All Forum Posts by: Lloyd Spencer

Upstairs tenant in my 2 family brought to my attention a problem with water coming into the property above their front door.  A $400 report says the problem is that the roofing wasn't finished properly plus the windows all need removal and reinstallation, a $20k job.  

I am trying to schedule the work, tenant is away in August, so I propose to do it then.  No, they want it done while they are there because they don't trust contractors.  Fair enough.  So I scramble to find someone in July who can start this week.

Now tenant is demanding to not pay rent during the time of the construction.  I agree it will be a major hassle, but what are the options?  I've already offered to do it when they aren't there.  Only other option is to do it a year from now when the tenant's lease expires.

I even offered the tenant to break the lease but they think I am being unreasonable.  Am I?  Is it reasonable for a tenant to demand to pay no rent during repairs?  (We have a standard NJ lease with a rider based on the The Book on Managing Rental Properties.)

Need to know where the market is on this situation...

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

I'm tired of working with someone who pretends to know the law in this area.  Who is the best eviction attorney in Hudson County?  Happy to may more for someone who knows what they are doing.

were you able to find a property management group?  What have they been like?

There is an area of Scranton bounded by the University, the Medical Center and the Park. I've looked at doing BRRRRs there but don't have a team on the ground.

i was referred to Roberta Tarkan in JC. does anyone have experience working with her or have other recommendations?

Thanks for the suggestion,  that was what I was thinking.

To answer you other question, I hadn't needed a mgmt co for my nyc properties. I will probably end up hiring someone after I get a little more scale. This is first investment in NJ.

I've looked at several loopnet properties in my markets. I find them generally overpriced. often the financial forecasts are pure fiction, for example rent increases in a rent control building. also they leave listings up long after the property is in contract or even sold. so I only look at recent listings. so far everything has had some kind of dealbreaker issue once i start asking the hard questions. for me loopnet is like going to the beach with a metal detector...

tenant 2 complained that tenant 1 was smoking so much dope that her kids are getting high in the upstairs unit. smoking and illegal activities are lease violations so i sent a notice to cease on Sept 1 via certified mail and tenant 1 contacted me about it at the time. fast forward to today, another complaint from upstairs. they say they are considering calling the police, I say go ahead. preliminary conversations with attorneys indicate that eviction for things other than non payment are expensive/difficult in NJ. approx 9 months to go on both leases. what are my responsibilities in this scenario? I can't easily get evidence of the activity. should I just wait it out? so far both pay on time.

Looking for a broker to help me find BRRRs in West New York and Union City.  *Must* be an investor themselves.  Have learned several lessons the hard way on my first investment in the area with an inexperienced broker.  Thanks!

Each town has different rules, West New York vs Union City, etc.  Each has different rules on rent escalation, number of units, ways to deregulate.  I've looked at some properties where the seller is airbnbing vacant units instead of renting them at the legal rent, interesting business model...