All Forum Posts by: Phillip Austin

@Charles Carillo is on the money.

The answer is 'no' you should not be required to be present. If it's a professional Property Manager, they should be acting on your behalf as the 'designated agent' and should either show up to court themselves or hire a local eviction attorney to be present. 

@Jack B. Yes, this is a reasonable quote! 

However, as others have already mentioned, I would recommend getting 1 or 2 additional quotes just to compare. And yes, you want to confirm what the quote includes (trim, doors, ceiling, walls). It sounds like it's just walls and trim.

Remember, building materials have skyrocketed over the last 1-2 years so don't expect a similar price to what you paid several years ago.

I've heard of a lot of investors give great feedback on Avail but I don't have any personal experience. Same with Zillow Rental manager. When it comes to investors with only a few properties, those two names come up the most.

Facebook Marketplace is one of the biggest funnels but, @Garrett Christensen is correct, you'll get a high volume of responses and a low volume of qualified applicants.

@Nathan Gesner and @Leo R. have give you the best advice, in my opinion. Your management company should definitely be providing you the answers.

You have 2 separate issues:

1. Mitigating damage from a sewer backup

2. Tenant failing to report a maintenance issue

It sounds like you're mostly seeking advice on the second issue and the answer lies within your lease. Is there a provision within the lease requiring the tenant to report maintenance issues in a timely manner? If there is such a provision, then you need to determine what to bill the tenant because, chances are, she cannot afford a $4K repair bill. 

If there is no such provision, you need to take the loss. Then, fire the PM for failing to include standard lease terms in their lease agreements.

In my experience, folks are not as adept when operating projectors compared to operating TVs. So, you may see an increase in calls/requests.

@Isaac Yoshioka I'd recommend looking into Evernest. They're a national, full-service PM company with an office in Columbus. They, also, have in-house agents who can assist with the transactions plus a network of contractors and lenders. Great folks at Evernest! Check them out.

Reading through this thread makes me forever grateful that I'm not managing in LA..geez!

In MOST states, the answer is unequivocally YES, of course you can get them on long-term leases. Even if the tenants are in a rent controlled area or they're subsidized by a housing authority, you should be able to convert them from a MTM to a long-term lease. 

Since you're purchasing an occupied investment property and did not place those tenants, I strongly recommend advising the tenants that in order to enter into a long-term lease they must meet your underwriting criteria. Then, have them apply and check for income (3x gross monthly rent), credit(above 650), employment(full-time/employed), background check(no felonies within last 7 years) and rental verification(fulfilled all previous lease agreements). 

If they don't want to sign a 12-month lease, either allow them to continue MTM or proceed with the lease termination as outlined in their current lease (most likely a 30-day or 60-day notice to quit) and pray that they actually leave. If they don't abide, you'll have to proceed with an eviction as @Ashley Undercuffler stated above.

If you decide to get rid of certain tenants and provide them notices, make sure you time it right! You want to avoid a vacancy in low-leasing season as much as possible.

One last thing! If you're going to be executing a considerable amount of leases now that you're a REI, go ahead and spend the $500-$1,000 to have an attorney draft a standard lease template, especially if you're in LA!

@Alexander Ignatenko I agree with @Bill B.. Getting into business with your girlfriend's parents sounds extremely risky.

With that said, if you decide to move forward, reach out to John Carver. He's a local real estate attorney in Denver that I trust and should be able to give you a reasonable price for the contract. I'm not trying to insult when I say this but, if you cannot afford the ~$1K to have the contract drafted by an attorney, you may want to reconsider your venture into REI.

@Michael Kusy Reach out to the folks at Evernest. They're a national PM company and may have an office in the area. They also sound like Evermark funny enough! If they don't manage in the area, chances are they have a good referral.

@Ruby Trinh You definitely lucked out with their lease expiring in February. Imagine if this happened mid-lease!

Here are my suggestions:

1. Immediately post a demand for nonpayment of rent in accordance with your state/local law.

2. After you post the demand and they're put under a time constraint, start a conversation with the tenants to see if they wish to move out early. If both are listed on the lease, remind them that both of them are liable the nonpayment of rent. Therefore, both are also liable for any eviction proceedings which, if found guilty, would be listed on their record making it difficult to rent in the future. There's a high probability that the demand alone solves your issue.

3. If they decide they want to terminate early, come to an agreement IN WRITING on what they owe, when payment is to be received and when they'll move out. Then, have all parties sign.