All Forum Posts by: Carl Hebert

The ARV will not be affected by the by the costs of the demolition, labor, or materials. The ARV is going to be changed based on the type of remod you end up doing and mostly by what the surrounding area home values are.

You can ask your real estate agent what the area comps are before you get started and also find out what type of features are in those homes. basically you do not want to go overboard on renovations that will not give you the best bang for the dollars put in.

Example being going with granite when all the area homes have laminate...

@Elliot B. - Ah! I have it in the 7 day notice to quit. It shows the amount due + the additional 4% late fee. You could, like some others on here, give that notice on the 8th. Doing that sets you up for a faster eviction process. I would only do the notice on the 8th I think for someone I know is not going to pay. 

Then on the 15th you can serve them with the 30 day notice from your lawyer (I would use a lawyer from this point on myself).

I mentioned I have one tenant that always goes to the 13-14th each month, but rarely goes past that now because of the late fee I charge. Her previous landlord did not have a late fee policy in place and she apparently was used to paying on the 15th-20th each month.

Out of 18 tenants she is one of two that do not pay in the first 5 days of the month. We just had a new lease signed by the other late tenant and I had raised the rent by $50 and said if paid by the 5th we would deduct $25 from the rent. April is the first month on the new lease and they paid on the first. Good times!

So hoping that is the new trend for them and leaves only one not paying at the beginning of the month.

@Elliot B. - I have it right in the lease. What day it will be considered late (15th) and how much (4% of rent). 

8. Late Payments. In the event that any payment required to be paid hereunder by Tenant is not made within 15 days of when due, Tenant will pay to Landlord, in addition to such payment or other charges due hereunder, a "late fee" in the amount of $45.00.

I also make sure to go through the lease with the tenants when they sign. I remind tenants that haven't paid by the 7th about the late fee and ask why they haven't paid yet :)

The 4% and 15 days are all from the Maine Statutes and Pine Tree Legal has them on their site for tenants information.

@Cody 

@Cody DeLong - I would keep your smokers on a month to month, that way when you want to evict them you only have to give them a 30 day notice with no reason. Put them in a 12 month lease and it makes it a bit harder to evict, still can especially if they violate it and a lot of times smokers will. Just saying it is really easy if they are month to month. 

I have also enforced the max late payment fee on my tenants. Which in Maine is 4% after the 15th. It basically made it so the rent was always paid before the 15th lol, have one tenant that still pays as late as possible, usually on the 13-14th. They also received a 7 day notice to quit with the fee btw. I have also heard some owners here in Maine giving that notice on the 8th to get the eviction process started sooner if needed.

@Eric Pierpont this is something I have been wondering about also. I have been too busy doing remods and haven't contacted any of my mortgage holders. Did the bank give a reason for not allowing you to transfer the deed? 

Keep us updated!

Glad to hear you moved out, we'll have to get together for lunch when I am back in May!

@Gary Jordan - Quick note, if she has a written agreement from the previous owner it is legal till it expires in the state of Maine and you cannot force her to sign a new lease. You have to wait till the prior lease is done. 

Another thing to think about is if she is paying on time you could just let it keep going and collect what deposit she gives you. I would try to get in writing from the previous owner about the verbal agreement and have her sign that. Then if she moves before the full deposit is made you only have to pay her back what you have collected. 

Remember the deposit is never really yours until she moves and there are damages/rent that needs to be repaired or collected. 

grats on the 4 unit by the way!

@Matt Leonard - I agree with @Tucker Smith on installing hot water tanks for each unit, you could also go with the new heat pump hot water heaters for each unit also, with the rebate they come close to the same costs as the regular hot water tanks.

As for the solar, I do not know anyone who has done it and know little about it myself.

@Nicholas Olson - In Maine if the tenant has a written lease from the previous owner it has to be honored.

If both pay on time now I would pull the happy clause that @Bob B. mentioned and tough it out till the leases expire and put them on month to month. 

I had some inherited tenants in one of my Lewiston buildings that did almost this same thing, the prior owner gave all the tenants 6 month leases before she sold the property. They fought over parking, trash cans, the laundry room, hot water (I swear they gave each kid two baths a day lol), and etc etc. I installed another hot water tank, each got a trash can, I assigned spots and said if they were not honored I would only let one car for each apartment in the drive (pretty big driveway could fit 6, 3 unit building).

I also said if the fighting did not stop I would not renew any leases when the time came. 

The fighting may of continued, but the calls, texts, emails and complaints about it whenever I went to the property stopped.

I was never mean about any of this, just polite and firm on the subject. 

Grats on your first property and soon stuff like this will be second nature for you! Don't take it personally, remember it is a business!

@Cody DeLong - I like almost all of New Auburn which includes seventh st. 

 I have three in Lewiston - Summer st, Wood st and Genest st (off Sabattus st) 11 units total

Three in Auburn - Academy st, Broad St (house) and Seventh st. 7 units total

Wood st is the closest I have to the downtown area. 

There are still good buildings hitting the mls but not nearly as many as there were 2 years ago. At the high there were about 125 now 40-50

A good one hits and it is gone. 

I will be back in Maine after Feb 20th if you want to get together sometime and talk shop.