All Forum Posts by: Mitch Coluzzi

@Mark Frattini if you don't normally accept pets, don't start now mid-lease. If you normally accept pets then follow your standard of practice. If you decide you want to accept pets, determine the perimeters for such, independent of this tenants request, and implement a global policy change. A lease breach is a lease breach. They didn't ask, they broke lease terms and thereafter are requesting concessions. This is akin to not paying rent, then your property manager asking if you'll accept payments for the unpaid amount. Don't waiver in your policies, unless it is an independent decision to make a change. Sidenote: your PM should know better... Plain and simple. :)

@Alexander Sobrado - There isn't a secret sauce but I can tell you as a relatively recent transplant into Des Moines (moved from Chicagoland to Bloomington IN to Davenport IA and have settled in DSM for the last almost 5 years...).  There is a lot to love here that won't be quantified in traditional stats/logic UNTIL you come check out DSM for yourself... I couldn't "see myself" living here either, but now I cannot see myself living anywhere else.

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The city itself emulates the Midwest nice that you hear rumored on the coasts.  The DSM Metro does a nice job of keeping clean and hosting multiple "touristy" events annually... for which the locals EAT UP.   Weekly farmer's market, multiple LARGE cultural festivals, a sufficient music scene draw, some minor league sports arenas (Hockey, Basketball), and a flourishing LGBTQ+ community to boot.   Oh... traffic is a non-issue!  It takes me 15 minutes to get about anywhere and... we have a quote unquote international airport with a less than 20 minute expected wait from car to terminal.  For you fancy folks, we also have a few private airports!

I would agree with some of the previous comments, a significant amount of the DSM growth has been the metro draw from more rural areas of Iowa.  It is ALSO coupled with immigrants coming over through refugee services as we are one of a select number of "cities" elected by the powers-to-be as such.   However!  There is also a ton of out of state folks coming here for the opportunities that exist.  The barriers to entry for success (even out side of real estate) are minimal for people with a dream, which literally echoes the "American Dream" of the former eras.  As a whole, there are less politics involved when trying to making things happen.  Networking is an easy-to-access bonus, both inside and outside of Real Estate with a lot of folks that truly just want to help each other grow.

From a local level, we are conveniently positioned between the arguably two most important spots (per the Iowa natives): Ames and Iowa City.  #GoHawks!

Last but not least in the "why DSM" bucket you have your traditional three motivators: low cost of living/affordable housing, access to well-paying jobs, relatively safe neighborhoods, and decent schools (I recognize, that is technically four and a half but I am rolling with it).

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Is the market sustainable?  I would argue that the City of Des Moines is realistically more sustainable than the coastal tides on any day of the week.  Cash-flow present day surpasses the coasts (dollar for dollar) with a bit of common sense.  Where the argument breaks down for most real estate investors is the "spike" appreciation that they are accustomed to reading about in Guru blogs and seeing on the coasts ALONG with the scale of investments available.  I foresee our markets continuing to move forward, at a gradual and safe pace, but I doubt we will ever see the massive spike that the coasts have, for better or worse.  There is still room to grow here, but it will eventually level off.

This is not legal advice but I will give my professional opinion, as a property manager.  First and foremost, accepting even a partial payment after the cure period has lapsed is not a good idea unless you are in a state that specifically allows such.

@Peter M. - Peter is accurate, not all evictions are related to payment... but you need to give the tenant clear notice OF WHAT they need to cure during their right to cure period.  If you solely told them "you need to pay rent" then that is likely, YOUR sole argument to the court.  Now if they also, for example, punched an employee you should include the termination for clear and present danger language.  Not seeing a way to cure that one!  I would not walk into a court-room with the "they breached their lease" argument without strong evidence of their continued/uncured breach...

When you say "filed the eviction" do you mean you served the tenant a Pay or Quit, filed the Forcible Entry and Detainer motion with the court, or have been granted the FED motion and have now filed the Writ of Removal?

Based on context, I am assuming that you have just filed the motion with the court.  If that is the case, and you have accepted payment I would dismiss the eviction, immediately.  To me the premise of your FED (the amount outstanding) is now incorrect (...probably).  

If you decide to continue with the FED, let's assume the judge rules in your favor... that ruling is likely because the tenant did not show up for court.  You filed your notices correctly and timely, reported the cure amount accurately, and avoided the fact you collected a partial payment.  The tenant will likely still have the option to appeal... at the appeal hearing, the tenant tells the judge that you accepted payment in full for the rent, that's why they didn't come to court...  The outcome is not likely going in your favor at this point.  Regardless of the outcome, you have a very upset tenant occupying your property and an appeal window that will potentially take several weeks (or months).  If they decide not to appeal, they still have possession of your property until the Sheriff gets around to scheduling the Writ of Removal... which they will likely protest on the same grounds.

I would not want to be in the courtroom when the judge/magistrate hears you accepted more/less full payment and evicted anyway.  As such, I would not suggest continuing with the FED now that you have accepted payment.  Instead, try to negotiate a peaceful move-out and file a new / accurate FED if any breaches still exist. 

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Insofar as the late fees:  Generally, we do not include our late fees in our cure notices as they can be interpreted by the the court very differently, depending on area.  Our counsel has strongly advised against including late fees... FED is meant to deliver you possession, don't bog down the mission with a few extra dollars of fees.  You can bring the summary of all damages later via a money judgement motion.

@Anthony Wick - we have early termination penalties in our lease. They've been through the money judgement process and held up, here in Iowa. Obviously, the fees HAVE to be responsible and written in the lease. Our lease also has an initial for the tenants in this section, to call MORE attention to it.

@Tin Chup - if you want to keep it and be able to access the equity to make repairs, than a traditional LOC might make the most sense. I can recommend a local bank or mortgage broker if desired for you to start the conversation. FHA may allow a 203k loan (Reno loan) on this but if it's the same property we discussed, it will not pass FHA standards as is. A quick note on the FHA 203K's... They are a PITA from my experience on the construction side of things. Additionally, it would be in your best interest to compare loan models, FHA 203ks come with several strings attached generally including on-site inspection reviews for draws, certified (for FHA purposes) contractors, PMI, and significantc origination fee which added together very well may outweigh the value of their advertised interest rates. It's worth considering a conventional LOC. Discuss the model with a few different originators before making a decision.

For the furniture component/furnishings, you may want to reach out to a local staging company.  Spoiler!  Many staging companies have partnership agreements with their product lines and will rotate their current inventories.  They will likely be happy to out-right sell you the furniture they are "retiring".  Large marketing firms also do this with all of their seasonal props (which can include bedroom sets).  Added bonus, staging companies likely have multiple sets of inventory with most of the items you need on hand.  It will cost you, but they also have the man-power to get it delivered, set up, and styled well.  There will be missing components, but it will optimize your time.

For security, I generally just default to ADT.  It is not the most cost effective, but they have remote wireless signals (no need for internet connection) with battery backups and remote viewing capabilities.  If you have a consistent internet connection, less of an issue but we deal with a lot of short-term situations which our local rep was able to help us deal with.  Previously, we went the DIY radio dialer security systems a few times and it just resulted in a handful of headaches.  Resolved that paying for a service is worth the headaches saved.

For lock-boxes, check out Vault Lock's e-lock solutions.  They offer one time pass codes, remote access, tracking, the whole nine yards.  There are all sorts of deadbolt solutions, but the reoccurring flaw with them is the access code has to be changed.  Can be a bear when managing remotely, the vault lock seems to be a solution to that!  DISCLAIMER: We just ordered a handful of these for our properties today (will update when we have some real-world experience to share). 

@Alexander Young - I have reached out via PM bud.  Talk soon!

@Tom R. We manage properties professionally. My two cents: no credit is superior to bad credit but they don't get a pass because of no history. Credit is only one of several criteria that should be considered, and frankly... It's near the bottom of the list! (WARNING: It matters... We just have ways of assisting with local financial coaching opportunities through a NFP) If you are hiring a PM, ask them what their written standards are (they should be able to give you these, almost instantly). We deploy 7 categories of criteria which each have a weighted value. Our standards are written in extreme detail and provided to our prospects prior to application. The criteria we consider (in weighted order): verifiable rental history, income ratio, ability to maintain (income history/savings/assistance), credit score (judgement/collection thresholds) criminal history. The auxillary fields with less weighted value, in order: lease start date, deposit amount (up to 2x rent). The overall score is tallied to identify approval, conditional approval with increased deposit/cosigner, or denial. Since implementing it has really helped sort through prospects. And... as an added benefit clearly identifies whom we rent to if there are multiple qualified applicants. The highest score essentially gets first option. So... In summary, no credit score isn't the end of the world... If you're prepared to research and request the whole picture. Insofar as pets... We don't allow them without significant medical documentation. In the case of a co-signer, run a full check on this person as IF they we're qualifying individually. Would you approve the co-signer if they were the primary applicant? We accept no pets... too many issues.

@Ruben St. Paul thanks!

@Andrew LeBaron - which skiptrace or list service are you utilizing? I missed that post! Thanks in advance.