All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Fouabi

@Brandon Sturgill thank you for that insight. Unfortunately the tenant has not been able to produce the previous lease and the city claimed they could not find it either, so technically there is no lease. One half of the couple is also not listed as a tenant/household income with Section 8, while being a consistent resident there.

This is helpful advice, thank you!

Sorry for the misunderstanding: those are not cosmetic issue to me at all, I named them because those are the main "real" issues in the kitchen. The NJHA would fail the unit for the missing range alone. I did not list the cosmetic requests the tenant made. Please read these posts from the standpoint that I am a responsible new landlord who got blindsided by a lying seller and under-communicating tenants who are looking to avoid a rent increase, not that I'm on my way to giving landlords a bad name.

I was advised to ask the tenants to leave upon purchasing the home, but I was a softy and did not want to displace people. Now I'm seeing how that might have been the better choice. Any insight into how I can turn this situation around and get market value?

I think you are rushing to conclusions. 
During inspection the seller LIED and said the tenants were unavailable to show the unit but it was "identical to the 3rd floor", so I did not see the condition until later on. Truthfully, the condition of that unit would not have dissuaded me from purchasing. The poor condition of the home is something that happened due to lack of maintenance by the previous owner and no purview from Section 8 because the tenant turned them away repeatedly. Upon purchase, I asked the tenants for a wishlist of items that needed attention and they told me "oh no, everything's fine, we don't like to complain." The only reason these details are coming up now is because they saw that I made renovations to a different unit. The tenants are exhibiting a pattern of under-communicating; this is not negligence on my part. 
These issues would have been fixed already -- whether by me, or the previous owner -- if the condition of the unit was not being misrepresented and the process was not being tampered with. I am willing to fix things that are broken, but NOT to make cosmetic updates on a unit that is going for below market value.

Hello, I own a 3/3/2 in Newark NJ that I recently renovated to 4/3/2. I inherited my second floor tenant from the previous owner who had a personal relationship with them. They are currently paying $1200/mo., of which Section 8 covers $829. A quick bit of research shows that 3-bedrooms in the area go for around $1700 at most, $1400 at least.

I filled the apartment upstairs at market rate, but the inherited tenants recently requested updates to the kitchen for spring. Cabinets are falling off the wall, tiles are cracked, the ceiling is old, there is no range hood over the stove, etc. They spoke very freely and let me know that they used to turn away the Section 8 inspector to "protect" their friend, the previous owner. Now the cost to repair is mine, on top of not getting market rent. 

I would like to get them out when the moratorium is up. If I can get the Section 8 inspector into the apartment and the space is deemed unfit, what are my options from there? Will the city fine me? Will Section 8 relocate the tenants? Help!

Thank you.

@Anthony Marin thank you 

Hello, I own a 3/3/2 in Newark NJ that I recently renovated to 4/3/2. I inherited my second floor tenant from the previous owner who had a personal relationship with them. They are currently paying $1200/mo., of which Section 8 covers $829. A quick bit of research shows that 3-bedrooms in the area go for around $1700 at most, $1400 at least. Outside of that, I filled the apartment upstairs at market rate and I'm concerned that chatter between the tenants could create tension in regards to price. Realistically what can I do in this situation? I'm inclined to think it's unlikely for the city to adjust the rent so dramatically, although their promise with Section 8 is to provide market rate to landlords.

Any insight?