All Forum Posts by: Lana Lee

Hi @Susan H., they ended up moving out. As a reminder it was a younger couple who clearly had fallen on hard times. The young lady did not have a high-income producing job but was helping to support their finances, and the gentleman was a contract-worker for a mid to high end furniture crafting business. Needless to say, their income wasn't always guaranteed and was always supplanted by some sob story about how they had to send money to parents, the dog was sick, etc.

A long story short, I think the gentleman had a bit more pride than the young lady and started to feel the pressure of missing payments. We had a conversation about the lease coming up and that they would need to be vacated by that time. There were a few things that I asked him to take care of but honestly, they left the place a mess. They had a dog and I'm fairly certain they stopped providing good care for him, and he would poop in the house. This attracted flies and mice and ruined hardwoods put in only a few years ago. Even after cleaning the place well, repainting, etc., I could never fully get the smell gone.

At this time I had become more in tune with BP and realized that I was supporting this property with very little cash flow and too many headaches. Even at optimum rent (~1500 per month) I had purchased the property for 190,000 on a FHA loan -- I was barely covering my PITI payments with full occupancy. I decided to cut my losses and sold the property for a small amount of proceeds, which I am using for the next purchase (under contract for a duplex with 1750 per month rent, but 103,000 sale price) - truly a better performing property.

And if anyone is interested in some advice on the ordeal, I have tons:

• Pre-screen your applicants as well as possible. Try to get as much detail as you can on their income and previous tenancy. I thought I screened them well but in hindsight, I should have settled for someone with more income, and no dog.
• Don't settle for any lease documentation -- think about the worst possible scenario and build a lease to protect yourself. My lease had a 3 day "grace period" before following the city of Philadelphia maintained "notice to quit" period. This means if they didn't pay on the 1st, I gave them to the 4th with a late fee. Then if they didn't pay by the 4th, I'd deliver a notice to quit or pay that lasted ten days because I didn't specify the period. By the MIDDLE OF THE MONTH, when they still haven't paid and only owed me an extra $50, I was filing for eviction! I was subsidizing their tenancy and it was MY FAULT. Consult with a lawyer, spend a few hundred dollars on something that says you pay or you're out, and any judge will see the agreement and think its reasonable. I made the lease my reference document for tenancy, which worked great, until it was used against me and it was MY FAULT.
• I love pets, but if you can help it, don't bring in tenants with pets. Their like little tenants who can't help themselves. They can cause as many problems as people.
• Low-to-mid-end finishes are key in rentals. I purchased hardwoods for my own benefit 2 years before moving out, and between 3+ years of tenants (two years with a dog), they were essentially ruined. Perhaps they could have been redone, but next time I will go with waterproof plank vinyl, cheap tile, or laminate.
• Money suddenly appeared when eviction was filed, as @David Michael referenced. Again, every decision I made had a little piece of fraying to the overall tenancy, giving them the upper hand. Never. Again.

Hope all of this information is helpful to you and others.

Mortgage: 1,100

Worth: Not Sure

Rent: Not Sure

How would i find this out?

I’m in Philadelphia and have seen anywhere from $0 renewal fee to a flat $200 per renewal to the entire first month’s rent again!

I expected to pay the first month rent to get a new tenant but when it’s just admin work of sending the existing tenant basically the same lease and getting them to sign it, I can’t justify anything more than a nominal amount, especially when I’m paying them 8-10% each month to manage the property.

@Maureen Campbell

You can find the process of how to here:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/742/topics/508114-documents-you-have-to-provide-to-your-tenants-in-philadelphia

Hi -

Am I able to enter the defaulted rent amount on a tenant's credit even though we entered into an agreement in court?

I filed an eviction in the Philadelphia court system against my tenants.  The eviction was resolved by judgement by agreement where the tenant's agreed to move by the end of the month.  Am I able to still file the defaulted amount on their credit? 

Thanks in advance.

@Lana Lee - I will reiterate what everyone else has been explaining above...

There is no advantage whatsoever by going with the Listing Agent to purchase the property. First of all the commission has already been negotiated out by the Seller and the Listing Agent. Secondly, it would make more sense to work with an agent whom was representing you and only you in the transaction - no conflict of interest. Finally, any good agent would be able to find out from communicating with the listing agent on how to structure an offer to get a deal done. 

I have been a dual agent on only a few deals in my career - and they were for situations where the home was sold in AS-IS condition with little to no contingencies. If you have any further questions or are looking for someone to represent you in a purchase, please don't hesitate to reach out. 

Best of luck!

Thank you.

Sorry this happened. This is basically what Morris does. He sells overpriced, crappy homes with shoddy (if rehabbed at all) work.

I’d say you can remedy the situation with an inspection and your own contractor but if the neighborhood is awful you may just want to sell

I've been trying to buy a multi family in philly for over 6 months now. Its hard. On one property I even had the highest offer but still didnt get it.

Lana, this property sold for $180K back in Jan 2018. The seller is trying to make a quick $20-25K. ARV comps in this area are selling at $220 - $260 square ft.

It probably has an arv close to 300. More depending on size. So they listed it at Arv- close of repairs.