All Forum Posts by: Greg M.

I don't require an app before showing. I do reiterate the minimum requires for rental when confirming the showing. 

Some feedback on the listing:

Your pictures are awful. I feel like I'm drunk as every one is not level or taken at an odd angle. Many make the place look dark. I also have no idea what room I'm looking at since they aren't labeled. 

The gas line to the stove looks awful and dangerous to someone who has kids. This is something that could have been moved for a couple hundred dollars. 

Many pics make the wood floor look old and in need of refinishing. Some places look uneven. This is even more glaring when looking at the newer "wood" flooring that was installed. 

I think the place needs a little TLC and it would show better. Pics 1-3, unpainted area near gutter is asking for wood rot. Metal above guter could use a power wash. Laundry room wall painted black is odd. Shelf appears to be 7' high. A countertop would be nice here. Pic 12 (bathroom) has no vanity, just a floating sink. Pic 36, metal under rooftop needs cleaning, storm cellar (?) doors need to be power washed, gutter needs to discharge further from foundation (deck is uneven and breaking, possibly due to water erosion?), lack of fence above bricks is a safety issue (is it up to code?). Pic 37, I think it was taken from the house toward the backyard? Looks like the fence fell down at the end.

For a weekend of work and a few hundred in supplies, I think you could make the place look much more appealable. 

Kansas City has source of income discrimination laws. Therefore, only accepting S8 is likely a violation of this law and can get you sued by the city (unlikely) or a prospect (way more likely). 

S8 is the business of last resort. There are many people here who will tell you that S8 is great as the rent always arrives and some places even pay higher than market rents. There are many more that will tell you horror stories. 

Why someone willingly wants to work with a government agency that will slow down turnover, dictate rents and rent increases, and dictate repairs is beyond me. 

If I understand you correctly, you got the eviction by the court. A quick search says they have 5 days to appeal and must post a bond equal to a months rent. If that is accurate, you do nothing. Let the 5 days pass and have the next step (Sheriff?) ready to remove them if they don't appeal. If they do, you're extremely likely to win and be paid from the bond. 

The only negotiation with the tenant after the judgment is the payment plan for the money owed to you.

There is so much wrong with what you wrote. You need to start fresh with your thinking. Work the numbers out on an amortization spreadsheet. 

Your current numbers make no sense (600K property at 70% is 180K down and 420K financed, but four 300K properties at 95% is 60K down and 1.14M financed).

The odds of finding someone to loan 95% on four investment properties is extremely slim. While not impossible, you'll be paying a much higher interest rate for the loan than with 20%+ down and also you're likely paying some points or splitting the profit if for resale. 

Your equity statement doesn't make sense. The only reason you'll have more equity in the future with the four 300K properties is because you bought 1.2M in properties vs 600K. If interest rates are the same and loan amounts are the same, you will build equity in both proposals at the same rate. The only thing that would change this is appreciation. 

As for the best choice, with 100% certainty that would be unknown. Maybe the 300K properties cash flow much higher, but the 600K property appreciates much faster? A roof on the 600K property will cost more than on the 300K property, but you have more roofs to repair on the multiple 300K properties. Maybe the 600K property area goes from an A to B class area, while the 300K goes from C to B class? 

Quote from @Levi Perl:

[...]shows they pay 62% of the time. 

How would you approach this?

I'd approach this expecting to get my rent on time, 62% of the time. Then I'd run away screaming.

The DUI does not bother me. While it's something I think is not taken seriously enough by society and the law, it's just far to common amongst all classes of people. If the guy were a heart surgeon, would a 3 year old DUI bother you? 

Sorry to be so harsh, but she sounds like a scammer and you sound like a sucker. 

She was paying rent when there was a landlord that would file for eviction. Then as a REO property, she knows that she can slip through the system for a long time and she's stops paying rent to the bank. New landlord and she's still not paying rent probably because she knows she has a lot of time before you get everything together (proof of non-payment, copies of lease, etc), before you can evict her. However, if you pay her, she will leave. And you think that will take 6 weeks + hard work. 😂 Cash for keys can be done in an afternoon.

She's not your friend and you're not her caseworker. Get an attorney, have them file the eviction and be done with it. She will probably game the system for the next 6-12 months, but that's what you get buying a property with a non-paying tenant in place, in an anti-landlord city. 

This is a business. Run it like a business. 

Here is some info: SF STR FAQ

Assuming the info is up-to-date, it must be your permanent residence (you must live at the property for a minimum 275 days a year), you can rent unhosted a max of 90 nights a year, you need a business license, and you need to pay the city $925 for a STR certificate. You may only have one single STR in SF.

70 days on Zillow|19 contacts|12 applications

The 12 people who applied, what happened? Did none of them qualify? Why are they not your tenants? 

What was the feedback from the people who saw or applied for the unit? Ask them for brutally honest feedback. 

Given it's in a very low population area, it may just be an extremely slow, low demand rental.

Quote from @Paula Simpkins:

Would it be too much to

1. locate the owner's email or phone number and then contact them?;

2. if the email or phone number cannot be found, should she try

(i) reaching out on LinkedIn, if she can locate the owner?

(ii) leave a note at the rental property (it's vacant)?

(iii) leave a note at the owner's home that is nearby (she found using property records)?

Would this irritate the landlord and cause a hard NO--too creepy!

If I wanted to be contacted these ways, I'd include this info in the ad listing. 

I generally only use the anonymized email provided by the websites. That's how I want to be contacted. You're not going to get extra points for knowing how to google me. 

Quote from @V.G Jason:

Just leave this landlord. They're petty, they'll be the type to always find something.

Tell them you'd like out of your lease.  I can't tell if you're in Seattle or Atlanta, but if the former you're good to push this. 

How is the landlord petty? They made a contract and now the tenant doesn't want to stick to it. It's an extremely clear lease clause, tenant gets discount based on painting of rooms landlord chooses.