All Forum Posts by: Ronald Perich

I've heard that some communities won't allow you to ignore Section 8 as a source of income for your screening. But not in my area. HUD asks if you are willing to take on a Section 8 resident.

My particular HUD office seems to do a decent job with keeping their recipients on the up-and-up. They've been pretty responsive and do a good job of responding to issues. I think they've done a good job of straddling the line between resident needs and landlord needs.

One issue I have with my local HUD is from a different division entirely. At the risk of hijacking the thread, the HUD-owned housing in my area seems to be overbuilt and, dare I say it, exquisit for the area. They spent nearly $250K per unit on a community they just completed. This is in an area where SFH of similar sizes can be built for less than $75K. If they were a private firm, they could rent the apartments for maybe $650/mo. Things like solar panels, high-end fencing around the whole community, etc.

They could have helped house a much larger number of people had they used that money for Section 8 instead of building a new community. They would have also made a much larger impact on the community. Instead, you have these beautiful structures sitting right next to dilapidated and boarded up houses, some of which can't be given away.

Depending on the age of the floors, you might be looking at incorrect installation. If they are somewhat new floors, and they were installed only recently, they might have been incorrectly installed. 

If you install hardwood floors during less-humid months, their moisture content is pretty low. Now that the humidity is higher, they have absorbed water from the air and expanded. If they did not install them with enough of a gap at the edges of the floor, they could be pushing up against the wall or other flooring (such as tile) and are buckling as a result.

Just something else to consider. Good luck!

AC could probably wait. But if the water heater is long in the tooth, replace it, even if it still works. Because one day they are fine and the next day you have water all over the floor.

Menards currently has Crown Lake on sale (last day). Most people think it's hardwood flooring. Easy to work with. I got it for $2.19 sq ft and you don't need underpayment unless it's on concrete.

@Kurt Gardner, I tend to agree with everyone here. You should explore executing a new lease with the spouse, but make sure she can still meet your criteria on her own. Of course, this assumes you've had the conversation with her and she wants to stay :)

But you should also have a discussion with her (and the co-signers) just as you would with any new resident. Late on the (insert days here), evict on the (insert days here). Still responsible for (lawn, trash, etc). Stuff that she might not have done or been responsible for during the now-broken relationship.

And then you'll have to be consistent with how you apply the rules you have in place. Divorces can be very traumatic. People can start behaving completely different than they were just six months ago because of the financial and emotional stress it places on them. And that could be when the excuses start. So you'll have to resolve to keep your promises on your rules.

 I like Landlordlocks.com for my rentals. So easy to change out (less than 30 seconds). No affiliation with them other than as a customer.

@Peter Green, the insurance company will want to see it and if they know their is damage, they won't insure. Or if you happen to have a claim against the property and you knew it was in rough shape, they could potentially deny the claim. 

I'm pretty certain there will be hawking of products at this event, but Jeffrey Taylor (AKA Mr Landlord) is coming to the Metro East REIA to talk about 6 Ways to Increase Your Rental Income Cashflow by Thousands. This is a free event (you do not need to be a member to attend).

I like this REIA. They don't often push products and the speakers they have had always provide some value in their discussions. In January, they had a local tax guy (Tim Elefros) come in and discuss, you guessed it, taxes. February was a mock eviction trial with a local attorney as a judge. March was Duncan Wierman, who gave a lot of great advice and did try to sell his program but it was a soft sell. April was a local pest control company giving advice on dealing with critters. June will cover insurance.

It's also a non-profit association run by a committee of local investors (mostly landlords). 

Hope to see you there!

@Ryan Sanders, renotometer.com will give you an idea of the average rents in the area based on location and recent ads.

@Ryan Sanders, as soon as a title transfer is completed, the sales amount of the property is known to the county. Most counties will use this as the new assessed value and taxes will be based on that price. The last sale for this property was in 2014 at $60K. I don't know how taxes are determined (% wise), but count on them going up if the sale goes through.

Also, average 2 bedroom rentals in that area go for $650 to $700/mo according to rentometer.

Not saying you shouldn't go for it. But it does seem a bit skinny to me.