All Forum Posts by: Phil Earley

@Porsche Thompson  You are ahead of most people buying your first hack.  Congratulations on taking the hardest first step.   Google "Becoming a Landlord by Fannie Mae"   It's an easy read with lots of great information to help you move forward.   The next 10 deals will be easier now:)

Buying a home with inherited tenants who go into default the day after closing and hiring a management company who is going out of business sounds like this is going to get worse before it gets better.   I hope I'm wrong.  

We invite them into our office to listen, talk, and reset.    Every now and then we all need a little extra attention.....no big deal.  And if that doesn't work, we start quoting the lease in a factual, bullet point kind of way with no drama or finger pointing and always ask them to stop in to talk about it.   

We never get into an email tennis match.   

We conduct quarterly property visits on all of our clients properties.  They take about 10 minutes. We are looking for damages and activities that shouldn't be happening along with uncovering any unauthorized pets or roommates we didn't know about.  We take pictures of only what we feel is important to document for our clients. 

The visits are good for customer service on the tenant side.   It allows them to see us as people and not a company.  

The visits help our clients stay informed of how the home is aging so they can plan accordingly.  

At the end of the day, we can all handle good news, bad news, but never no news.....

Before we agree to working with inherited tenants, we mainly screen for criminal and sexual crimes to help insure everyone's safety.  

As Landlords and Property Managers, we are all in the Risk Prevention business.  

Its not so much about the signature in this case rather than papering the file to show the courts (if needed) that the landlord was responsive to the tenants concern with a reasonable solution to protect them.  Going on the offensive in a professional way deflates an aggressive tenant quickly especially when the "m" word is used.        

Papering the file with a certified mold remediator's statement is always a good thing too.  

Thanks @Manolo D.

It is the tenants responsibility to protect themselves from situations like this just as you did. If the home is deemed uninhabitable, rent can abate while the repairs are being taken care of which would cover the tenants cost to move to temporary housing on their dime.....this is a Georgia law thing to protect the tenant from paying double rent.  Proving the home is uninhabitable is basically measured by the tenant moving out.  If they don't move out, the home is habitable. 

If the tenant decides to cross the line and use the "mold" word for safety concerns, you send them a notice telling them they must vacate immediately and rent abates until repairs are completed to protect themselves as a gesture of good faith.   There is a 99% chance you are calling their bluff.  If they don't move out, have them sign a hold harmless making them fully aware that they are staying at their own risk.  

If the courts in Georgia see that a reasonable approach is being taken by the landlord, it is tough to get into trouble.  Landlords who get in trouble here most likely deserve it.  

I'd buy a leasing kit from a large reputable property management firm in the area.   Its already been tested and improved on due to the best of the worst.  Don't reinvent the wheel or have a generic lease that only covers some of the stuff.    

Follow your states law about regaining possession of your property if you don't have a signed agreement from the tenants that states they have officially 100% vacated the premises.  

The risk of replacing their mothers priceless jewelry hidden in the bottom of the half used coffee can and their $10,000 safety fund in the box of old papers you threw out is not worth it.   

Hiring a manager to manage and manage the manager while they manage will definitely have an active influence on your investments:)

Decide what part of being a landlord you want to delegate and those out.   Trying to dissect someone else's policies and procedures typically doesn't work very well.