All Forum Posts by: Jeff Willis

Been there, done that (in California). Had a tenant get arrested and just before he got arrested his girlfriend moved into the house. He ended up going to jail and I told her to leave and I got a big FU. I hired an attorney who specialized in eviction and she was served the papers. In California, there are Tennant advocacy attornies who will work pro per on behalf of the Tennant and are pros at stalling and costing the owner lots of attorney fees. 

Even after the eviction order from the court, she remained while the case was on appeal. I figured it was going to cost 20K+ to go to appeal and 6-9 months of lost rent. I offered her 10K cash and she was out the next day (naturally she dropped her case with prejudice and signed that she was voluntary leaving and had no further interest in the home)

I tell this story, because to hell with principle, see if they will more for cash (cash for keys). Start with 5K in cash. probably more money than they have ever seen.

1st. You learned the hard way is using the seller's agent. It is a conflict of interest and there is no way your bests interests were represented. Major conflict of interest.

Your purchase contract should spell out that security deposits transfer and prorated rent from the date of close. After the close, it is your money, not the sellers, period. I don't care if it is one day, it is your money!

My 2 cents. Do not deplete the security deposit.  Tender to their insurance company. In California, they are required to have minimum insurance coverage of $5,000 for property damage.

Do not get involved!!!! There two sides to every story and regardless, if you take sides or try to meditate, you will lose. Have them call the police. If a crime has been committed that would be contrary to the T&C's of the lease, then you can take appropriate action, if necessary. 

@Clark Kirkpatrick and @Russell Brazil both said it - I can guarantee you that in what you signed, the inspector is not responsible for anything and you are not relying on anything he says or reports. 

Unfortunately, you are on your own on this one, your recourse will cost more than the water heater.

I went through this and learned the hard way. I now have licensed contractors do the inspections. The two most useless things in real estate are Home Inspectors and Home Warranties

Good tenant - normal wear and tear, especially if they are a few years old. FYI - if they have any sun exposure or are old, the cords will eventually become very weak and break. Nort expensive to fix.

@Michael Stockwell. Each state has its own requirements on lead paint in rentals and duty to disclose. 

As an FYI: Just as @Luke Carl does not want to put things in writing (he is a smart person), by asking the question and with the facts you gave, you believe possibly that there is lead paint and you put it in writing. All I am suggesting that going forward, be cautious what you say in writing because as of now you can not ever claim you did not know because you just  disclosed there may be lead paint.

You have a duty of Due Diligence to ensure what the seller represents is true. In a real estate transaction, all representations must be in writing and verbal representations carry no weight. As @Jason D. said, just verify the sellers' representations. 

Notwithstanding this, assume for a minute, you have to evict. What are your damages? What would you get from the seller? On what legal basis? What they said. They will deny ever saying it. It becomes a "He Said, She Said" and you will lose.

If you evicted them, it is not paying rent to YOU. 

If you just took their word for it and did not do your due diligence, you are on your own.  

Absent any law to the contrary, you can restrict guns just like pets. You are not violating any of their rights. I do have to ask why would you do such a thing? Keep the tenants safe from who, a law-abiding person who is exercising their constitutional right? Your question assumes that a person that legally possesses a gun presents a threat, quite to the contrary. If one on my tenants was triggered because they found out a neighbor had a gun, I would ask the "triggered" tenant lo leave.

my 2 cents

You should have a separate email account for each function and never use your private email. As to using Proton Mail, it is up to you. Unless you feel you need the security, why/ I do use use Proton Mail for all my personal  email to keep prying eyes away