All Forum Posts by: Claire Blary

I didn't let anyone in. The grandmother has the children. The children are may be 10-16 years old and lived in the home until the tenant passed. I believe she has a key. 

I haven't been back in contact with the tenant's grandmother since she first contacted me. Yes I got my info from Heist Weiss Wolk- they prepared my lease. HIs responses were short when I asked for steps to take. But I did watch their video and it was helpful.

At this moment I think I need to wait till it's 60 days and then go from there.

Thanks for the input everyone.

Hello,

I am facing a new situation and need input.

One of my tenants died approximately 1 month ago, it may have been suicide.

She and her children were the only ones on the lease. I was notified by the tenant's mother (who I have never spoke to or been in touch with before). The tenant's mother asked me when they need to move things out, and I was so shocked by the fact that the tenant had died, that I didn't even know what to say.

I looked back in my call logs and I am not able to find the tenant's mother's number. I spoke to an attorney who helps me with lease prep and he said unless probate is opened/ and the tenant's mother is the personal rep for the tenant, I can't do anything except to tell the tenant's mom not to enter the premise.

And I need to wait 60 days after the tenant's death to be able to do anything with the things inside.

The last time I was there, the home has all the belongings inside. The children now live with their grandmother in another home.

The tenant's kids are a little older than mine. Their father passed away may be 2 years ago, and now they will be raised by their grandmother. I don't really want to tell the grandmother she can't come back in to remove their stuff, I don't really want to change the locks. I'd like for them to just take the stuff out ASAP.

The area I live was affected by the hurricane and there is a lot going on for everyone.

Any advice?

Thanks

@Drewsygit

thanks for the reply and info. I appreciate the information. I don't think I can join the organization you mentioned because you need to be managing other people's property and not your own to qualify. I emailed them to confirm though.

as far as everything else you said, it makes sense. I am going to reach out to local handymen and see if I can build my own reliable people to contact. I have a wonderful AC person, so I'll just keep working on it and trying to get as much education as I can. Thanks!

I  understand what you are saying. I actually deal with rental stuff via email or phone  now while my kids are playing. I guess I was thinking that I would need to be physically present somewhere out of normal working hours, but may be that isn't the norm?

I don't know how many rentals someone in real estate, working for a broker, needs to be willing to manage? Or how rigid the schedule is, does the broker always want you to be in the office? Is it always full time? 

I agree property management isn't rocket science lol.  As far as why I'd consider joining a property management group with a broker- Since I started I have had a difficult time finding good handymen to use for jobs that come up. That is probably a universal issue, but I figured a broker would have more contacts.

Id also like to see how other managers do their walkthroughs and what they look for- do they use a checklist, always take pictures, etc?

and I am struggling with feeling ok with raising rent, at the moment the ones I manage are rented out below the marker, but the tenants are really good so I haven't changed it. 

i guess I was looking for mentoring and may be some community since I don't know many people at all in the business and I think the property management company I use probably finds me to be annoying. 

thanks you both for your input 

Hello,

I live in Florida, and came into property management within the last few years unexpectedly.

I have several properties- I manage half and use a property management company for the other half. I am looking for advice on how to gain more experience in property management so that I can feel more comfortable in the future managing all my own properties.

I obtained my real estate license a year or 2 ago but am not under a broker at the moment.

A real estate friend suggested that I ask the company that is managing my properties if they will train me and we could work out something.  I haven't reached out to them yet. But I like the company so that might be an option. I am not sure if it would be a conflict as an owner and an employee though.

I recently joined my local real estate investment organization and plan on attending events to network. I thought I may be able to find an individual who manages  their individual property, who may be willing to train me for a fee or for my to assist them with their work.

My hesitation with joining a real estate group and working in property management would be that I would really like to be able to maintain a work-life balance. It seems like most property managers working for real estate companies are always needed to be available. That does work well for my life. My kids are young, I'm their only parent, and childcare issues are a challenge.

thanks

Mike S. 

You gave me a lot of great information. I will look at the channel you recommended. Thank you!!!

 Thomas Rutkowski,

thank you for the reply. There are 6 properties that would go in the LLC. I have been told a lot of different things by a lot of different people. One person said if you have a good umbrella policy then if you put all the property into 1 LLC it should be ok and other attorneys said each one should go into it's own LLC.

Would you need a lawyer to  help you figure out the details of the operating agreement? I had heard that putting the property into a revocable trust would provide a way for the property to go to family if I die, so that probate is avoided but it doesn't give protection if someone sues me. 

I had an attorney who helped me with the trust, but I am still in the process of trying to fund it and the attorney who was involved isn't responsive anymore/ is busy with other things.

Thanks for your input.

I  live in Florida, and am widowed. We had owned 4+ single family homes, which are rented out. I used the money from the life insurance policy to pay off the rentals. I have set up a trust and have an umbrella policy for several million.

I was wondering if I should put all property into 1 LLC or if I should put each property into an individual LLC? For liability protection

I have been working on completely separating all business and personal finances.

if I had several LLCs I'd need separate bank account and it seems complicated.

the other question, is do I need a lawyer to set up the LLCs? Or is legal zoom an option? 

legal zoom also has legal services for 450$ 6 months. It's obviously limited. I have talked to several lawyers and it's overwhelming. Any advice? 

also my CPA recommended I file taxes as a S Corp to be able to write off expenses and take a salary. Can anyone comment on that. Or if you have advice for who to use as lawyer.

thanks