All Forum Posts by: Michael Cooper

Your tax issue is unique since you have just inherited the property. You're going to have to deal with possible estate and cap gains BUT there's a good chance you will be able to duck under the minimum thresholds for both. Your best path really depends on your, and your sister's, long term goals. Holding it as a rental and keeping the old prop 13 taxes after taking some cash out should be on the table too!

PM me if you like - I'd be happy to sit down with you and pencil it out. 

First job on any renovation job site should be wiring and installing a security system with video and remote monitoring and make it prominent and visible to dissuade lazy criminals. Don't get a cheap/temporary system though - make it a part of the remodel plan and a selling/renting feature. 

Your General Contractor's loss should be on his insurance policy. Its his general cost of doing business.

By the way, a FELONY charge is not simple possession of a joint at a Bob Marley concert... Its for a very large quantity.  You are right to carefully consider and perhaps dig a little deeper.  Having said that, it was 19 years ago when he was a teenager and hes clean since then - so, assuming there aren't salacious new details that emerge, I'd give him the "zero tolerance" talk and rent to him. From a risk management perspective I think you could do a LOT worse... 

Rent rises with inflation. You must keep you rents up to date you are setting up your tenants up for disaster in a few years. I would recommend raising 5% per year to get back on track. After that you should have an automatic 2.5% increase with all lease renewals. people don't hate bad landlords for charging fair market rates, they hate them for being arbitrary/unpredictable. 

@JD Martin has it right for most property types. Google voice is great for office calls. It also allows you to forward calls to someone else if you take some time off.  We use a dedicated emergency line and a separate maintenance/accounting line.  Just set up a second Google voice number for emergency calls and program your phone with a distinctive ring. That way you get the "garage is on fire" call at 3am on one account, while the "maintenance complaint" can go to voice mail. 

This is the typical "professional tenant" tactic, and its the nightmare scenario for landlords. Best you can do is to interface with your PM's attorney directly to make sure you have all the information correct. Getting the BK stay lifted can take tons of time and be pretty unpredictable just because of the logistics of dealing with 2 different court schedules - AND savvy tenants can sometimes request more time in each venue. 

@Vikas Ahuja you would be better off waiting for her to miss her rent payment and evict the lot of them together for non-payment. I'm assuming from your post that she has not yet missed rent and you want to evict her based on the CPS, police and nuisance complaints. That could be a potential issue for you in the future if she comes back at you with a hard luck story and a half decent lawyer (or reporter). 

Wow. Lots of touchy issues here. Best thing is to move slowly and deliberately so that you don't make a move you regret later. I know your goal is (rightly) to protect your property but there are other issues to consider.

1- Call the police/Child Protective Svcs. This lady has a social worker, you need to be her best friend. 

2- Document every conversation you have with every person. There are at least 5 parties here (from your description) with personal property that may or may not be secured. Another 4-5 other interested parties including govt agencies who may or may not swoop in to protect her, her sub-tenants, and/or her kids from the evil landlord. You have to protect yourself by documenting your professionalism.

3- Remember, you cant evict her for being a nuisance. Only for non-payment or destruction of property. Make sure you work with a GOOD eviction atty from the outset to make sure YOUR PROCESS is undeniably fair so you cant be sued later for anything. 

Interesting situation - pls update here as it progresses!

ALL listing fees EVERYWHERE are negotiable. There are no exceptions. There's always a group of guys who will list (anything) for $500 and more professional agents who insist on the traditional 5-6% (3+3 or 2.5+2.5). As a multi unit investor you will have to balance a short term savings with the long term benefit of professional service.

You get what you pay for. Find a good group of people to partner with and pay them a fair price - everybody wins and we all sleep better working with Professionals.

@Account Closed is right - He is a great potential tenant, she is not qualified. Provided there is no BK or eviction in their past AND they both have a long history in the area, I would rent to them, especially since you got that good "gut feeling" after meeting him. To be honest, It's the long local history and eviction record that I often lean on more than the financials. Obviously they need to be able to pay the bills, but just because tenants CAN pay doesn't mean they WILL pay.