All Forum Posts by: George C.

I agree with the others who said to keep quiet, you received an incomplete application and are still "waiting" for the rest of the info needed/asked for... They know what they are trying to pull and know that most won't accept them with no info. You can't give out others' financial info if you get asked, who or when others' rented instead. 

"I'm just not sure why this one seems to be so hesitant and suspicious. He really insists that I take him at his word, that he pays everything on time."

  Because he's most likely a crook looking for an easy landlord to take advantage of. Words mean nothing anymore, it's got to be in writing (proof) and signed. 

  My application process is meeting all the tenants involved that plan to live in the unit in person. Everyone 18 and over must apply and get credit checked (I run it), I take a picture of everyone's drivers license so there is a lesser chance of them using fake info, get SS #'s to run a credit check. I charge $10 each applicant to run credit & background checks when it costs me $15. I want three months bank statements too. Very few good renters have a problem with doing this. I assure them it is to protect them as well as we do it for all their neighbors too.  

  We don't demand perfect credit, it just can't be a horror show (I actually say this in my ads) and so far we've had very good results with tenants since running credit checks. In their leases, it is noted that we can and do report late or non-payments to credit agencies, so that reminder seems to help.

I also use a free google phone number in the ads and don't answer it, I let the people leave detailed coherent info for me to call them back. This alone is a good first screening tool because if they can't put together a decent couple of sentences on a phone message then they can't be expected to do much else. Also, if there is chaos going on in the background there will be chaos going on in your unit too. 

  In 30 years I've never called or written anyone about not qualifying or getting rejected. Only once did I have an applicant call and ask and was surprised when I told her that she was caught lying about her current landlord and living arrangement. Thanks to me looking up the actual property owner on the tax info online, seeing the name changes due to marriages. She claimed she was renting and the landlord was so and so when it turns out she was living with her mother the whole time and her mother was in on the lie. I never heard from her again :)

Almost 30 years ago that question, is "realty" is a restricted term in NJ was part of the real estate license course/test, the answer then was no it wasn't. I don't think that changed. I use it myself for part of my own business name (abc123 realty) that owns and manages my properties. In all the years of using it, I never had an issue using it. Check with your states R/E commission.

Over My 27 years of Landlording I have been blessed with some awesome tenants, certainly not all, but a good chunk. These good ones always paid on time, cared for their homes and looked out for my interests (involving other tenants or neighbors). These are the kind of people that keep you going in this business.  In the days before the internet  & instant credit checks and background info at your finger tips, a few bad apples were able to fly under the radar, not so much anymore, thank God! 

   It is heartening to see tenants make their rental their *home*, when they plant pretty flowers in the beds, flower pots on the porches, keep everything tidy and trimmed, put nice seasonal decorations up.  I love it when I go into a home and it's clean and decorated with nice furniture and family pictures around. There's some I've kept in touch with 15-20 years, watched their kids grow into fine adults.  

I was wondering if anyone has finessed or skirted this kind of requirement successfully?  According to the city's code, an "absentee landlord" is any owner who doesn't actually live in the town, you just can't hang an extra mailbox on your rental for your business address, you would have to live there.  A registered agent who lives in town is required for an "absentee landlord". The real estate agent I dealt with claimed that she was the registered agent for a bunch of people because she lives in the town,  of course she would need to be paid. I don't know how much she'd want, but she was trying to hard sell herself to me as a property manager, which turned me off. I understand why these laws get passed (absentee slumlords), but this is totally unreasonable. If the owner lives in the very next town or county they are deemed an "absentee landlord", like if they lived far off and unattached. They have to be burdened with having to comply with such nonsense and extra expense.  I can't believe something as onerous as this law has lasted unchallenged...

   Does anyone know of a law like this being fought against and won anywhere, after the fact? 

FYI, it's the city of PJ, Orange Co NY

  Bryce, I would ask the taxing agency to check whether it was just a clerical error on their part, that seems very strange. I doubt that it has anything to do with the "smart" owner trying to get over on his taxes, might just be dumb luck for him. 

   I know there are plenty of strange pieces of land in the way they were cut up at the time. The house & area I grew up in, all the lots were 50'x100', I bought that house from my Father when he retired. The deed mentioned the meets and bounds description encompassing lots 45, 46 & 1/2 of 47. How small were those original lots? I thought to myself...  The house was built in 1958 in a large tract of homes, had been a farm before that. I doubt that there would've been any way to just pay the taxes on one of those lots in my deed description.

I've owned both residential & commercial rentals for over 26+ years, I'm not a newbie. I've done it both ways, I was the owner for most of those years, the last five I'm one of the managers who works for the company.

  All you "owners" who need the ego boost from telling people that you are the owners will change your tune quickly the first time you are threatened or attacked by some wackjob. If you think that you wont run into one or rent to one, you are dreaming. I've had good tenants go bad after years due to job loss, new addictions or personality change, or a new psycho bf/gf moves in. Society in general is not like it was 25 years ago, people are doing things they wouldn't have done back then. Our worlds are not getting safer... I don't even use my real name, I use an abbreviation of my last name for everything. I don't need them finding me, finding my own home, my family, my things, etc... I've come across some nasty vindictive people in this business who we've not parted on good terms, or they had friends or relatives who were sketchy and considered the LL an enemy. 

  It's so much easier for even prospective tenants when they think that they don't have to put on a show for the owner when you are just a r/e agent/ manager showing the property, you get an insight to their real personality that you wouldn't have gotten otherwise. 

  If something comes up, you have time to think about it, or just not be the bad guy, in fact I'm someone they think is just another working stiff.

  No, it's not a lie, I'm not legally the owner anyway, I have a registered business entity to shield me.

  After 26+ years of experience, this is the way for me to go. Most people have to learn things the hard way though...

The first spec home I built I used a home equity on my primary to buy the land & a good start of the materials, I then got a construction loan from a local bank after the foundation, septic & shell was closed in. The bank I dealt with made it very easy, but those days of spec building in my area are done since 2008. That was the best money I ever made, some were sold or under contract before finished.

I don't think I'd want to be in the appliance business with low rent tenants, especially with those VERY light duty washer dryers. I would build the communal coin laundry in the basement with robust equipment made for just that application & you'll make money off it too.

I had one skip out after the first month of a years lease at the end of December, for her personal reasons. She had checked out good, job & credit wise, but had personal issues that you can't screen for. We immediately went in there trying to rent it out, but it was a dead market during that time of year. It sat empty for two months and we had to heat it, plow snow for showings, etc...

  I sued her for the remainder of the lease till re-rented & utility bills while empty which was up to the limit of our small claims court of $3300 & won a judgment.  I got a wage garnishment on her and every month I get a check.

  I never do any business with friends or relatives, that is a lesson learned 27 years ago the hard way.

  I would say that your tenants went in there with their eyes open and made a contract with you, they owe you till it's re-rented in my opinion. That is the whole purpose of a lease, it is to protect both of your interests. If you want to be generous and offer some kind of settlement, that's up to you. 

Length of time to find a tenant is not my biggest concern, the right tenant who pays on time and cares for the place is paramount. You'll most likely get a bunch of calls and showings and most will be time wasters no matter how much you try to phone screen them before hand. Make sure your set up to run instant credit checks, you'll know instantly who and what you're dealing with when someone fills out an application. Never believe anything an applicant says unless they can back it up with proof.