative to apartment living.

Local conditions vary a lot, but to me the 2 br is a sweet spot over the next few years.

Why not sell your house?

There's nothing to be made in the sale after expenses, and indeed you may have to come to the closing with cash to get rid of it. But as Andrew O. says you'll be bleeding each and every month if you rent this place for $1,200.

Better to sell the house, even if it requires cash to get rid of it. Rent a house for 6 months while you decide where to buy your new one. That gets rid of the financial drain and makes your debt to income ratio look better for the bank when you decide to buy the new one.

I'd check with a local attorney.

This type of thing varies by jurisdiction. It may be you can sell it pretty soon and send on the proceeds, it may be you're stuck with storing it for a while like Bill G. says.

I had a chiropractic student one time that left some tables and various tools of his trade once after graduating. In Illinois there were some specific notifications that had to be done before trying to sell the stuff. It took about 6 months before I could get rid of it (with him continually telling me he was coming back for it in the next few weeks). But at least I could move the stuff to a storage unit.

The problem is that your tenant is going to think these items, especially the pool, are worth way more than anyone else does. It cost him 5 figures, but he'll only get a thousand or so for it. Don't do anything rash about moving it out that could damage it or you could be making up the difference between his price and the market price, and especially don't dispose of it without making sure you're within the law.

Short version: You're screwed in renting the place until you can get rid of his stuff. Don't make it worse by doing anything that's not well documented and completely legal.

I hate to be the skunk at the party, but as an Air Force Vet and father of a soldier:

Be really careful about this. Managing out of town properties can be really painful. You probably won't always have the ability to drive by the house to make sure things are going right. As Dave Ramsey says there's always some goober that sees nothing wrong in changing the oil in his Harley in your living room. And you won't know about it for some time if you're not there.

I'd say amass cash until you've put up the green suit. And learn. Especially learn. Then you can come in with resources and abilities to make the investments work. But trying to do long distance landlording, especially of multifamily units when you can be called to any part of the world is taking on a really big risk. And in the long run the risk will inevitably go pop.

Which means with taxes, insurance, maintenance, and vacancy you're bleeding at least $500 / month, assuming you hit at the high end of the estimate.

$Five hundred per month is tough when your primary is stretching you so much.

The Appraiser's office would be the place to complain in most places. But I'm sure the Auditor can point you in the right direction.

But you'll lose.

The reality is you were taking a deduction on your property taxes that you weren't entitled to. The definition of a Homestead deduction is pretty standard. It's for owner occupied houses. The definitions were probably were on the bill each of the last 3 years. It is here in Orlando, FL.

My advice would be to pay it even if you have to borrow. Cities and counties are pretty cash strapped and they are looking for cash sources. They hit hard with fees and interest. People claiming exemptions that they're not entitled to are easy pickins.

Edit: I came across more aggressively in this post than I intended. Apologies. But the overall facts stand. Counties are doing this type of audit to get cash they deserve. I don't think pleading ignorance will do a lot of good. Letting people off because they don't know about the tax bill results in nobody 'knowing' about what they owe. Have at it in the appeal. But I'm guessing you'll be writing the check for the full amount.

I'm not seeing it.

It looks like the annual to the complex comes out to about $1000 to the complex between HOA and assessment.

What is high season -- Nov - March or so? If you can rent it the whole time that gives about $12,500 in rent. Throw in vacancy in the 5 months, maintenance, taxes, cost of funds, etc. -- I just don't see it making money.

You've got to be able to rent it most of the year to have a shot at even breaking even. Structural engineering problems add to the issues.

If you assume that the special assessment is only short term it's still tough. That gives a little cash flow, but way to uncertain.

I'd say wait around and see what happens to the engineering aspects. There's just too much risk that this becomes a bottomless pit of assessments as new issues are found and people quit paying their assessments. Come back and look again in 2 years. In a complex this large there will always be units for sale. Let somebody else take the risks at this point.