All Forum Posts by: Rebecca Lebowitz

Quick update-I did get the rent from the tenant, and an agreement signed stipulating what the current rent is and when it's due, etc. I am still TRYING to get the paperwork from the previous property management company and honestly-don't think they have any. They are terribly disorganized. I am having her sign a month to month lease-I don't want to commit for a year to having a tenant who pays rent late every month.

Thanks for the advice!

I did exactly what you are referring to. I own a property management company and had a property maintenance (not remodeling) division for three years. I dissolved that part of my business back in January-I highly discourage going that route. The worker's comp and liability insurance is exorbitantly expensive in this classification.

I switched from having w-2 employees to 1099'ing my contractors and have found it to be much more successful. And I have more control over quality of work with 1099's than w-2's and negotiating powers.

I would be more than happy to talk more in details what my experience was like-feel free to private message me.

I agree being a broker is advantageous to being an investor. And since you don't have to go through the traditional route, due to having a law degree-that's a fantastic bonus.

You can DEFINITELY build a sphere of influence if you're both an investor and a broker-that's very desirable for other people who are investors needing assistance (and advice) in the buying process and to bring in other agents that will you have hold their license in your brokerage.

Oh I definitely keep the owner in the loop-he knows everything I'm doing. That's extremely important to me.

Typically, I would not have done a warning letter then a 3-day, however, because the transition was less than one month ago, and the previous manager was horrific, I wanted to try and give her the benefit of the doubt for this one month. She's lived there for five years, so this is an established tenant.

Any other advice is greatly appreciated, plus any idea on late fees for a tenant not under a lease? (I don't allow my tenants to go month to month) I believe $50 is the reasonable max that a court would allow, before the judge rules it excessive, but not positive. I'm also not sure how geographically-specific this is.

I have a new property (under management-I do not own this property) the end of April, the tenant I inherited has not yet paid rent this month. I received NO information on this tenant at closing and there was no lease in place (the previous PM company is awful). I connected with the tenant right after closing, to meet so I could get information from her and collect this month's rent. Since then, her cell phone has been turned off and she never answers her landline.

I dropped a "pre 3 day pay or quit" on her door the other day, and I am about to post the 3 day pay or quit. I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, as it's new management and I know she had a terrible experience with the previous manager. I also don't want to start off our relationship on an adversarial note. But of course I have to collect the rent and represent the property owner to the best of my ability!

Can I charge late fees for a tenant that's not under any contract at all?

Anyone else have wisdom to share that's experienced this?

Thanks so very much in advance!

I agree Vegas would be amazing! I'm more than happy to help, as well as I'm sure many others. Looking forward to hearing more info and how I can help :)

Yes-you should have a case worker contact, I hope. There should be a local agency that administers Sec 8 in your area.

I have a few Sec 8 tenants and they are fantastic. It's a great benefit that they can keep for a lifetime-if they abide by the rules. Often this is enough incentive for them to be pretty good tenants, because once they are kicked off the program they are permanently banned.

I think in the situation that Oleg was referring to PM means Property Manager. It's disturbing to me to hear such horror stories regarding property managers...how sad. I hope you find a good one soon. We are out there, I promise :)

@Jeffery Kroener -Welcome to BP! I have helped many investors learn the Rochester market-feel free to send me a message if you have any questions or want advice on REI in Rochester NY :)

If you have a really good relationship with your property manager (and you are clearly making money on your investments since you continue to purchase more properties) then there's not really any reason to ask for a rate reduction.

I always tell my PM client's that their success is my success-and you have to recognize that if your PM is doing a (hopefully) fantastic job with your investment-then they have earned every percent that you pay them, and deserve to enjoy their success along with yours.

My guess is you wouldn't ask your real estate attorney for a discount on the fifth property you purchase, or the home inspector, or the realtor who sold you the property-so why the property manager, the one who protects your investment at every step?

Just some opinions from a property manager :)