All Forum Posts by: John Levonius

Hello All!

I have been a silent member of this forum for a few years now. I own a rental condo in San Francisco, and would appreciate the collective wisdom of this forum on my situation below.

My current tenant's lease started last year. Tenant has been paying rent on time. Tenant has been unemployed for part or most of 2020 & 2021. The tenant is an experienced tech worker in a highly paid position, and I suspect his unemployment is by choice. He has enough reserves to pay the rent. He has also agreed with an increase in rent for the upcoming lease extension.

Tenant notified me a few months ago that he has applied to the CA rent relief program. He reasoned that he has been paying state taxes for years and would like to use this benefit since he has been unemployed. He assured me that he has reserves and will continue to pay the rent regardless.

The CA rent relief office reached out to me recently. Pasting their email below.

My question is what are the pros/cons of creating a profile with ERAP and getting rent directly through it, against not participating in it and getting the rent through the tenant?

I personally prefer that I get the rent paid fully through the tenant and I don't need to deal with the paperwork. I believe my tenant also prefers that. If my tenant was not paying rent, it would definitely be prudent to get paid directly by the government. I am trying to balance the convenience vs practicality of this situation. I also am not sure how a rent increase would be handled by the program.

I realize this is a good problem to have considering what some of the other landlords are going through. Any thoughts/comments would be appreciated.

Thanks a lot!

John

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Your current Tenant, XXXXX, for the property located at XXXXX, has applied to participate in the California Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP). This is a program designed to pay 100% of rental or utilities arrears that have accrued since April 1, 2020 during or due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This program provides an alternative to eviction for non-payment of rent due to a documented COVID-19 impact.

To be eligible to benefit from this program, you must complete a Landlord Application in the : California Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) portal.

If you already have an account in the portal, please respond to this email with your Landlord Case ID number (6 digits). You DO NOT need to create another application.

Please know that you have 5 days to respond to this email, either by creating and submitting a Landlord Application or replying to this email with your Landlord Case ID. Refusal to participate in the program will result in payment being issued to your tenant. Tenants have 15 days to pay their landlord (excluding weekends and holidays) once they receive the funds.
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Hello Jo-Ann,

Thanks for the response. Here is a quick snapshot of my financials:

W2 Income ~150k

Cash savings ~250k

Retirement accounts ~300k

Credit score ~800. Credit history is spotless with 3 credit cards and no other lines of credit.

No debt other than credit cards which are paid in full each month.

Looking for a property under 800k, so a non-jumbo loan. I easily qualify for it. I can do upto 30% down, although 20% is ideal. I can do 15 year fixed, although 30 year loan is ideal. With some discomfort (lowering the retirement income deductions) I can pay off an ARM loan in 10 years, so I am not much concerned of ARM payment ballooning to 8.75% and me getting foreclosed :) I am currently preapproved for the loan products I mentioned above by a big national bank.

Let me know if you need any other info.

Cheers,

John

Hello Forum!

I am a long time lurker, first time poster! A quick intro first. I live in California and have been renting for a while. My main interest is to buy a handful of properties, live in one and rent a couple out for a secondary source of income. Not a pro like many of you! But want to diversify away from a pure stock/bond portfolio.

Current scenario:

I am finally in the market to by my first property. I am exploring mortgage options -- ARM vs fixed rate. For instance, 7/1 ARM is being offered at 3.75% for the initial 7 year period, with LIBOR based variable rate afterwards. There is a cap of +/- 5% on the interest rate. Comparing that to 30 year fixed at 4.25%. Motivation for ARM is the lower interest rate & hence more payments towards the principle.

Plan is to buy this first property, live in it for a 2-3 years, then buy a second one for investment (and more later). If I use ARM for my first mortgage, at the time I buy the second property, how will my Debt To Income ratio be computed? Will my debt be based on current payments or the payments with max possible ARM interest rate of 8.75% (3.75+5) ?

Property in California is expensive, so this is important. I may be able to qualify for second mortgage based on my income if first mortgage is fixed; but may not if first mortgage is ARM at 8.75%. I will not have rent payments to show as income at that time; rental will start after I buy the second property.

Would appreciate any comments/pointers. Thanks a bunch.

Cheers,

John