All Forum Posts by: Greg M.

Assuming you don't have a mortgage that requires a certain level of insurance, you can get a stop-loss policy covering all the properties. 

Assuming you have 5 units, each worth 300K, and you could afford the loss of one, but not all. You can get a $1.2M stop-loss policy that kicks in after $300K combined losses on all 5 units.  

What you didn't say: What is the property worth?

You should be able to send it to the court clerk with the case number (you should be able to find it online or call the court). Also CC a copy to the tenant for their records.

Same way you get financing on all deals. Show the bank you can afford it. Negative $700/month doesn't put a dent into our household free cash flow and that allows us to buy properties that appreciate rather than cash flow. 

I also prefer appreciation instead of cash flow. Every $1 I make in cash flow, the government will take 35¢-40¢ today. Appreciation allows me to push that off for years. Negative cash flow also can offset positive on other units to reduce taxes today.

How is PM charging you if the agreement is over? Are they still collecting rent and taking money that way, or are they billing you? 

PM is lying about the fair housing laws. I suspect PM is looking to get paid from collecting this money. 

As for the lawsuit, a letter to the court stating that the PM does not represent you and has no authority to represent you will get the case tossed. 

Everyone associated with living there and/or paying for the unit goes on the lease. All of those people also get credit/background checks. 

To me, $145 is meaningless for a good tenant that has been there 18 months and has 6 more months on the lease. Do you want this thing to be the tipping point for them to leave and you have turnover costs and a vacant unit? 

I'd have the PM send notice to the tenants that it was brought to the owners attention and they've waived the fee and thank you for being good tenants. Turn this around into a positive feel for the tenants. 

While your lease may indicate that the tenant pays, the biggest problem with this is that tenants will stop reporting issues for fear of paying. What if the smell was coming from a broken sewer line that was back-gassing into the unit, as well as leaking all around the foundation and rotting wood beams. Would you like to know then? Too bad, tenants aren't saying a thing for fear of paying. And you'll end up paying 10X as much to fix it.

It's going to be location specific. Where I'm at, nail holes to hang objects are considered normal wear and tear. You need to find out the useful life of paint. If the law says it is one year, then the fact you have to repaint the entire wall is meaningless. You can't charge for that. 

You could probably put in the lease that all items needing hanging must be done with the removable hook/tape type products. 3M has a bunch where you pull on the tape and it releases. This will work fine for normal sized pictures. It won't hold a heavy mirror.

500K is high and will exclude lots of companies from writing the renters policy. Many companies offer 300K max and above that they'd need an umbrella. 

Liability insurance covers negligence. If your tenant falls down the stairs because they were clumsy, you're not liable. If a stair comes loose, you may be liable. Once your primary liability insurance is exhausted, your 3M umbrella would kick in. 

Mold is being excluded by many companies. Some offer it as an additional rider for more money. For those with coverage, whether an occurance of it is covered would be based on how it occured and did/should you have knowledge about the potential for mold. Many companies are also limiting the claim for mold. You may have a 1M policy, but 25K for mold limit.

Cracked water pipe MAY be covered. Insurance companies are becoming stricter on things. If the pipe is 50 years old and had a life expectancy of 30 years, they're going to argue it was due to lack of care on your part and try to deny the claim. 

Normal repairs are absolutely NOT covered by insurance. Those are out of your pocket. Loss of rental income is only covered if it is listed in your policy. 

3) Renters Insurance: As already mentioned, renters insurance doesn't cover medical other than the generic $1K-$5K limit for others. Basically to cover their deductible.

Most renters insurance has a liability limit of $100K. Good luck fixing your and your neighbor's homes for $100K. Unless the total damage is under $100K, your policy is also paying out. Keep high liability limits.

4) HOA Insurance: Read your CCR and see what is covered. One complex I own in replaces up to the studs. I'm responsible for the drywall and everything inside. Another complex I own in will replace the kitchen cabinets and flooring in the units as they were originally sold with these items. It all depends.