All Forum Posts by: Michelle B.

Dawn Brandt Have you been inside the unit? Have the pets actually caused damages? Based on what I am reading it sounds like this is an assumption on your part. Sounds as though you are assuming the carpet has been ruined and will need to be replaced. I don't have carpet anywhere, in any of my properties (including my own residence). It's a greater expense upfront but much cheaper in the long run. Tenants do not take care of carpet and it doesn't take much wear and tear to result in needing to replace it (with or without pets). They also (as you are finding out) lie and bring unapproved pets into their rentals. It's been a long time since I have owned a home with carpet...Is carpet (in a rental) expected to last 3+ years? I would be surprised to get greater than 1 tenant term out of it. It also sounds like you knew up front that these individuals required 24 hour care but are now thinking that structure is too much traffic for your unit. Are these people on M2M leases? If so, you might want to consider giving notice and finding someone that better suits your expectations. Good luck, Michelle

Heather Bettis Are you referring to purchasing them at auction? Or purchasing direct from the homeowner? I assume everyone has a different experience with the auction process - depending on the local market conditions and competition. We used to go to the sales pretty frequently (tax and foreclosure). In our experience, most were scooped back up by the bank (foreclosures) or other investors (likely FT, more skilled, able to get renos done for cheaper, willing to accept less profit) who bid them so high that (for us) it no longer made sense... However, we have had nothing but success doing direct marketing to tax delinquent homeowners. We rarely go to the auctions anymore.... Good luck! Michelle

Wen Guo Not sure what you mean by should you trust him...I certainly would advise against not taking any action and hoping he pays the other half when he says he will. I would advise him that his rent is due now, if your lease outlines a late fee policy then charge it and provide him with appropriate notice to pay or vacate. Marcia Maynard I love hearing how others handle tenants and the differing perspectives. Thank you for sharing such a detailed outline of how you would handle. I try very hard not to get involved in my tenants non-sense. I would never advise them to borrow from friends or family, or provide any advice on how to come up with the rent money. Nor would I attempt to confirm their story with the bank. To me, whether it's true or not is irrelevant...they owe the rent money and if they don't pay then they are served proper notice. They either come up with it or they don't. Again, thanks for sharing - it's always good to hear different approaches. Good luck with your tenant, Wen! Michelle

Outside of continuing to complain to the management company and calling the police (when it truly violates the local law), there isn't much more to do. If it has became that unpleasant of a place to live, she might consider asking to be released from her lease and find somewhere that better meets her needs. Good luck! Michelle

Chinmay J. Doug W. has it right. You are making a much bigger deal out of the situation than is needed. I didn't look at the link you provided but I also find it surprising that a homeowner would be required to pull permits for type of work you are talking about. In my local surrounding counties, a homeowner doesn't even need to pull permits for electrical or plumbing work. On my last flip project the home was listed as a 3 bed, 1.5 bath house. There were already 4 bedrooms in the house when I bought it and we converted the half bath to a full bath. We didn't pull any permits for the bathroom, made one phone call to the county and they updated both with no questions asked. If you are that concerned about it - call the county and ask what it will take to correct it. Good luck! Michelle

Alex Kamunya How are you obtaining the email addresses Are you collecting them via a lead generation website? If you have the email address I would absolutely leverage it! It's quicker, easier to track (in terms of whether or not it was opened), can provide a simpler call to action and is a heck of a lot cheaper. Maybe start with email (seeing it quick and cheap) and then move to mail and continue alternating throughout your life cycle of marketing Good luck! Michelle

Michael Rutkowski I understand what being in the red means....I also understand that vacancy rates need to be included in the calculations. That needs to happen whether you accept S8 or not. My point was that unless you are in an extremely high price point, the fact that you are accepting S8 (or not) shouldn't change the outcome. The property either works or it doesn't. You insinuated that your vacancy rate calcs for S8 include an assumption that the tenant wasn't going to pay their portion of the rent. No property will work if you assume the rent won't be paid. That's the purpose of screening (S8 or not). In terms of the other comment made about not wanting to put S8 tenants next to neighbors in class A properties....that is nothing but nonsense. Your property (location, how well it's kept, price, etc) dictates the type of tenant it attracts. Not all S8 tenants are bad and not all non S8 tenants are great. Michelle

Michael Rutkowski I disagree with most of your comments. Maybe the requirements are different in each state/locality - however - the inspection requirements are extremely minimal in my county. In addition, not sure what you are talking about in terms of showing in the red from a calculator perspective. In my experience, it has never been difficult to collect the tenant's portion of the rent. The one S8 tenant I have in place now pays her portion well before the first (she is always the first payment I receive each month). In order to continue participating in the program, they have to pay their portion. If they don't, they get booted. Their case manager has all their debt/income information and determines upfront whether or not they can afford their portion of the rent. I have not seen much performance difference between S8 and non S8 tenants. Assuming that you screen them all very well, of course. Michelle

Rob Willis The first is absolutely the case....but I have never experienced the second with any of my flips. I don't usually run into an issue with the first scenario anyway because I don't typically complete within 90 days. Interested to hear what others have to say, especially on the second point. Michelle

Talha Makki Contact your county tax assessor's office. In my target county I can email their analyst directly with my data requirements and he typically has the list back to me by EOD. Good luck! Michelle