All Forum Posts by: Casandra M.

203(K) loans won't get approved without the contractor contract included (part of the application process). We did our first BRRR as a 203(k) loan and it was definitely difficult to find a place familiar with the loan process, so we had to be very direct and slightly aggressive in our questioning on the process with the mortgage lender - we could not rely on them telling us important information as we go, we had to be prepared to ask the questions ourselves.

There is a list available floating around the internet regarding contractors that work with 203(k) loans, but my suggestion is finding someone on a legit site like Angie's List. 

Keep in mind that construction with a 203(k) loan can easily be more expensive than a normal contract because withdrawals for payment are limited and contractors typically have to change their normal contract formats and language to adhere to FHA standards (knowing this, they may mark up your cost).

My suggestion for anyone doing a 203(k) loan - already have an established relationship with a contractor. 

Our lease states that late fees will be applied for late rent past 5 days... late rent is rent not paid in full or paid at all. 

Check precedence in your state... in Wisconsin, late fees will typically not hold up when trying to collect in court, if you didn't enforce them before. WI also does not allow you to keep security deposit $$ for missing rent or late fees, so if you don't follow up on charging late fees from the start, you miss out on that $$ completely. 

If they don't pay their part of the section 8, evict and also notify section 8 case worker. 

Setting precedence with a tenant is everything... if you're a landlord by business, tell them they need to remove the animal or risk eviction. 

If you want to consider allowing dogs, another option would be to require the tenant to sign a new year-long lease for the property with a pet addendum. In our area of Wisconsin, it's difficult to get a rental unit that allows dogs, especially large dogs, so we personally chose to allow them knowing we could charge additional rent. For dogs, we require rental insurance (minimal cost to the tenant), proof of the dog being registered with the city and up to date on shots, a $250 security deposit for the first dog + $100 security deposit for a second dog, $25 extra in rent per month, per dog (up to 2 dogs), with no pitbulls or pit mixes. 

Our pet addendum also outlines that if the dog is ever a nuisance or has clearly caused damages in excess of the pet security deposit, that we have the right to request that the pet is removed from the property and if that situation occurs, it does not allow the tenant to break the lease (essentially, just because you can't have your pet anymore, doesn't mean you aren't responsible for the original lease). 

Granted, I'm in Wisconsin, but as a landlord I wouldn't care. We personally manage our properties so we would provide the removal ourselves if we planned on keeping the dishwasher and require that the tenant gets the new dishwasher professionally installed and remind them that any damages from installation could possibly come out of their security deposit.

From my perspective, the only thing I would be concerned about is the new dishwasher being hooked up correctly to prevent water damage to the floor. From a tenant perspective, make sure you have it in writing stating that you own the dishwasher in the unit and maybe ask for a maintenance form that shows the landlord is removing the dishwasher, if they do remove it themselves. If not, they may just ask you to put it in the garage or basement.

UPDATE: We received a copy of the lease but were not given the application when asked. Tenants would not have passed our criteria checklist and paid a very small security deposit. At this point, will be asking for a reduction in price based on lost rent and high risk tenants. I'll provide an update on sellers response :)

We aren't keen on a legal route as that will cost us more than just backing out and losing the small good faith deposit we had in the offer.

We have an accepted offer on a place that was occupied in 1 unit, the other unit empty. After the accepted offer, before closing, the current owner signed a new 1-year lease through October 2019 at an under-market rate to a new tenant, which completely changes the expected cashflow of the place for us as the upper unit is also under-rented. 

Are there any legal issues with the current owner signing new tenants after they accepted our offer? I understand that tenant rights apply when an offer is accepted... what about during the transition period?

On our standard lease, there is a section on the back that covers abandoned property and the 30-day storage clause. What I would do is take a copy of that, highlight it, and add it along with the 5-day notice, or whatever notice you choose. I can go back through my paperwork tonight (Im on SGT not CST) and let you know what form it is and where it appears.

@Alexander Ransom - In the past, we have also treated each new situation and case as an opportunity to learn, meaning we did our research ahead of time (like you), and when a troublesome situation arises, we try to handle it ourselves based on the knowledge we've acquired, instead of hiring out every possible person that could get involved (property managers, attorneys, consultants, etc....). This does usually result in us using more paperwork/notices than necessary with our tenants, but covers our risk for the most part...generally, the  notices have the actual statutes printed on them and if you read through them thoroughly, states the proper routes to take in different situations and when to use a particular notice.  Documents from WILegalBlank.com is great for this. 

 We personally manage our properties - we have never felt comfortable with the local property management companies around us and to us and are still at a point where we can comfortably manage ourselves. From what I can tell, there is a HUGE gap in what a property management company states their suppose to do vs what is actually done (when considering some of the previous comments in this thread).

If you already have a notice to vacate given to the tenant, and if you know their new address, I would give them an abandoned property notice that states you'll be storing belongings for 30 days (I think it gives a 5 day leanway between the notice and when you'll start storing) at their new address, requiring a signature on delivery. If you don't know the new address, post on your unit's door. Once that 5-day timeframe lapses (again, timeframe might be different), store belongings for 30 days, even if it's just junk. 

The concern we've had in the past with throwing anything away before the 30 days, is someone saying that something existed in the property that actually didn't, and not being able to recover the property as proof that something wasn't there. So we take photos of the belongings before removal, and a photo of the belongings once packed up and stored. If there is anything of value, we try to note it and file it away just in case. Depending on the property, most won't come back for the belongings, but we have a separate storage space on one of our rental properties that we use for these occurrences so it doesn't cost us anything to store, but our own time spent cleaning out the property. 

 Update for anyone that read my posting: As of April this year, Wisconsin does recognize emotional support animals that are protected against discrimination and cannot be denied from a premises, as long as the tenant is able to provide documentation from a health professional that the animal is needed in support of a disability. 

http://www.tenantresourcecenter.org/pets_and_service_animals

Contact your local housing authority to get clarification, as you could already of run into a legal situation by even calling a service animal a pet. In Wisconsin, a service animal is not considered a pet and is protected as a reasonable accommodation for a person with a disability...these are trained and certified animals and completely separate from the nearly unregulated "emotional support" animals. As a result, rentals that do not accept pets in Wisconsin still need to accept service animals and technically should not consider the service animal when making a determination on the application (essentially, it would legally be the same as say, denying someone because they use a walker or have an oxygen tank). You can however, require documentation of proof that the animal is a trained service animal. 

Emotional Support animals (At least in Wisconsin as far as I'm aware), can be considered pets and denied per your current pet policy. 

In both cases, you can still include clauses that essentially say if the animal causes issues on or with the property or with other tenants, that it can result in termination of the lease.