All Forum Posts by: Nancy P.

That's fraud,  and this Hoosier would never do that, nor would anyone I grew up with or  associate with.  For anyone interested in extreme frugality,  I suggest "The Complete Tightwad Gazette".  It's from the mid 90's so some info is dated, but she teaches you how to think about how you spend your money.   More useful than just a bunch of tips.   I credit the author for convincing me I could afford to stay home with my two children.  I'm guessing the lady in the 500K house reusing cereal liners was one of her readers.  

Yes.  You have to pay the mortgage, property tax, association fees (if any)  even if the property is vacant or your tenant isn't paying.  Also what Jerry said.

We own 8 condos and 2 halves of duplexes.  We own six of them outright,  4 mortgages.  After PM fees of 10%,  condo fees,  real estate taxes, and mortgage,  we average $427 per door.  Naperville IL area.

The way I explained this to my older teens,  who had the mindset of "we have plenty of money, why are we dragging a tenant to court?"  Hey, son, if your boss doesn't pay you, is that fair? "  "NO, of course not!"  "Even if you don't NEED your paycheck,  would you keep working there if you weren't sure you were ever going to get paid?"  "Hell NO!".   "Well,  the tenant is paying MY paycheck.  Why should I just sit back and not get paid just because I have enough to pay our bills?"    Putting it in those terms helped them get it.

I was hoping an Italian would come along and set the record straight!  Thank you!

I think what we should focus on is the "facts" presented by this person who doesn't give a name.  Public housing means...PUBLIC HOUSING.  They might pay PART of their rent,  but the government pays the rest or owns the property.   At about $200 a month, (using your numbers)  I guarantee you the landlord is getting some money for the property, or the government is the owner and for whatever reason isn't pursing the tenant portion.    Secondly,  you can't just move to the EU and get free health care,  even if you are disabled.  There are a lot of hoops to get through,  and in the meantime you are paying your own healthcare costs.  I'm an American currently living in the EU.   You are almost certainly being trolled.

@NathanG:

My properties are in a suburban area, but not "low class",  in fact,  one of the wealthiest towns in the Midwest.  Crime rate of 12.67 per 1000 residents to your 16.19.   (Crime is an "actual risk" everywhere there are human beings. ) Seven of our ten properties were foreclosures,  and in the nine years we've been at it, we've had three attempts to enter our properties by the owners who were foreclosed upon.  So, almost half of our foreclosed properties and 30% of the total.    None were successful as the places had been rekeyed,  and nobody then went on to break a window.  All were caught by current tenant and/or neighbors.  Police were called in two cases but person fled,  license numbers were noted and it was ascertained that they were indeed former owners,  but not much legally could be done.  Third time they screwed up the current lock,  and we are making assumptions about who it was.  And if we HADN'T rekeyed?  Pretty sure much more loss than the $30 or so per lock.  Not to mention peace of mind.  I don't know anyone who doesn't have a sketchy friend or relative. I find it safest to always assume a copied key is in the wrong hands,  and to eliminate the risk.  YMMV.

I have to say I disagree with the idea that someone would break a window as easily as they would walk in with a key.  One attracts attention,  one does not.  And @Mark Fries,  it's not just the good tenant who moved to Michigan you have to think about.  It's friends, relatives, cleaning people that tenant might have made a copy for who are STILL AROUND.  Hope it never happens that something bad happens because of your "no worry" attitude,  because if it does,  you're going to be in a world of regret.  Rekeying is incredibly cheap insurance.

They are both on there as "joint and several" tenants, which means each is responsible for the whole.  

I have a tenant with five months left on the lease.  He's been there a bit over five years,  he's on his 4th roommate.  He's intermittently a pain in the ***,  and we already planned to not renew this year.  He's violating the guest policy,  and his roommate believes the guest (his girlfriend ) has stolen from her.  We gave him a notice to cure or quit,  he promised he'd follow the guest policy,  of course he does not.  Roommate is so upset she moved back in with her parents.  She has already paid January and February rent (her half),  and knows she is responsible for her half of the rent until June 30 unless he leaves and/or adds the girlfriend to the lease/gets another roommate. She moved out but locked her bedroom so he can't use it.  (We added the lock after she had the theft.)   She is so pissed at this guy that she drives by on the way to work every morning and takes a photo of the girlfriend's  car to prove that she is still there.  Since the guest policy is 20 nights per calendar year,  and we're in a new year,  she's proving that he's still in violation.  We plan to start eviction as soon as he gets to 20 nights again,  which will be next week as she's there nearly every night.  So,  sorry for the long story,  but it's a bit unusual.  When I start eviction,  and it's a joint and several lease (tying them together legally),  can I leave her name off of it?  To me,  she has no blame.  She's already out.  She continues to pay rent.    But legally,  can I put only his name on the eviction paperwork?  It was only his name on the notice as it was his guest.   Thanks for all advice from anyone who understands the law.