All Forum Posts by: Nathan Gesner

Just because you tell them it is safe doesn't mean it looks safe or that they believe it is safe. Talk to the police department about the crime rates and dig up some hard proof of how safe the neighborhood is. Then you can speak to prospects about it from a non-biased position and point them to the police department to verify.

I have a clause in my lease that states criminal activity is grounds for eviction and does not require conviction in court. If a tenant fires a gun on the premises and it shows up in the police report, I will file for eviction. If they are caught with drugs somewhere off the premises, I will evict.

I would contact the police and try to find out if any stolen goods were recovered. If so, I would evict them. Could they push back and fight it? Absolutely! Would they win? Possibly. But I would still give them an eviction notice and try. Most will walk away, particularly if they know they are guilty of a crime.

I just upgraded today so it was at my fingertips. Welcome!

https://www.biggerpockets.com/pro/welcome

I've been a member of BP for about five years but haven't touched it much until the past couple of months. I upgraded to Pro today and am wondering when I can expect to be a millionaire? It's been 20 minutes already! ;)

I'm working on financing and developing a 10-year plan. My ultimate intent is to work only for myself, have more time for family and volunteer work, and increase my charitable giving and missions to the poor. I am a strong believer in buy-and-hold investments rather than quick-money flips or wholesales. I'll be investigating other markets with the intent of diversifying around the country to help ride out market fluctuations.

If you have experience with investing in other markets from a distance, I would love to touch base and learn the ropes. And if anyone is interested in an investment property in the neighborhood of Yellowstone National Park or the historic town of Cody, look me up!

@Thomas Reetz I'm late to the conversation but am happy to give you some advice if you are still in need of assistance. I'm got a lot of experience as a PM and am pretty handy with researching state law and sharing advice.

You can use 10% as a baseline. But some management companies charge a start-up fee. Then there is a leasing fee of up to a month's rent. They may mark up maintenance charges. There may be a lease renewal fee. Some charge a management fee evenduring vacancies.

The point is, you have to research and read the fine print. Professional service tends to cost more but you get better results. Cheaper doesn't always make you more money.

The standard method is for the PM to collect rents, deduct their fees from the collected rent, and then disburse your owner draw. All you have to do is log your draw into QB.

A good place to start is www.narpm.org which is the National Association of Residential Property Managers. Members of NARPM subscribe to a higher level of ethics and tend to be better educated, more experienced, and more professional. Go to the web site and click on "Search Directories" in the upper-right.

Be sure to review the forum for how to find a good manager! There are plenty willing to collect your rent while problems build so do your research and find a good one.

If it were me, I would stop dealing with the mold argument. Don't ask for proof, don't do additional testing. Tell the tenants they can break the lease with a penalty and 30 days notice. If your lease does not spell out a termination penalty, draw up an offer. I would require they give 30 days notice, pay the rent for that 30 days, and pay an additional 30 days of rent as the penalty (in advance). If they leave the home in good condition, they get their deposit back. This would be a take-it-or-leave-it deal. If they don't like it they can honor their lease.

I would not accept their deposit as the penalty fee because that takes away your leverage if they don't clean the house.

I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with @Account Closed. You are allowed to charge for items beyond "ordinary wear and tear." I suspect the vast majority of home owners have never had a shower head disappear on them. Burned out bulbs are ordinary wear and tear, but 2/3 is excessive and it is ordinary to replace them, which your tenant should have done. Filthy walls would be ordinary wear and tear if it occurred over a ten-year period, but not in one year. Nancy also tells you not to mention mold, which I disagree with. If you can demonstrate the mold was not present prior to occupancy and that it is likely caused by their lack of proper ventilation, they should be charged for it.

I missed something earlier that is extremely important. You said you were replacing carpet due to the damage and "not charging anything towards his deposit, as it is already exhausted." This is a mistake! You should list every charge to their ledger, even if you do not intend to collect, for the following reasons:

• Seeing a full list of charges will discourage the tenant from taking you to court, particularly if you have photographs or video to back up your claim.
• If the tenant does take you to court, you can defend yourself AND make a counter-claim for the full amount charged. The judge may be more sympathetic to your case if they see that you were owed $2,000 but were willing to forgive $1,000.
• If you send the tenant an itemized list showing $1,000 in charges and then show up in court saying there was actually $2,000 in damages, it will look like you are trying to exaggerate the situation. Be honest with the full amount start to finish.
• Imagine spending the $1,000 deposit on cleaning and repairs but not listing the $1,000 charge for replacing carpet. You show up in court and for some reason the judge decides to throw out some of your charges. He says you should have only spent $500 of the deposit. Because you didn't include the $1,000 charge for the carpet, the tenant is now owed a $500 refund. He might even be allowed up to 3x that amount because of your negligence!

Keep track of everything. Charge for everything on the itemized list, even if you do not intend to go after it. Do not ever tell the tenant you are forgiving the charges because you may need to change your mind later on and go after them. When I send them a list, I tell them they have 30 days to provide a written appeal, pay the amount owed, or request a payment plan. After the 30 days are over, I can make the choice of going after them or just filing it away.