All Forum Posts by: Ralph S.

Perhaps, none of them actually have a contract, yet?
Perhaps, you could contact the owner directly and get their price, without the markup?
Just perhaps.

OK. I'll ignore the sis-in-law aspect, but under the "other relevant issues involved" I'd only add that buyer/seller's remorse is inevitable. No matter how much everyone is for it now, or what is agreed to, or how well it is written, sooner or later, the "I got cheated" or "this wasn't part of the deal," or "___________" [feel free to fill in the blank] is going to happen, and all the parties and hard feelings will be under the same roof. Better have razor sharp conflict resolution skills.

But, it could be an idea for a new tv reality show... :crazed:

Do you know if this is a legal conversion? Basement conversions into living spaces and separate units are complicated by egress issues (and ceiling height requirements). Makes me doubt this is a legal, permited conversion.

http://www.dailypress.com/topic/sc-biz-0318-walkaway--20100317,0,6060112.story

66 year old buys in 2006, now underwater, see's no chance that it'll ever be worth more than she owes in her lifetime, and walks.

It's now got a name, a "strategic default."

"The fact that people are strategically defaulting

Mike
My hopes for anyone in this kind of situation remain the same. That financial differences of opinion don't create divides and conflicts that complicate an already difficult time. Watched that happen once, hence my opinion
Best of luck.
Ralph

Originally posted by Josh Green:

oh god, here we go....lemme go get a cup of tea....

Ok, I'll pick up that gauntlet, Josh. If I understand what you meant.

Dad has advanced Alzheimer's, mom's terminal, she controls the trust, has agreed to the sale but scuttled a previous 1031 attempt. And now the question is 1031 or not, on a 1:10 or 1:20?

Tough. But short of the monumental task of converting her from democrat to republican, are you really prepared to wrestle control of the trust to see this through?

Sorry. I like mom. Not being critical either, Mike. Understand this is just a case of different strokes. For me, I simply couldn't introduce this kind of conflict at such a time. I'd over value moms wishes, given that she is still in control of her faculties, even if it meant lower returns or even to the point of some depletion of the trust assets. Perhaps a financially irresponsible position, it's just not in my being to be otherwise. There will come a day. Seize it then. Good luck, and sorry if I stuck my nose in your family's business.

If you end up in SC court, and it's your first time, get a lawyer to represent you. You may even want to get one now, and tell the ex-tenants you're done with them and if they have any further complaints to call your lawyer. If you continue to respond to their arguments you risk saying something you shouldn't and "anything you say can and will be used against you in court." End the drama.

They moved in right after I bought it and long story short the units were not sepratly metered but I had it in the lease the tenant is responsible for paying w/s/g. The utilities have to be in my name per city law.

I took the years utility charges out of their damage deposit. I did not even take the actual usage but took a far lesser number and charged them only $50month. I am worried about the technicality of this if they take me to small claims court.

No good deed goes unpunished, and all it does is take money out of your pocket. Enforce your lease to the letter, and expect the tenant to live by it. If you're lease says they pay you, and you haven't been billing them regularly, a court could rule that you failed, not them, and through your lack of action to enforce that clause, that clause is now void.
These being your first tenants, you haven't met enough of those type of people. Check the court system if it is available in your area to see if they've ever gone after another landlord. Refering them to speak with your lawyer now may end the issue when they see you're serious.

Understand what, in your state, is considered "wear and tear" which in most cases is not something you can charge for. Make sure you're not charging for something you shouldn't.

Keep in mind, too, that just because you've got $1,300 of their money, you're still obligated to be thrifty in choosing who
makes repairs and does cleaining. A court could determine your cleaning bill to be excessive and adjust it.

If it does get to SCC, get the lawyer, and be prepared. I've never been a defendant, only the LL in evictions, but still ran into rulings that I didn't expect (tenant allowed to remain for a set time, my damage claims reduced or not allowed). You never know.

Addidional people are not allowed with a S-8 lease. You could simply turn your findings over to the HA. The high utilities and your observations should be enough to convince them to investigate. An HA inspection will look for mail and clothing in the unit not belonging to the S8 tenant. Hard to explain mens clothing in the unit if no men are on the lease. It they claim they live somewhere else, they would have to show proof, a recent rent receipt, utility bill, etc., to show other occupancy. The down side to that is if they determine the tenant has violated the contract, they could stop paying you.

If you try to bill for extra tenants, I think you'll find that a violation with the HA contract, and they could stop making payments. Also, by billing for it, a court could later determine you actually accepted the situation.

I've been in that netherland where the HA stops making payments and I'm left to evict.

I'd simply explain to the tenant that if the freeloaders aren't out ASAP, they'll loose S8 and face eviction. Don't listen to any stories or excuses. If they are still there in a week or so, serve a 5-day with a cc: to the HA and be prepared to evict.

There are a number of lessons to learn from this article.

Besides an agent trying to rent a 4 bedroom would make such a stupid statement as "hoping to rent to a family without children..." aside,

1. He said, she said, without any evidence could land you in the spotlight.
2. An unrelated incident (eventually renting to a family with 1 kid) can then be used against you.
3. A he said, she said incident could take years to come back and bite you.

My lone experience occured between agreeing to rent to a tenant (paid deposit, but yet to pay the rent or get keys). In my screening I verified her employment with her employer. Days later, her employer called me back and told me she had been let go. I told her I would be unable to rent to her because she had no income. Next thing I know I'm on the phone with a pro-bono charity lawyer saying I had to rent to her and if I didn't, she'd sue for descrimination. Keeping my head, I simply replied, "no job, no income, can't pay the rent, go for it." Never heard another word.

4. Guilty till proven inncocent....

As to Tom's comment. While the Feds may not specifically include "any legal income source" as a protected class, some states or even counties and municipalities do, so a day care, foster home or other home based business would not be a legal cause for refusal. In those cases, IMO, the LL should require the business, just like requiring any other tenant to live within all laws and ordinances, to follow all laws required for the business: proper licensing, check zoning to make sure it is allowed (some municipalities might not allow day cares in upper units with stairs), check and see if the unit complies with any local ordinances applying to a business (there could be additional parking and egress-ADA, for instance. Requirements not normally applied to residences), and require a liability insurance policy naming the LL as co-insured or otherwise indemify the LL against claims. I found in a few brushes with a home daycare, they balk at the insurance requirement and simply look elsewhere. I think the "will you be running any type of home based busines" question should be part of the initial phone interview, not as a qualifier or disqualifier, but because the answer would influence considerations for rent, deposit and other items for negotiation.

I didn't know Housing Authorities used or paid for carpet cleanings?

Hows that happen?