All Forum Posts by: Ralph S.

Give them a 5-day pay or quit notice. You should be able to find one. You're so new to this, my suggestion is contact a lawyer to do the eviction, if it comes to that.
If you serve a 30-day, you're almost sure not to see any August rent either, and it just extends the amount of time that they live there not paying rent.

Don't know the details of your 2 unit fixer (how much you paid, how much work it needs), and don't confuse me stating this with recommending this, but in addition to Jon's suggestions...

HELOC on your primary residence (but it sounds like you have already hit your DTI (Debt To Income ratio).

Personal Credit Cards. Not what I would recommend.

Attend Real Estate Investment Clubs in your area. That you own it outright, and if you can convince someone you have a plan and can do it, you might find some private money.

Above all, IMO, you need a financing plan. How and when you'll be able to get from short term financing and into long term, if you plan on keeping it.

Lotta people out there today who planned to exit their low interest ARMs before they reset.......

Having converted an illegal duplex back to a SFR, I would suggest thinking very hard if it is a very old property. Grandfather is not a word the local inspectors will always consider.

If the work involves electrical, plumbing and HVAC, it might just trigger the "everything up to current code" clause. If that happens, forget it.

In my case, it was called a Residential Alteration. It even required review by the planning commission. "Everything to current code" meant everything from providing room window sizes to determine they satisfied the current illums, or however they measure the natural light requirements, to making sure there was R-30 in the attic. It ended up a full gut.

Did I mention it was originally built in 1890? I imagine age will have a lot to do with what the local authorities will allow or require.

In '98, that was me, only I never became a PM, just a LL of my own properties in the school of hard knocks.

I think you got very specific and valuable feedback on where your business could be better.

If you've read any name calling or hostility into any of the posts here, I think your wrong and missing the message.

He does have your goat, Robj.
You report this behavior as "It's been a month now and this seems to be a pattern with this guy." Where I live, it's a 12 hour notice before a LL can legally enter without the tenant's permission to inspect. He clearly doesn't respect you as any type of authority, you've been unable to alter his behavior except when the police are on their way, you have not one piece of evidence (i.e. police report, willing witness, notices served) to document this in court and are asking for input on an internet site. That's "got your goat," in my book. And I would have been in there the day after the porch incident with a 5 day notice. Dealing with the drama of an easily triggered violent temper and a lack of respect for others is not something to let slide. He would have received the message, loud and clear, in a business like, unemotional manner, that I'm not someone he can bully and his behavior has to change, pronto. He's got to respect me, my authority, my contractors and others around him. That notice would have been a 5 day remedy or quit, it would have detailed the lease violations, which beyond quite enjoyment, would have detailed his refusal to let your landscaper perform routine maintenance and his behavior that required the police to be called. I'd have that police report, too. Even if he turned around, it would all be in his tenant file.

I would have let him know where the limits are. A tenant is not an owner, and his rights are limited, and often they don't know where those lines are drawn. In my state, the department of consumer protection, of all departments, publishes a pamplet, "The Wisconsin Way, a Guide for Landlords and Tenants." I keep a couple on hand to enlighten these tenants. They won't believe what you say, but if it's in writing from the state, they can't argue. There would be no confusion as to who can do what, and where his behavior was out of line. The time to do that, IMO, was on the porch.

Working for the Fraternal Order of Police is no replacement for a criminal background check. I've had a few, believe it or not, and they are nothing more than telemarkers trying to get donations in return for a window sticker. They hire anyone who can pick up a phone and read a script. In my state, by statute, all court cases are on the internet and I can get every parking ticket, small claims, etc. in minutes, often while I'm on the phone with the applicant, and I do this before showing the apartment to them. When they call, and you ask for their full name, how they respond is very telling. I don't show without a full name first, just policy and a good screening tool. Good tenants understand, the problem ones don't.

Current landlords, sadly, are often a contra-reference. As often as not, they are compelled by their own needs and will praise the tenant they really want to move. Call their previous landlords that no longer have any such incentive. Much more accurate.

Your OP stated your other tenant left within a week, and she was afraid for her safety. The implication was she moved because of him, then you say she moved as she was late and you were evicting. Big difference.

IMO, you've fallen victim to the Tenant Lottery due to shortcomings in your screening. Your properties must be in better areas than mine, given that you've not seen this before. I've come to the point where I do the internet court checks on their references and their listed landlords (I expect their landlords, if they really are landlords, to show evictions where they are the plaintiff), every name that appears anywhere on the application, and a similar check with the assessors office on any address they list, checking to see if it really does exist. It takes but minutes, and can be so reveiling. Once you discover your mistake, however, you have to act, it's just what you have to do when a problem tenant does get in, and from your posts, again, IMO, you've been slow off the blocks and missed opportunities to document and support a probable eviction.

Good luck, but you're a landlord, not someone who can influence a change in someone else's mental makeup. You need to rid yourself of this tenant, and haven't been effective in just doing the things you could have done to first, prevent him from getting in, and second, to get him out.

How'd somebody like this get through your screening? Behavior like this just doesn't start when they move in. The behavoir you describe has to come with a history of disturbing the peace, restraining orders, resisting an officer, frequent moving from one place to another. No red flags?

Quiet enjoyment, as already noted, is a start. Do something.

A question I'd ask, is if the hired hand on the porch evoked such a harsh response, is what the heck is this guy hiding inside? Something tells me that scheduling an inspection really isn't high on your list of things you'd like to do. I would, right away, who knows what damage has already occured. Someone who flips out over nothing makes me wonder how many doors are still on their hinges. I showed up for an inspection with a cop once, who got to see the yelling, screaming and threats first hand and the way my bad choice in a tenant lived. All I asked for was a copy of a well written and descriptive police report.

He's challenged your hired hand, and challenged you forcefully and physically, and magically turned docile and apologetic after the police were called. Think this isn't a game he's played before? He then called your hand on the verbal offer, and....
He's cost you a tenant, costing you and the owner money, and you've done......for a month.

Get a grip. He's got your goat. You've lost control, and you need to get it back. You've got to stand up to the bully, and get him out before someone does get hurt, he chases your next tenant away or causes more damage. Just do it in a lawful way. Put everything in writting. Serve a 5-day, a notice, or whatever is customary where you are that is the first step to eviction. He gets your message loud and clear without an opportunity to get back in your face. If standing up for your right to inspect isn't your style, filing for eviction is the same faceless way. Let the next time you see him be in court, and let him try his shtich there.

Sorry if this sounds harsh. Been there and paid dearly. I have zero tolerance for this and sometimes you have to stand your ground. It's not macho, it's how you have to deal with some people in order to take care of the property and create a place where others can live in peace. After all, you let him in, and it won't fix itself.

I don't know if it's "worthy" or not. Looking down the list of Forums, and their most recent posts, I doubt it'd be in the top 20.
On the other hand, is there any other single topic so scattered and fragmented throughout the forums, or repeatedly suggested?

Given the lack of specifics, that

suggests that the neighborhood's ownership makeup is in transition. If it ends up being significant, the future desirability of purchasing in that neighborhood goes down when compared to other areas where this did not happen, or happened to a lesser degree.
Can you see a future where your free and clear house is between two rentals?
Again, you give little specifics, so I would not necessarily say this is actually happening to you, but as Jon mentioned, it happens sometimes, and I would consider this carefully in any stay/sell decision.

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/14637-how-do-you-screen-prospective-tenants-

This should just about do it.

Hmmm. I didn't really get past the doing your own taxes and 9 properties on a schedule E.

More important, IMO, than solving your data entry dillema, I suggest a good accountant and real estate attorney to review your overall situation.