All Forum Posts by: Ruth R.

@Scott Wolf If the numbers didn't work, I would not have bothered to pose the question.

@Deb S. Unfortunately, no.  When I bought the house, given that he was a long-term tenant, I considered offering him a rent-to-own arrangement with the plan that I would then move on to another property. He had lost a great deal on a home in the 2008 crash and never wants to own one again.

@Brendan Miller I'm aware of the advantages of selling with the house vacant :-).  That's why I was originally planning to go that route. There are also disadvantages, such as needing to vacate the property and prepare it for sale. Also, some investors might like an undemanding, long-term tenant with consistent, reliable income. I don't need to do anything special in order to vacate the property. I simply need to not renew his lease. I would only need to resort to cash for keys if I have a problem once I give him notice that I'm not renewing. Hopefully he will leave willingly, so that he will not have an eviction on his record. I really hope he will not want that thus making it more difficult to find a home in a tight market.  I'm also giving him more time than I legally need to. I think 15 days is absurd and I know he has a lot of things he will need to move.

Meanwhile, I have not yet started the process. I was trying to see if there was an alternative before I did. 

Sadly, what you are saying is exactly what my gut feel was. Because I purchased with a tenant in place and had today seen a posting about an investor doing the same elsewhere, I thought I would at least consider the possibility. I believe you are correct that, in the end, I will need to remove him and sell. I just thought I would consider trying otherwise.  Thank you for your suggestion.  I will consider it.

I have a house in Jupiter and had been planning to remove the tenant then sell the property. The tenant has lived in the house for many, many years, has consistent income (military disability) and a family, so I hate to do this. However, I no longer live in FL and managing the property remotely has become quite cumbersome. I know that in many ways, it is easier to sell a single family when it is not occupied, so that was my plan. However, if I were to try to sell it with a tenant-in-place, what would people suggest be the best route?  I know he would not be especially cooperative with numerous people walking through due to COVID (one of the reasons I was thinking it was best to remove him).  Any suggestions?  I'm really not a good landlord, because I worry too much about the impact on the tenant and I made the mistake of getting to know them :-).

@David Johnson - I'm having a similar problem (nowhere near water but just a house older than 2001). It's very frustrating. I'm told that the problem is due to roofers helping customers make rather bogus claims against insurance. I don't know if it's true, but it makes getting insurance quite frustrating.

@Bruce Woodruff I thought "who was not local" was clear, but I guess not.  I should not have taken such a  knee-jerk, defensive stance. It seems others were going to take care of it :-).

@Genny Li Thanks!  I was wondering if a process server might be the right person.  I had considered Task Rabbit or a similar service, but I was not sure what type of service to search for. I didn't want to just put some random person in a bad situation (both for ethical reasons and for liability).  I will look at process servers and see if they provide this service.

@Account Closed  Wow!  Nice!  No, I just don't want to fly 13 hours roundtrip in order to post a notice.

Good point, I did not want to ask a friend anyway, because I did not want him to need to deal with the tenant in any way. However, I was wondering if there was a service that handles these things. My lawyer suggested "Rock Legal".  I think he meant "Rock Lawyer", but they seem to be just an online service. 

I'm sorry if this has been asked before, but I cannot find it. Other than hiring a lawyer, is there a service one can hire to simply post notice on a door for intent to not renew a lease?  I am already sending by registered mail, but the lawyer with whom I spoke suggested I still post it on the door (although he recommended I not bother to get him involved unless I needed to evict).

Has anyone needed to do this who was not local and did not have a property manager?  Any advice as to whom I could hire (what would I search for) if I don't want to trouble a local friend?

Thanks.

@Joseph Walsh the biggest problem is that the people who make the policies will never know that this is why the market has changed. I try to tell people what will happen as a direct result of what they're "wanting" and they don't understand.  I even used the current example I have with my tenant who is actually behind in his rent and whom I've not thrown out.  People will say that my tenant should be not be paying my bills.  Seriously?  I say, "ok, so should I kick my tenant out and move in, so he doesn't pay my bills?   I'm currently renting elsewhere."  Their response?  "See!  Look how gleefully you say you can just kick your tenant out.  Look at how insecure his home is!"  Yeah, if I have a mortgage, my home is equally insecure.  They honestly believe that their rent is them supporting their landlord.  They are NOT, by any means, the majority of tenants, but they are very vocal and eventually their words will spread.  Meanwhile, I've asked them repeatedly how not having this housing available will help them.  They've responded, "have you never heard of public housing?"  My response, "so, go get that." Sigh.

I don't think this is a major problem YET.  Even my tenant is no further behind in his rent than he was (I'm also in a red state).  However, I do think it has the potential to become a huge problem.  I was going to invest in Chicago, but I'm going to hold off.  I'm hesitant to invest in any tenant-friendly locations now :-(.