All Forum Posts by: Peter M.

Black mold is a huge misnomer and has been seriously over-hyped. It is impossible to tell if mold is the dreaded "black mold" unless you get it tested but that is expensive. You have to get rid of it regardless. The black mold most people hear about contain Stachybotrys Mycotoxins. Most of the time mold will not be this type of strain but it depends on geography and length of time left to fester. Most of the time you can just kill it with bleach(non-porous surfaces) or throw it away (porous material like drywall). I would be more concerned about what caused the mold especially how it has almost a straight line horizontally across that wall. 

The problem you will run into is that since once its on the internet, it is there forever, future buyers can see those pictures and if they find them and ask if you had it remediated and your response is "Umm, ya I killed it with bleach" they are gunna walk. That basement has some moisture problems and we don't have many basements here in TX but my guess is the drainage system around the foundation is not working and when it rains the water sinks down and can't be moved away. So you need to factor in mold remediation, drainage work, and resealing the basement. They will have to dig down around the entirety of the structure to redo the drainage pipes and apply the sealant-it is not cheap! The numbers could still work but just get quotes beforehand so you don't buy a money pit. 

Go by what the current lease says. If you must give 60, give 60. How much notice do you need to give for them to move out? Will the lease go month to month after it expires?

1% rule depends on where you are. It can be a good rule of thumb but you need to do independent analysis. 

If I suspect that is the case I look up the company and try to find a different number to call, then ask for the property manager they listed on the application. Same thing with employers, call the main office number to talk to the supervisor listed. If either one tells you nobody works here by that name, you know it is fake. Big complexes/companies won't tell you anything over the phone so I usually just drive to the complex with a form and the signed authorization to get rental information and the PM will just fill it out for me. 

You can also just lie. You can also use a fake name for the tenant to see if it is an actual rental house. For example: Tenant name is Cindy Hall. Call the "landlord" and say, "I am calling about you rental house on 123 Main Street, I have an application from John Ball, can you tell me how he was as a tenant?" If they say they don't know what you are talking about you know it is fake. If they sound confused or say they have never had a tenant by that name you can always say you misread the application and that is the emergency contact then go on with your normal questions. 

Another option is to say "I was walking my dog and saw someone moving out of your house on 123 Main St and they gave me your number, is it available?" If they say they don't own a rental house, there's your answer. 

I tell all my tenants and applicants that I have 2 rules that if they follow, we will have a great relationship. 1) They pay on time. 2) They never lie to me. 

It can be a nightmare. I don't even consider it because you never know who the other owner is and how they will work with you. I have seen many a duplex with 2 different types of shingles with a line down the middle because they are owned separately. 

My dad had one and the fence between the two sides blew down in a storm. He tried for months to reason with the other owner but ended up just paying for it himself because the other owner wouldn't do anything. 

Not worth it IMO unless you can get the whole thing. 

That is a pretty open ended question and depends a lot on your goals. Are you planning on using this attorney in the future or just to make sure you set up your entity correctly? Did you set up you LLC for asset protection for yourself? Otherwise why did you make a LLC in the first place? If you are using him in the future make sure you understand his rates, if he will charge you for a simple emailed question, how phone calls work. Will he be drafting documents for you? How much will they be to create, amend, and review each year? Will he be your office for closing deals? If so what are those fees involved? Ask him what the yearly requirements are you need to follow so you do not pierce the corporate veil in MO. How much does it cost for him to set up a LLC for you? You may want to ask him about series LLCs in your state. Honestly there is a lot. And the more answers you get will only cause you to have more questions so just be prepared for that.

If you used a template for your operating agreement from LegalZoom or some other such site, be prepared to have him rip it to shreds because it is probably pretty crap. But the only time it would matter is if you get divorced or sued so it probably doesn't matter all that much. If you are just doing residential property rentals you really don't need more than a decent insurance policy. As you get more sophisticated you can set up proper LLCs and other entities with the help of a lawyer. I thought I could set up a cheap LLC and it wouldnt be a problem but I ended up hiring a lawyer to do it for me and man-o-man, I think of myself as a pretty smart guy but there was no way I could have put together everything the way a lawyer does. You just don't know what you don't know. But it is all part of the learning process so good job for going this far. Good luck.

The first thing you should do is go to the zoning committee and see how it is zoned and if it can be replatted. You may not be able to do any of it in which case you are out of luck. This process takes time and money. 

If you do try to put another house on it you will have to get utilities run plus deal with what seems like an easement for a driveway. Whether you sell it or rent it you will have problems with the driveway if the only access the upper unit has is through the lower unit driveway. 

I am not familiar with WI section 8 laws but from a simply contractual standpoint there is no problem with something like this. How I would address this would be to bill back the tenant for damages. The lease would have a provision that says the tenant is responsible for any repairs not caused by normal wear and tear. After you do the repair, the tenant gets the bill. If he doesn't pay you should be able to evict him for breach of contract. My lease states that monies paid are first put towards outstanding fees, then rent. If they just paid the normal amount, it would not be enough to cover the rent and I have grounds to evict for non-payment of rent. Now is this feasible with Section 8 in WI? I am not sure but I wouldn't dip into the security deposit until the tenant is out. Even landlord friendly states usually have pretty severe penalties for misappropriating the security deposit. 

There are 2 possibilities, 1) you hired a small time PM company and they are upcharging you or they just dont know what they are doing and didnt get bids from other contractors. 2) You hired a big firm and they use a commercial landscaping company that charges more because the PM company is a commercial client. 

Most landscaping companies will do one time services but they cost a lot more because they want you to sign up for a regular service plan. But unless it was very overgrown, $300 is a lot for one mowing. What, however are you doing about the regular lawn mowing? If it is $300 for the rest of the year, then you got a killer deal. The electrical seems right to me, an electrician is going to run $50-100 per hour and if they checked 4 boxes and all the appliances in each unit that is easily $300. 

If you want to PM me the details I can check it out but seems legit to me. PM companies are sometimes going to tack on GC fees for things like this (in the 10% range) so that could have factored in. Just call them and ask them to justify the charges. 

Last, most "deals" I have seen in FW over the past few years have been extremely overpriced for the condition or location or both. So my gut tells me this is not in a good area, it has a lot of deferred maintenance, and that you will be paying much more in the future to fix more issues like this. But I don't know the specifics so maybe you found a diamond in the rough. 

Roof, HVAC, foundation are the big 3. After that it would be plumbing and electrical because of permits and more skilled labor needed for those trades. 

I don't see a problem here either. My lease doesn't allow subleasing unless there is written consent. Just screen the potential tenants she has lined up and let them take over for 7 months then sign a whole new lease with everyone. In the future just modify your lease to address this situation. I have a lease break fee that a tenant has to pay if they want to leave early. If she wants her portion of the security deposit back just make the new tenant put the same amount up.