All Forum Posts by: Jeff Twigg

No keys and no signed lease. Actually found three judgements through county sites. Thanks for the tip. 

Thank you all for the great advice. I've denied the application and am sending her deposit back as a cashier's check.

I listed a single-family income property for rent and quickly found an interested party. It was two retired women that decided to split their housing costs as their expenses are rising faster than their income. I use Cozy.co and have my tenant applicants apply via that website. When I sent the ladies the Cozy.co link to apply, I received a tenant credit check from a different website....ApplyConnect.com. I looked into the site and even found posts on BP deeming it credible. So, I gave them the benefit of the doubt and used this credit report. One of the applicants had a low credit score, so I asked for proof of income and explanation. I received legitimate bank statements demonstrating proof of a fixed income adequate for the rent amount. She gave me a sob story, which gave me some suspicion, but her co-lessee had stellar credit and satisfactory fixed income. I decided to accept these applicants, though I chose not to accept them on ApplyConnect.com.

Next, they gave me a security deposit of one month's rent, and I agreed to take the listing off the market. We were still finishing renovations, so they were the first to see the new kitchen, baths, etc and there were no interior pictures online. Then, we finished the reno and had the tenants walk-through and inspect. Thrilled with the finished, they were ready to sign the lease and get the keys. I require renter's insurance, so I told them to set that up and I'd send the lease over via docusign. 

I received a message late the night I sent the lease via docusign, stating that they did not agree to such a high annual rental amount. The next morning I saw the message and, though confused, demonstrated : monthly rent X 12 months = total sum of rents. The tenant also indicated that I misspelled her last on the lease. My suspicion returned and I combed through my files in detail. I had her name spelled incorrectly the entire time, which she hadn't corrected me on until now, but her credit report via ApplyConnect.com had her name spelled properly. I opened the report to view it again (as viewed below) and rest assured no evictions found. 

I've learned to trust my intuition as I get older and have more experiences to back it up. This time the earlier suspicions were boiling over. I decided to do my own background check on this tenant. I immediately found 2 local evictions that occured in the previous 10 years. This violates a non-negotiable policy we have of not renting to anyone with prior evictions. 

Now for my request for advice on the following questions:

What is the best way to handle this situation? My goal is to find a new tenant immediately, return the deposit to this applicant, and avoid making any legal mistakes in the process. 

Can I tell her she is no longer permitted to rent this home? If so, how?

How do I return her deposit to her? Cashier's check delivered by certified mail? 

How soon can I repost the listing for rent?

I work and invest in the Sarasota/Venice area.  I don't think the market has capped out yet, but great deals have become increasingly difficult to find.  I recently bought a rental property in Venice and the numbers are beautiful.  It took years of building relationships that put the deal in my lap, but I'm happy to share the specifics with you.  There are many neighborhoods in the Sar/Ven area that I won't touch for reasons you mention, but there are enough investable areas that I'd be more nervous sitting on the side lines.   Message me for more info.

Would I need to have the funds sourced for that? If so, and I don't want to, are there any other options?

How can I get cash out of a home I just purchased? I purchased with cash, in an LLC. Ideally, I'd like 50% of value out in cash. Part I'd use for rehabbing the house before renting, the other portion to buy another house. Any ideas appreciated

I'm thinking the bank is referring to, if they foreclose before a sale is completed that I release my right to the commission.  I don't know if the verbiage would be a deal breaker, which is why I haven't added it yet. If I don't have to, I wont.  At this point I'd do it if it helped the sale close.  I ended up with the listing in my attempt to purchase the property, which is a story in itself.

I have been "PENDING" on a SFH property for over one year. I've gone through four or five different file managers and I think we finally see the closing light at the end of the tunnel. Chase bank recently requested I add this into the listing agreement (LA) I have with the seller: "SELLER MAY CANCEL THIS AGREEMENT PRIOR TO THE ENDING DATE OF THE LISTING PERIOD WITHOUT ADVANCE NOTICE TO THE BROKER, AND WITHOUT PAYMENT OF A COMMISSION OR ANY OTHER CONSIDERATION IF THE PROPERTY IS CONVEYED TO THE MORTGAGE INSURER OR THE MORTGAGE HOLDER. THE SALE COMPLETION IS SUBJECT TO APPROVAL BY MORTGAGEE."

I'm not concerned but curious about their angle.  I appreciate any feedback.

The last few flips I've done this year were in Venice, Fl which is south Sarasota County.  Growth is insane there but competition is getting stiff.  I'm getting 12-15% return on flips that I hold less than 6 months.  Annualized return around 30%.  North Port, the portion in Sarasota County, and Manatee, the county to the North have opportunity as well.  The challenge is finding deals...story of my life.  There is a ton of money in southwest Florida.  From Naples to Tampa there is cash everywhere.  He who finds the deal wins.  

@brandon_henderson, I've been in Sarasota since 1991 and am happy to answer any questions you may have about the area. The flipping margins have shrunk over the past years as the hedge funds paid retail plus at auctions. There is still a lot of growth and money to be made. Best of luck.