All Forum Posts by: Randy E.

Thanks for the update, @Jamie Scharbrough.  I'm sorry you have to deal with this after just recently moving.  I hope everything works out for the best.

Some landlords have a strict no-criminal-record policy, and will refuse to consider anyone convicted of a crime.  Other landlords draw the line between misdemeanors and felonies.  Other landlords take it on a case by case basis.  Others don't care at all. 

Personally, I would want the straight truth from my applicants.  I'm a firm believe in second chances.  But, I have a hard time accepting liars.  I can trust a person who makes mistakes, because I make plenty.  I can't trust a liar, period.  And if I discover an applicant lied on a rental application, there's a 99% chance I won't rent to that person.

I say, be honest.  Once you're in a place that knows the truth, you'll feel so much better mentally and emotionally because you won't feel like you always have to be on guard about hiding something.  That goes for your spouse as well.  That stress from hiding something will seep into your personal relationship with each other and damage your marriage.  You don't need that.

And if a place (or two, or three) turns you down because of your man's criminal record, just keep looking.  He made the mistake, and now he has to live with the fallout from that mistake.  That means having a tougher time than others in finding jobs and places to live.  Tougher, not impossible.  But he can get through this.  It might even make him a better man for having gone through it.

Good luck.

 Sounds like T has no real income in addition to his other problems.  He's not going to joyfully accept a request to give up the home he's known his entire life.  Looking at it from T's point of view, where is he to go when he moves out?  He has no options.  When people feel like they have no options and they feel forced to do something, they will often lash out.

Regardless of the family dynamics, I think the powers that be need to get together and figure out a way to move T into a new place.  Not really for what's right for T, but because it's the easiest, quickest way to get him out of property.  The family can help themselves by helping T.

Maybe look around at local boarding houses.  Maybe there are some very inexpensive efficiency studio apartments in town.  Cash for keys won't solve the problem, because T would waste the cash and still have nowhere to live.  Instead, give him Keys For Keys -- find a place for him, pay the rent for three months, and trade keys with him.  

He won't go easily, but remind him that once the duplex is sold, the new owners will kick him out immediately and he won't have the benefit of having a place to move to with three months free rent.  T probably doesn't know that he could drag out an eviction by the new owner, and T will believe he'll have to leave immediately after a sale.  I think he'll come around and trade keys for keys.

Good luck.

Just because you can see them as being in the process of foreclosure on a web site does not mean the bank holding the defaulted loan is offering them for sale.  Eventually, the banks will use a real estate broker/agent who specializes (or has extensive experience) in selling foreclosed properties to handle the sale of the property.  At that point, you will see that property listed on RE websites as "for sale", and not just "foreclosed".

What you're seeing now is the website alerting you that the property is in foreclosure.  It is not necessarily currently for sale.  If it was for sale, it would say so.

 Agree 100% on this!

Regarding @Phil Mays' original post, I wouldn't like the idea of a PM keeping the entire late fee, but I understand the logic behind it.  To say the PM isn't doing enough to earn the late fee seems like an illogical complaint to me, because you are ostensibly using a PM in the first place to eliminate the need for you to do all the dirty work.  I realize in your case, being out of state, having a PM is a necessity, but I'm speaking more in general terms.

If this is the only complaint you have with the PM, I wouldn't look to change to a new PM. 

Good luck.

 I don't think there is a courthouse 3-day notice in NC.  If there is, I've never heard of it.

1) Landlords can demand rent one day after the due date.  If there is a grace period outlined in the lease, landlords must wait until one day after the grace period ends to demand rent.

2) Landlord must then wait 10 days after demanding unpaid rent before filing for eviction.

Here is a more legal explanation:

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/eviction-no...

If vacancies linger in your area, I'd go with the letter and give her a (misguided) chance to change.

If you are confident you can update and rent the apartment to a new tenant very quickly, I'd just inform her no that her lease will not be renewed when it expires.  She's been doing this for years, and I don't see any circumstance that would cause her to become a responsible pet owner.   Because her lease is expiring in June, you don't need to provide any written reason (unless the state of Texas requires you to do so.)  However, I'd tell her verbally why it wasn't be renewed.  

If you feel uneasy about asking her to move without "giving her a chance" to clean up her act (no pun intended, okay, maybe a small pun intended,) just include a new pet specific clause in the new lease she would have to sign to remain in the apartment beyond the current lease.  Add a non-refundable pet deposit of $200-$300, and a monthly pet fee of $25 per pet per month.  Be aware that to be fair, you'd have to add the same clause to the other apartments in that building, but I think having a pet clause is a smart thing to do anyway.

If she balks at those charges, she may move on her own.  If she pays those charges, you mitigate some of the financial burden of the situation.

Good luck.

 How would I build a portfolio of that size?  In my dreams.

Sorry, that's all I got for you.  I'm a small potatoes guy.  I'm salivating just going through that list.  Hopefully, other BP members will be of more help.

 I don't have a quota for viewing houses in person, physically on the site.  If I'm ready to buy and the first house I visit is a great deal, I buy it.  If the fourth house is a great deal, I buy it.  No need to waste my time looking at twenty houses if I can afford only one.

That said, I "look" at houses every day.  I'm always checking online sites to see what the market is doing in my area.  And you never know what you'll find that might catch your eye.  And if nothing new shows up one day, I look at the same thirty houses I looked at the day before.  I can't help myself.  It's an addiction.