All Forum Posts by: Jeff B.

Leigh Ann you already answered your own question "Houston area, so lots of homes are in flood zones. I really don't even want to consider them since there is no cap on the amount that the insurance can be increased."  

It sounds like you are already aware of that Harris County has Flood insurance rates have been increasing and due to the "Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014"  the subsidies are being fazed out.  

This is an investment like any other and you need to find a "Risk, Reward" balance you are comfortable.  Using the Houston Flood Zone Map I am sure with some work you can target some areas that are Not in a Flood Zone or look at the surrounding cities with solid rent rates and growth for investment potential.  

If you do Not have a time is of the essence clause in the contact you may be required to attempt to contact the Contractor via documented means (certified mail), phone call with phone logs.

Additionally I would give the Contractor X amount of days usually 2 business days is fine to respond to your request to continue work or you will terminate the contract due to Non-Performance.

I would treat the contractor tools as Tenant abandoned property and follow the State Statutes.  You may need to consult an attorney as your state laws are detailed.

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=345.41

Lastly do the best you can to determine the value of the work the contractor did perform and calculate the amount you owe and mail it to their business address.  

Like others mentioned you need to run the numbers, make sure being a landlord is for you (read plenty of books), think about selling, financing options, or possibly renting the paid for home for the 1 year 1 day and then look to 1031 exchange into a investment property closer to where you are moving to.  

In your initial post you mention that you "will be in a much better place" so you have kinda answered the question that an investment property in the area you're moving to is the best option.

I don't take it personal.  I offer advice based on running my rentals like a business and the laws that govern our business.  It seems that when I offer some people (Not you) advice they will always end up doing what ever they want.  

The great thing about this forum is that there are some very knowledgeable and experienced people who offer you the same advice you would pay $100's a dollars an hour to receive.  Thanks Josh

Do Not be another spineless jellyfish and let someone take advantage of you.  This is a business and Not a charity.  If you like giving your money away I will take some, I have paypal for easy transfer.

The only items I see itemized that I do Not think a judge would allow are "Carpet Cleaning" unless in the lease, "Primer", "Cleaning of walls"  and the "Ozone Generator".  The other items seem fair and add up to $300.00   You will find out quick in real estate investing that hundreds turn into thousands turn into tens of thousands of potential lost profit.

Refer to "SUGGESTED APPROACHES TO SECURITY DEPOSIT DEDUCTIONS" in the 
Section 3. Repainting Walls

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/se...

Yeah, most people wouldn't thank someone that points to actual California law on the matter if they didn't agree with them.  

Regarding the primer I hope you are aware that in California that if the correct amount of the security deposit is Not returned to the tenant that they can sue the landlord for the return of the security deposit, all court costs and expenses, and the judge may award the tenant the remaining amount of the security Plus up to 2x twice the amount of the security deposit if the Judge determines you withheld the security deposit in "Bad Faith"

http://www.courts.ca.gov/1049.htm

The amount of damages you can collect depends on the average useful life of that item.
Example is that as a landlord you paint the walls every 5 years.
If you have to repaint the walls after a tenant lived in the unit for 7 years than this would be considered "Normal Wear and Tear" and you deduct $0.  Additionally if the walls only needed to be painted in one room then you can't charge a depreciated value for repainting the whole house just that one room.  

My opinion is that you will have a hard time receiving compensation for the ozone generator and the primer as if the original lease did allow smoking then the smoke smell in the unit is considered normal.  If the walls were cleaned then the "Odor seal" primer was an elective step and will probably be considered "Normal wear and tear". 

Refer to the California Department of Consumer's Affairs guidelines for the security deposit.

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/se...

I think the webmaster was thinking his job was in jeopardy asking for 200k.

There is No information on the hhbsa.com traffic from any website analytics that are publicly accessible.  Others have given solid advice to shop for another domain name.
To be valued at 200k it needs to have web traffic similar or more than biggerpockets.com
1.5 million to 2.5 million visits a month.

I am currently rewriting all my leases to cover the little details such as this.

In Florida a Landlord may charge for cleaning.  The advice is that you have to determine what the hourly rate average for this service is, determine the amount of time you spent cleaning, any cleaning supplies (keep receipts or at least scanned copies)

As Juan Christales mentioned it is best to put the cleaning expectations on move out into the lease with a range of fees, in Florida you should note that they could be charged less or more depending on the amount of cleaning, and supplies required.

Lastly in Florida HVAC filters are normally the responsibility of the tenant to change.  Check the HVAC and Heat systems and if they need to be cleaned you need to calculate the amount based off the last time it was cleaned to determine tenant's portion of the bill.

Additionally if you read in the Carrier HVAC warranty it talks about systems being installed in rental properties and the warranty Not being transferable.

If you are a professional landlord, then you are performing the regular recommended HVAC and Heat system maintenance items.  So we would a rental HVAC automatically have a non-transferable warranty?  This should be a case by case basis depending on the condition of the system and if the failure to perform regular maintenance was a contributing factor.

Note:  For HVAC the Trane warranty states that they can request documentation of proper preventive maintenance.

The other option is to buy an extended warranty through a third party reputable, financially sound, reseller like "Squaretrade"

The last option is to buy the house and Not the appliances and HVAC\Heat System and rent the appliances from the original owner.  A pain with additional paperwork, contracts, payments, and terms but still in option.  The warranties I read said nothing about excluding warranty repair for HVAC owned by original owner, at the original installation location.

I think your view is just one sided.  You are trying to sell me the tenant on why I should pay more for the same product.  The things I include on my rent increase letters is the comparable market rents, This exact wording

"Thank you for choosing to rent the condo/home/unit, from me. I have appreciated doing business with you for the length of your stay. As you have seen I have worked hard to respond to your requests while you have lived in the condo/home/unit to make your stay as comfortable as possible."

I tell them why the rent is going up and normally it is because the Operating Expenses are rising so prop taxes, insurance, and association fees and that I am not making any additional profit.  (They love when the landlord doesn't seem greedy)

I include in the rent increase that my rates are lower or very competitive for the surrounding market.  Then I detail the little addressed issue of moving "Your time is valuable, you will lose 4 or 5 days of your time packing, unpacking, and moving."  In additional all the boxes, tape, rental truck, gas, cleaning, changing addresses with each company who bills you, signing new contracts, transferring services, etc. etc.

Once they see how much work it is in moving, the amount of time and expense incurred the current Rent looks like a much better value.