All Forum Posts by: Lori N.

Hi all. Asking for a friend (no, really)

Friend is a landlord of SFH.

AC in unit went out on Thursday. Landlord called HVAC company to check it out the next day. AC repaired. Landlord contacted tenant to see if everything was satisfactory. Tenant said AC was working fine.

Hours later tenant notified landlord that AC again was not working. Landlord said they would contact AC company again to have them go back out to check on it. However, as it was now Friday night this would likely not happen until Monday.

Over the weekend tenant continued to send landlord pictures of thermostat and notices of how hot it is in the unit. Landlord again explained that nothing can be done until Monday at the earliest as it is the weekend. Landlord offered tenant $200 off rent so tenant could cover cost of other accommodations until Monday. Tenant agreed and expressed appreciation and then later contacted landlord again saying this was not acceptable as they have family and were concerned about COVID.

Tenant continues to send landlord notices/texts as late 10:30 pm when there is nothing else the landlord can do about the situation at this point.

Suggestions on next steps?

Thanks Russell for your input!  What is your rationale for picking these areas over NOVA?  Do these areas appreciate more?  I always heard that renting in MD is harder than in VA.  Is that true?

Hi all, I'm looking to buy my first investment rental in the Northern Virginia area. Budget is 400K. Looking for appreciation and modest cash flow at least. (The more the better obviously.) I had high hopes about the area near where the new Amazon HQ is going to be, but don't think this budget will allow me to get anything besides a condo which I am very wary of because of their high HOA fees. Seems like townhomes are the better bet. I hadn't thought much about outside Fairfax county but places like Reston, Herndon, and Manassas seem like they fall more in that budget. Anyone with any experience in these areas? Is the appreciation good there?

Thanks in advance for your input.
 

Hi, I'm a first time investor looking to buy and hold rental properties in the NOVA area. I see a lot of condos for rent but the HOA fees are rather frightening and I'm worried about all the condo horror stories one hears.

I'd much rather a SFH or townhouse. I'm looking for something under 400K that I might have to do some cosmetic work on that would be a pretty easy to rent. I really like the Arlington area (near the new Amazon HQ), the Falls Church or Fairfax/Merrifield area.

Anyone have any suggestions or agents they have used that are helpful and patient with newbies?

Thanks.

Originally posted by @Matt Clark:

@Lori N. I see that your profile says you are iN Virginia, is that where the property is? If your lease specifies email as an acceptable form of notice you’ll be fine. Otherwise notice must be posted on the main door of the premises, hand delivered to a person over the age of 16 at the premises, or sent by certified mail.

 Actually, I'm in NOVA but the property is in MD.

@Timmi Ryerson Thanks so much for this reply. You addressed all of my questions. I do have a property manager (he has been performing poorly. I could do a whole separate thread on him). He was supposed to have gone through the lease with the tenant. He says he did but based on other issues that have occurred with him I don’t really know how thorough he was. I have been finding out that there are a lot of things the PM said he did that he basically lied about. The whole thing is a perfect storm, really: bad tenant, bad PM. Nevertheless, the tenant did sign the lease which specifically says that he is not allowed to install anything onto the house, and even more specifically no dishes. I did get a copy of the form he would have had to sign from the dish company which says the person signing is the homeowner authorizing installation but have not been able to get a copy of the actual form with HIS signature on it. Not sure I can get that without a subpoena since the account is in his name. Anyway, I found out today that the tenant removed the dish on his own and says he “made necessary repairs” even though I told him in writing that he could NOT use his own contractor because I wanted to use someone I know to look at and fix the roof. It’s a mess. I’m also worried about the warranty I had on the brand new roof being voided because the tenant went on the roof and “fixed” it.

Thanks everyone!  Yes, he has definitely caused problems.  In fact in the lease it explicity says no dish can be installed.  I just found out today that he already took it down himself, although I still need to have someone come and inspect to see what the damage is to the roof.  I also called the dish company and they said that they would not install the dish unless they had a signed form that says that the owner of the house approves the installation.  Well, I know I didn't sign it so that means that the tenant lied when he signed the form and misrepresented himself as the owner of the house.  Seems like that should be illegal, right?

Thanks Marc, the lease actually says:

"Tenant, without the prior written permission of the Landlord/Agent, will not remodel or make any structural changes, alterations, or additions to the Premises; will not wallpaper, paint or decorate; will not install, attach, remove or exchange appliances or equipment, such as air conditioning, heating, refrigerator or cooking units, will not drive nails or other devies into the walls or woodwork...

The installation of television/radio dishes, antennae or cables, while not restricted by Landlord/Agent, as required by the FCC Telecommunications Act, as amended, shall not be installed, by Tenant, in any manner as to cause damage to the property. Tenant shall be responsible for repair of any resulting damage, including water penetration. Tenant shall further be responsible for complying fully with any condominium or HOA requirements for dish or cable installation. Dishes in excess of one meter in diameter are prohibited."

I called the dish company and they said they don't remove the dishes because the person who got the dish is now the owner of it and it is their responsibility to remove it.  Of course, I don't want him to remove it because I don't want him to have just anyone go up there and remove it any kind of way and cause further damage.  So I am planning on having a contractor do it.

I did ask the dish company if they can install equipment without the homeowners approval.  They said no, they need the homeowner's approval in writing, so I am assuming that the tenant misrepresented himself as the homeowner and signed whatever form they required.  This seems illegal to me, right?

Terrell and Wesley, yes I would love to have month-to-month but in this area it's hard to find tenants.  This tenant has a 2 year lease.  And is only 6 months into this one.  Probably definitely won't do THAT long again.  

Richard thanks for the quick response!  That was a good point about the Dish company installing something without getting approval from the owner.  I hadn't even thought about that.  What I think might have happened is the tenant lied and said he was the homeowner and the Dish company went on and installed it.  I can't say I blame them for that - I guess it would be unreasonable to ask to see the deed to the house.  So now I'm wondering if there is some legal action I can take against the tenant if he falsely signed documentation misrepresenting himself as the homeowner?