All Forum Posts by: Jason Allen
Jason Allen has started 3 posts and replied 100 times.
Post: Lorain / Elyria eviction process / laws / etc.
- Posts 100
- Votes 70
I own some properties in Cleveland, and I recently had to do two nightmare evictions in a row, including one with a literal squatter, who had no lease, never paid a cent of rent, and KICKED the door down to gain entry (thanks Cleveland Police...). Before the eviction was finalized, he also moved in a bunch of sub-squatters and physically assaulted me, before finally being put back in prison on his months old felony warrant... On the plus side I got an awesome video of the POS getting put back in prison..
In both cases, the process took months because the city of Cleveland housing court is incredibly biased against landlords, and the magistrates delayed my case multiple times for no real reason, even though I had lawyers and everything was filed correctly and on time, and the tenants and the squatters never even bothered to show up to court. (PM if you want to know the "justifications" given... I'm not posting how they gamed the system just in case other professional tenants are reading.) But I digress.
How landlord friendly are Lorain and Elyria? Has anyone done an eviction recently in Lorain and/or Elyria, and how did it go? How long does/did it take, how much did/does it cost? BS delays? After my experiences, I would doubt my sanity if I ever invested in CLE again given what I've been through, so I am looking for (hopefully) greener pastures now that the prices are starting to moderate a bit...
Post: Squatter/Cash for Keys Questions
- Posts 100
- Votes 70
Quote from @Joe Splitrock:
@Nicole Clemens did this person ever own the property or pay money to rent it or did they literally just walk in off the street?
I am not familiar with laws on this, so I don't understand how someone who has no legal claim gains the right to be evicted by breaking an entering? It seems you could just change the locks and have all the belongings hauled away to the dump. She shows up and cannot get in. What is she going to do? She calls the police and you just say you don't know her. The police will tell her it is a civil matter. She can go to court, but if this is some homeless lady without an ID and no money, what is she going to do? Do we live in a world where I go on vacation for a week and some nut job breaks in and my only recourse is evicting them?
I may be totally off base here, but it seems there is no way to know who this person is so how can you evict them?
Do we live in a world where I go on vacation for a week and some nut job breaks in and my only recourse is evicting them?
Yes, as long as they have their one piece of mail...
Post: Violent tenant eviction
- Posts 100
- Votes 70
How'd it turn out? I'm dealing with a somewhat similar situation...
I've done it, but the property in question started out as my primary. It is definitely doable, just make sure to pay it off (or or re-fi with the house you bought) before rates go up (if it's like typical variable HELOC).
Post: How to prevent angry tenants destroying my property
- Posts 100
- Votes 70
Quote from @Jane S.:
When I decide not to renew an expiring lease, I have to give the tenants 91 days notice? Thats plenty of time for them to wreck my property causing me a huge loss and heart attack. It’s a 12-month lease. They have many serious violations some of which they rectified others which they are arguing with me about. They have been lying and are devious. I don't know how to prevent them from destroying the premises. They want to stay 2 more years. The lease violations keep accumulating. Although the rent is paid timely. Is there no solution but to lose sleep and get sick over this? I know they hate me but act real friendly and happy to see me.
Post: Need Cleveland (old Brooklyn) Electricians
- Posts 100
- Votes 70
Originally posted by @Alex Henry:
I just reached out to my painter, to see if they are available, How much painting are you looking to have done? Also I know a couple of Union guys that do tile work on the side. Let me know if you have any interest.
Post: Need Cleveland (old Brooklyn) Electricians
- Posts 100
- Votes 70
Originally posted by @Brian Garlington:
I may have someone.............is it commercial or residential?
6 unit apartment
Post: Need Cleveland (old Brooklyn) Electricians
- Posts 100
- Votes 70
Hi BiggerPockets
I am in the middle of a multifamily rehab and need a painter, electrician, and tiler . If anyone can refer me to some great contractors I would appreciate it! It's in the Old Brooklyn area. Thanks!
-Jason
Post: Opening Up America Again - What Does This Mean for Real Estate
- Posts 100
- Votes 70
The thing that scares me is the politicians who went all in on it being the end of the world seem to not be willing to admit it was all a mistake either. IMO it was an honest one, as I was OKAY with fairly strict measures when the data looked worse myself. I think with many aspects they overstepped their bounds even with the bad data we had a month ago, but it certainly called for more than the current numbers do. If they just came out and admitted it wasn't as bad as everybody thought people would forgive them... But they don't want to admit it, because they're spineless politicians, and are willing to further tank the economy and ruin peoples lives just to theoretically protect their polling numbers. Personally, I think this tact will bite them in the rear more than admitting things, as it's not a secret that can be kept under cover for long. You can't go from estimates of millions dying to estimates of LESS than a normal flu year without admitting it ended up being exponentially less deadly than initially thought!
I agree with much of what you're saying, but the death rate is already past an average seasonal flu 33,700 (avg over last 10 years from CDC data) and past the highest year for flu in the past 10 years ( 2017/18, 61,000 deaths) , and more in line with pandemic flu (although it probably will not hit Spanish Flu levels). It's looking like the death rate for this, even with all the measures in place, is going to be somewhere between .2% and 1% (heavily skewed towards older people) compared to seasonal flu's .1%,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_influenza_statistics_by_flu_season
Post: Contractor gone wild!!! Help!?
- Posts 100
- Votes 70
He is probably not trying to scam you, just trying to drum up some more business in these uncertain times. It's your job to do the math and see if what he's proposing makes sense. If you were buying that property, would YOU pay that much more? FWIW, I'm also in the CLE market, and I have found on multiple occasions that good tenants with good credit almost always will want A/C + dishwashers + extras.
That said, small bites: give him a smallish project and see how well he performs and at what cost, evaluate and go from there. And always get second and third opinions (and bids). No one-bid-jobs until you are absolutely 100% certain you trust them: a bad contractor can ruin you as quickly as a bad tenant...