All Forum Posts by: Wesley W.

This is reason #42 I only offer MTM leases.  And if I did ever offer a term lease, I would not offer it to an inherited tenant until my property was stabilized/repositioned and I had a long track record of cooperation and compliance from them.  At the risk of painting with a broad brush, inherited tenants almost never work out after the building changes hands.  Every single one of my inherited tenants either left or was asked to leave after a relatively short period of time.  The longest stayed for three years (as I updated the other units), and I would be more proactive next time as that relationship was strained snd management intensive the entire time.

I've already been down this road, so I added the following clause to my lease:

(n) Cameras may not be placed by you (or at your direction) in common areas or anywhere on the outside of your rental unit.

This does not prevent a tenant from placing a camera from the interior of their unit outwards through a window pane.  I believe the aforementioned clause will limit many "privacy" objections, as anyone or activities viewed via a camera inside could likewise be viewed by an occupant inside the interior of their unit.  Prohibiting exterior cameras also curtails abuse when a tenant's cameras could be faced towards another tenant's window or private entry door.

Good advice above about not getting involved, but perhaps revisit your lease wording moving forward so you can just say "that's against the lease" to end the discussion and not get drawn in in the future.

FWIW, I would have left the inheritied tenants month-to-month contracts for a while until got the lay of the land, had some history with them and got to know them better.  Usually, inherited tenants will test a new owner's management acumen with things like this to see how they will react, even though the "status quo" was already established by the previous owner (think substitute teacher dynamic). 

I only offer month-to-month leases, so I can always part ways from those who disrupt the feng shui of the property. 

Quote from @LeeAnn Owens:

Please indicate an employment sector that HAS kept up with the ridiculous inflationary increases over the last three years.  Pre-X Twitter employees don't count.

Quote from @Shawn Floyd:

Quote from @Shawn Floyd:

First ty for your responses, I had to pass on them as a Tennant because in the end they would not do a rod iron fence , even thought I offered to help with the cost. They saying it would not contain or protect there 3k dog even though there are options that I pointed out to fill the spaces thus containing there dog. In the end they were way to demanding for someone that hasn't even fill a application, what would they be like as tenants. Moving on.

So figure this out after all that the agent(mom) says they decided to apply after all they can just put the dog on a leash. They sent all 3 prospective tenants information but notice a couple of job references are people with same last name as the Tennant mind you not all of the and prospective tenants are in the early 20's. Should I be concerned!

 Yes. I would vet them like any other prospect, and drill down on the employment aspect in case there is any embellishment or misrepresentation.  They already sound pretty management intensive (demanding, capricious), so I would personally select another party, all else being equal.  Their behavior with you will never be better than it is before you sign the contract.  I see red flags.  I think Dr. Phil once said something like, "people show you who they are, and it's up to you to listen." 😉

This is one of the many reasons I only offer month-to-month leases.  In practical terms, a term lease obligates the landlord but not the tenant. 

I've written about the benefits of this strategy in great detail a few times on other threads.

Quote from @Freeman Schultz:

It is not just NYC, but also Albany that needs to figure out how to fix the housing market.

I'm Upstate.  I was talking about the entire state of NY.  In the grievous legislative controls that were adopted in 2019, the entire state is subject to the overregulation that NYC has suffered from for decades.  With regards to housing, there are very few controls that are just specific to NYC these days.  There is statewide rent control now; each municipality need only opt in - as several have over the last few years.

Quote from @Freeman Schultz:

Quote from @Wesley W.:

I would always prefer to leave a unit vacant (even for an extended period of time) rather than place a suboptimal tenant, especially here in NY.

In the Socialist Republic of New York, there are very few means left for landlords to use with prospects that are less than perfect with regards to screening criteria.  Since one cannot deny an application based on previous evictions (you're reading that right), nor collect any additional security beyond one month or any advance on rent (such as last month), it's difficult to mitigate that business risk.  Add in NY's historically lengthy and expensive eviction process, and the "just cause eviction" statute that appears imminent, and you have a recipe for being financially disemboweled by placing a bad tenant.

(Side note: I will debunk your theory about refusing to lower the rent.  I've found that I get WORSE qualified prospects when I reduce the rent on a vacant unit, and not a single "highly qualified bargain hunter.")

Sometimes, there is a point where you've been through the pool of current apartment seekers and they are all woefully inadequate, so it's time to take the ads down for a few weeks and let the duds work their way through the apartment hunting process with someone with lower standards / bigger appetite for risk.

You can thank the NYS legislators for passing such draconion, unilateral laws that actually hurt the very constituents they claim to be protecting.  So, warehousing it is, sometimes.  It certainly cuts my top line revenue.  But it certainly beats the alternative.

Based on your experience, I am obviously not alone in coming to this conclusion for my rental business practices.

If the apartment is only going to command a below market rent, there is no point in renting it out since it will operate at a loss. Better to keep it off the market and save money.

I understand that.

However, other than a way to save on cost, what I was wondering is that if there was any other way for an owner or landlord to make a profit from a vacant unit. It appears that other than appreciation and depreciation, there are not a lot of options.

Also, I want to clarify my point about apartments being vacant due to landlords refusing to lower the rent.

In my experience, I have seen this happen. There are landlords out there who refuse to budge on price because they are either not aware or ignoring the current state of the rental market. Sometimes the landlord gets a clue and realizes that the rent they want is not aligned with the market, they adjust and it rents. Sometimes they stick it out, the market changes and they get what they want. 

That being said, I absolutely agree with your statement regarding the consequences of reducing the rent on a vacant apartment due to the type of prospects it attracts.

Usually, that prospect is in poor financial shape and they may not even have enough money for the security deposit.

FWIW, there are parties who blame landlords for warehousing apartments. As you pointed out, it is the NYS legislators that created this dynamic and they are the ones that rectify this matter. Landlords are simply mitigating their risks.

Understood.

As I meander back to your original question - no, I cannot think of a specific way that a property owner could make a profit from a vacant apartment (other than appreciation, as mentioned).  I think the likely scenario is as I desrcibed: a landlord trying to mitigate business risk.

Quote from @Henry T.:

I believe if you have four units or less, you are also exempt from Fair Housing requirements. Still you have to check local laws.

 You would have to occupy the property in that case.  It's called the "Mrs. Murphy exemption."

This may or may not help, but I like to use my own applications rather than a third party vendor (i.e. Zillow) that does not have any stake in a positive outcome.  This is why their application seems to not be asking some of the important questions.  I also advertise on Zillow, but I provide my own applications to those whom I invite to a viewing.

I always verify ALL of the information a prospect provides, and all occupants, aged 18 and older, must be screened and vetted.

I would always prefer to leave a unit vacant (even for an extended period of time) rather than place a suboptimal tenant, especially here in NY.

In the Socialist Republic of New York, there are very few means left for landlords to use with prospects that are less than perfect with regards to screening criteria.  Since one cannot deny an application based on previous evictions (you're reading that right), nor collect any additional security beyond one month or any advance on rent (such as last month), it's difficult to mitigate that business risk.  Add in NY's historically lengthy and expensive eviction process, and the "just cause eviction" statute that appears imminent, and you have a recipe for being financially disemboweled by placing a bad tenant.

(Side note: I will debunk your theory about refusing to lower the rent.  I've found that I get WORSE qualified prospects when I reduce the rent on a vacant unit, and not a single "highly qualified bargain hunter.")

Sometimes, there is a point where you've been through the pool of current apartment seekers and they are all woefully inadequate, so it's time to take the ads down for a few weeks and let the duds work their way through the apartment hunting process with someone with lower standards / bigger appetite for risk.

You can thank the NYS legislators for passing such draconion, unilateral laws that actually hurt the very constituents they claim to be protecting.  So, warehousing it is, sometimes.  It certainly cuts my top line revenue.  But it certainly beats the alternative.

Based on your experience, I am obviously not alone in coming to this conclusion for my rental business practices.