All Forum Posts by: Lynn McGeein

@Zac Gorski hopefully the renewal clearly states that all other terms and conditions remain. Tenant could possibly argue since owner renewed through a specific date, no more early termination. It may depend on what a court thinks, if tenant takes it that far and how tenant friendly court is. In my area, decently priced rentals are still hard to find so hard to get rid of existing tenants, especially ones that can’t afford higher rents. I had a seller actually pay tenant’s security deposit to new landlord up front and then paid for movers to get the tenant out before closing. In the future, if you need a unit vacant, make sure it is vacant by closing.

@Alec Jacobs it’s been a few years but when we did it, we got a ridiculous range of pricing so definitely get more estimates. We ended up with Lowes because it was a mid-grade Pella product priced reasonably, installed in a short amount of time, but ultimately Lowes was our choice because they are likely not going out of business so the warranty works well for us. We’ve had to replace two window sashes (tenant damage) over several years, and it was so easy to order and replace just by having Lowes order it by the actual number, was only like $125 each time. They were surprisingly much lower than Home Depot’s estimate and several different private contractors. If you have a great contractor you do a lot of business with, that’s different. We didn’t at the time.

@Zachary Kersh if you can live anywhere, look for strong growth areas and then research opportunities, salary ranges and cost of living to see where you would net the most from your job. Raleigh or Charlotte, NC, may be great nearby options to check out while you’re finishing school.

@Zac Gorski review your closing documents carefully 1) if owner occupied mortgage, it usually requires you occupy x days from closing date (ours was 60) so maybe ask insurance and mortgage for extension if needed. 2) does your state have some rule where you can end a lease early to move in? If not, you likely must honor current lease terms unless tenant agreeable - read lease as it may have early termination agreement. 3) your contract and/or settlement statement should show security deposit transfer agreement. If you didn’t ask for it in the offer and not transferred at settlement, seller may not have to provide it, but you’d still be responsible for it when lease ends. Your agent should have reviewed all this with you during inspection or due diligence period. I’d just plan to occupy the vacant unit if you need to honor the current leases so you can meet owner occupant requirement for mortgage and insurance, unless the tenant agrees to go early.

@Richard Hanner what do your condo docs say? I would think if association is responsible for maintaining roof and it caused the damage, then they’d be responsible unless docs state otherwise. When sewer backed up into our condo, association was responsible for maintaining it and so they paid for cleanup and repair/replace of damage it caused to our unit. They then issued a special assessment where each owner got charged a percentage of the total bill that included the expensive sewer line replacement, but our portion was less than we would have paid to fix our own unit, so we were fine with that.

@Marc Shin it doesn’t make much sense to lie about it. If property is priced right in a desirable location, there’s likely competition. If you think they are lying, maybe have your agent add an escalation clause.

@Melissa Faraias research Fair Housing laws because if you already allowed husband on lease but are denying his child or charging extra for his child, that may be a violation. You can deny if family doesn’t meet occupancy, like too few bedrooms per city or local requirements. I wouldn’t state any final decision on family until I talked to someone knowledgeable about Fair Housing and your local occupancy codes.

@David O'Brian make sure you understand all the costs involved in maintaining a license or possibly find a broker who pays them all for you if that's even available. I pay an annual broker fee, small transaction fee (for E&O insurance etc), MLS fees for access and key lock systems, Realtor fees (which are higher than you think with both national and local), my own sign riders and sone marketing. Most of those need to be paid whether or not you're selling and earning, so research first. In this market, I'd make sure I had connections lined up, like joining an established team.

@Nathan Gesner they actually do just shatter if there is an imperfection in the glass. My husband was just looking at his roast (light was on, didn’t touch the oven) and it shattered right in front of him, with me in the kitchen behind him. Very scary. Lucky it didn’t harm him. Covered by warranty as it was installed about 8 months before. The guy who came out said it happens more frequently now, thinks there’s less quality control in the glass.

@Geremy Rosenberg don’t buy someone else’s problems unless it’s worth the frustration. If they won’t grant an extension for a week after tenant grants access again so you can complete your inspection, negotiate a price you are actually comfortable paying. Remind them they’ll need to fix or disclose the major issues found, anyway. For a home that old that seems to have major issues and old systems, I’d personally want it close to land value unless I could see it’s been solidly maintained throughout the years, unlikely if it’s been a rental a long time.