All Forum Posts by: Jeff Willis

Any existing leases are inherited by you, including all T&C's. The only time you can change a lease is when the previous one expires 

Landlords are required by law to provide proper living conditions for their tenants, free from health or safety hazards, often referred to as an "implied warranty of habitability." The standard for habitability is generally defined as the minimum required by your local jurisdiction's building code, which addresses the health and safety concerns of tenants. While certain minor problems such as drippy faucets are not considered crucial to habitability, toxic mold certainly is.

It will depend on what caused the mold. If it was from tenant actions, then you owe them nothing. If it was from something you are responsible for (plumbing. a leaky roof, exterior issues, etc.) then you would be responsible for remediation and tenant lodging.

It is not up to you to determine if the residence is habitable. Before you allow the tenant back into the residence, I would have it environmentally cleared. This protects you.

I hope you just didn't hire a regular contractor, I hope it was a company that specializes in mold remediation. If not, you are opening yourself up to a lawsuit.

Lawsuits for against landlords for mold are very common. look at https://realestate.findlaw.com/construction-defects/can-i-sue-my-landlord-for-black-mold.html

What you can do is escrow the funds to replace the roof and/or get a surety bond to guarantee a replacement and make the roof replacement part of the closing agreement. That will satisfy some lenders. If the deal does not close, you get your escrowed funds back and if it does close, the funds go towards replacing the roof. This is not uncommon. I did it recently on a home that required major mechanical renovations. If the lender does not accept it, you will need a bridge loan.

Maybe I am slow to the game, but anyone can generate a fake pay stub to show their earnings. I see this as a problem if you do not know about these sites and know what to look for. It is easy to create a complete phone history of employment and earnings.

The site is Online Paystub https://online-paystub.com/

Below is a paystub I created online- 100% fraudulent. Note: is says "preview" because I did pay the $5.95 for it.

It is a big deal but it is like pissing in the wind - nothing anyone can do about this.

AB 1482 (what you are talking about) coupled with the 2020 ballot measure to roll back prop 13 for commercial properties is a no-win for property investors and landlords in California.  I am in the process of liquidating all my California holdings.

https://ballotpedia.org/California_Tax_on_Commercial_and_Industrial_Properties_for_Education_and_Local_Government_Funding_Initiative_(2020)

Heck LA County just approved a rent control ordinance. https://abc7.com/politics/los-angeles-county-rent-control-ordinance-approved/5529287/

In reality, your property taxes and could annually go up over the 5% rent cap and expenses will go far beyond that. Your ROI will be negative - not a good business model.

But the good people of California elected these fools, now everyone will pay the price. 

Not giving legal advice: 

The Cash for Keys, once signed by the tenant is binding. You made an offer and they accepted as evidenced by their signature. Your signature has nothing to do with it.

The eviction you are talking about is a "retaliatory eviction." I wouldn't bet the farm on winning this one in court. In most cases, you will be subject to large punitive damages if this ever went to court.

But you can enforce the Cash for Keys agreement and have the tenant leave per those terms.

I know this is not what you wanted to hear.

MY 2 cents. A single meter will piss off 100% of your tenants, they will always claim they are overbilled

For every MFH I owned, I added a subpanel for each part with its own sub-meter. These are not electric company meters. The electric company reads the main meter and I apportioned by the sub-meter readings.  This is also a great approach since common area electricity, etc, is still off the main panel 

See  https://www.powermeterstore.com/category/tenant-submetering

It depends on what you want to do and how you think the degree will help you. A degree in real estate administration is excellent, as is any business degree. They have more value than the fuzzy social sciences or "studies" degrees, which are really useless. It sounds like you want to make real estate a career, and if so, find a good mentor.

My answer is based on 30+ years of experience. FYI, I have a Bachelors in engineering (USCB -1971) and a Masters in Management (USC) and it took 10+ years to get the experience that complemented my degrees.

As a full-time job, I am the CEO of a multi-state technology company. When it comes to degrees, I tell my HR department, "you can't teach experience." I will hire experience over a degree every time; a "workings man Ph.D. is more valuable than any university degree.

A newly minted degree is just a piece of paper that indicates someone may have been provided basic knowledge and a toolset in a particular discipline and were able to complete a task. It is no way indicative of ability or skills. It is a foundation to grow from.

My wife teaches business law at Cal State Northridge, and she explains how they have to instruct at the lowest common denominator which hurts the students with abilities. College is not like when I attended, and she attended. They just provide the bare minimum to allow the student to graduate.

You nee to present a better deal ($$$) to him than if he just sold the units. See if he will OWC at reasonable rate (5%-6%)and show him he will have tax benefits and a guaranteed return/income by way of the monthly payment.

I wouldn't get any more creative since you are new and don't have a track record of success in this market.

Old Republic are crooks. Read your policy and exclusions carefully.

Most home warranties explain that if a repair is considered too expensive, the provider might offer to replace the broken item instead. But in a situation like this, the home warranty company may give you only the depreciated value, requiring you to pay the difference out of pocket to get the same model you had before.

I can guarantee, they will NOT replace your broken unit with a new one!