All Forum Posts by: Keith Schulz

Well priced REO Rehab properties have been going FAST around here. This is the 5th REO I've offered on in the past 2 months, and all but 1 of them had 3 or more offers.

This house was a case where it had been on the market for 5 weeks with little interest. So, they dropped their price $25,000, and then the investers came rolling in.

Thanks for all the tips on the cat smells. I just found out there was an accepted offer on the house (and it wasn't mine). There ended up being 5 offers on this nasty smelly house. Oh well, now I know for next time I run across one of these.

Thanks,
Keith

Here's an interesting situation for ya...

So, I bought another duplex last fall. The duplex was in probate when I purchased it. The owner occupant had died, and her tenants were still in the other side. However, the estate attorney was in the process of evicting the tenants when I made my offer.

These tenant's had been there 15 years, but were paying less than half of the market rent, and hadn't payed anyone a penny since the death of the owner.

Now, 10 months later, one of these former tenants of the duplex showed up and knocked on the current tenants door. Apparently they told them that they owned the property, and I was just a manager. They wanted to come into the duplex. Luckily my tenants had enough sense to say, "I don't pay my rent to you, I don't know you, your not my manager, and if you do own the place, you didn't give me 24 hours notice." Then, after 5 or 10 more minutes of this former tenant going on and on. They tell my tenants that I'm a piece of s%!t and that I kicked them out and ruined their life. Well, the current tenants love me to death and said, "Keith's the best landlord we've ever had, get out of here or we are calling the police."

I think my tenants did the correct thing and handled it well. I told them to call the police immediately if these people come back. They felt pretty threatened, harassed, and confused by some of the things this former tenant said. I'm worried these tenants could show up again.

What do you think, is there anything I can/should do? Do I call the police (I doubt they'd even put it on record). Do I call my lawyer and have them send these former tenants a letter? Or do I just ignore it.

Thanks.

Beachbum, I've heard from others that Kilz works great to seal odors. Do you have personal experience using it on cat urine smells?

Biggerpro, You didn't end up having to remove the hardwood did you? This house actually has hardwood floors in part of the house, but they are covered with padding at carpet. It would be awesome if the hardwood could be refinished once the carpet is pulled up. ...but I have a feeling the hardwood is probably stained and smelly too. It might need to be torn up, or maybe coated in Kilz and then re-carpeted.

Thanks everybody for your input.

Has anybody dealt with a cat house before? A place that I am tempted to offer on stinks of cat urine. I figure that I would definitely tear out all the carpet flooring and base trim. However, I'm wondering if the subfloor needs to be replaced to get rid of the smell. Or is it possible that it could be sprayed with something, and then coated with a sealing primer?

I've been doing a lot of research on vacation rental properties lately, because i'd like a nice little cottage on a lake somewhere for myself to use.

From what I can find... Most area's are very difficult to have positive cashflow, unless you are putting a large percentage down. So, you really have to buy a vacation property because you plan to use it and enjoy it yourself, not for cashflow.

I agree with others that say, in most cases vacation rentals are speculation. Although, I have heard some great success stories with appreciating hot vacation markets. ...but I personally wouldn't buy purely on speculation. Either the numbers gotta work, or you gotta be buying a property for yourself (that you happen to rent out to help pay the mortgage when your not there).

Google Christine Karpinski. She's got a good, book and some podcasts with info about vacation rentals. I don't fully agree with everything she says, but she's defintely got some good info.

I actually, just got off the phone with my attorney. She claims that in the state of wisconsin it is required by law that the deposit minus damages be returned within 21 days.

The tenants are moving out on March 15th. She recommended that I hold the deposit at least until I recieve rent due on April 1st. If I don't recieve that, then I have the right to hold it. However, I asked about May... I should be able to have it re-rented by May, but if not I'm out of luck. The attorney tells me there is no way I can legally hold the deposit until May, even though their lease expires the end of August.

If ya ask me tenants have too many rights!!!!

Oh well, it shouldn't be too big of deal, because the longest vacancy I have ever had on this unit was 2 months.

Hi,
I have a tenant that is breaking their lease and moving out of state. They are moving 5 months prior to the end of their lease. These have been realatively good tenants, and say they will pay the next two months after they move.

I told them I will make every effort to re-rent the unit and get somebody in there to save them money. However, if for some reason it was vacant longer than two months they would still be responsible.

They are asking how soon I can get it to them after they move out and I inspect the property. My first thought is, I should hold the security deposit until it's re-rented, and I know I've been paid for the rent they are responsible for. Also, I want to make sure the water bill is taken care of, because that can get attached to the property if they leave it unpaid. This seems to make logical sense to me. However, I found the following, on the state of Wisconsin consumer protection website (the proprty is in WI):

"If you "break" a lease by moving out early, you may be obligated to pay for the remainder of the term unless another suitable tenant is found. However, the landlord must make reasonable efforts to find a substitute tenant and minimize any rent losses. Also, if you move out early, you must notify the landlord in writing of your departure after you have vacated the dwelling unit in order to "start the 21 day clock" for the return or accounting of your security deposit."

According to that it sounds like I have to refund the deposit within 21 days. I knew this was standard procedure at the end of a lease, but it doesn't make sense if they are breaking their lease. What are your thoughts? There's gotta be a way around this.

I'm not trying to squeeze every penny out of these people. I just want to protect myself from loosing money because of them. If I get the property re-rented within the month, I'll gladly tell them they don't need to pay that months rent and refund their remaining deposit.

Thanks,
Keith

One of my best long term tenants is a Mother and Daughter who lost their house to foreclosure. They are not the cleanest tenants in the world, but they have not damaged anything either.

As for the dogs. I've only got 4 rental units, but so far I have never had a dog do any damage. I have however, had cat damage.

Just make sure they have enough income so you'll get paid.

You can find their listings here: http://www.countrywide.com/purchase/f_reo.asp