All Forum Posts by: Jennifer T.

Another "pro" for central HVAC, especially when you can do it fairly low cost.  If you were thinking about window units instead, egress for rooms can become an issue.  For safety, each bedroom should have two points of egress.  One of them will be the interior door and usually the other one is a window.  Sometimes there are more than that.  But a lot of bedrooms only have those two.  However, if you block the window with a window unit, you've now blocked a point of egress in an emergency. 

I view foreclosures and evictions a little differently and would potentially have more forgiveness for a foreclosure, although would still require a larger deposit.

A foreclosure is someone who had a home loan that they could no longer pay.  But the property is going to be foreclosed on, whether the person vacated or not.

An eviction is different.  An eviction is a renter who couldn't pay their rent, but then also REFUSED to leave! AND a court had to get involved to make them leave.  That is unforgivable.  It's one thing to have bad stuff happen, get in a bind, and not be able to pay bills.  But it's quite another thing to bold-faced steal from someone.  It may not be a theft under criminal law, but it's still a theft of services and an indicator of someone who has no moral compass.

I even live in a landlord-friendly state where evictions are relatively fast and efficient.  But they are still bad news, a financial suck, and a huge hassle.  I don't rent to anyone who previously had an eviction.  Maybe if it was 10+ years ago.  Maybe.

I got a elevation certificate for my personal home about 6 years ago. It was around 300 bucks. It dropped my flood insurance through FEMA from around $1800/year to $650/year. But I knew for a fact it would be a big improvement. My house is raised almost 3' off the ground, which wasn't taken into consideration until I got the elevation certificate.

Then, when FEMA redrew the maps in (I think) 2018, now I'm in an X flood zone. My premium dropped again and my bank no longer required the flood insurance. I chose to keep it, but could at least kick it off my escrow so it's no longer calculated in my mortgage payment, ergo a lower mortgage payment for my DTI when I apply for other real estate loans.

I sympathize.  I'm a worrier by heart.  I think about and obsess over "worse case scenarios" more often than I should.  Like a lot of things, there is a fine line.  Some worry is healthy and keeps us rooted in reality instead of playing with puppies on rainbows.  But worrying too much or about unlikely things can be unhealthy also. 

I am re-thinking "buy and hold" real estate investing.  There is so much I like about it.  But now that I'm fairly knee-deep into it, I'm finding there are some key things I don't.  And the total and utter disgust I've been feeling at politicians, organizations, and some of the general public being so flippant as to tell rental property owners they can't evict has just added another layer to the ugly cake for me.

It's galling that for years politicians have grossly undercut affordable housing programs, but suddenly expect us to become de-facto charities against our will.  Pulling the rung out from under us by totally changing the rules.  Or, for the stimulus payments, people had to prove they were in financial need to the government to get those.  But a tenant doesn't have to prove anything like that to avoid an eviction.  They just have to say they are.  At least that is my understanding.  For the government to expect businesses to take financial hits like that, that they are not willing to do themselves just goes beyond the pale for me.  And has me questioning if this is an industry I want to stay in.

I live in and invest in one of the most fair landlord/tenant states, Louisiana.  But even here there has been "talk" about extending no-evictions to July or August.  They also don't even specify if that is all evictions or evictions for non-payment.  They blah-blah that it's "for the people".  But, if you read between the lines, it's more a worry that the courts are going to be "overwhelmed".  Soooo...the better answer is to kick the can down the road, when it will be even worse?

For what it's worth, I don't currently have any one who owes me rent.  Though one of my tenants was a struggle in May and they've also been on the line with excessive noise complaints.  But it's the idea that the government can potentially handcuff me, when dealing with tenants who can't or won't fulfill the terms of our contract, that has me questioning.

At any rate, I don't plan to sell the rental properties I currently have based on all of this.  But I'm debating if I want to expand my portfolio any further.

For a glimpse into my own experience, this was what happened to me in New Orleans with a S8 tenant.

She had central.  And then the a/c part broke.  I called my a/c service guy out there and, essentially, I would have just needed to replace the whole HVAC system.  Especially because the previous one used the old kind of freon that only had about one more year that it could be sold (at the time).  Something like that.  No way was I going to replace it.  In perfect condition, this house would have only been worth around $60K-$65K at the time and a new system would have run me around $6K-$8K.  To this day, I have no idea why HVAC installations are so much more expensive here than in the rest of the country, but whatever.  I wouldn't get that money back if I sold it and nor would it have affected the rental price that much.  As an aside, the central heat part still worked.  For what it's worth, I also told the tenant I would leave an open-ended option for her that she could move whenever she wanted with at least one week's notice, instead of the usual 30 days.  Because I did feel that was a large enough breach of our lease on my part that she would have window a/c instead of central now.  She told me she was fine with it.

I put window units in, instead. On the first HUD inspection after that, I found out I had messed up. Eeek! WARNING to you.  For two of the bedrooms that unit blocked the only other egress out of the rooms.  I hadn't even thought of that or I wouldn't have done it in the first place.  No worries.  I installed portable a/cs into those two bedrooms instead and took out the window units.  Portable a/cs still vent out the window, but that vent can be yanked out with hardly any force within a few seconds, in the case of an emergency.

I went through and passed (I think) two HUD inspections with the window units and portable a/cs. Then I gave the tenant a notice that I would not be renewing her lease. It gave her about 45 days to move. In retaliation, she called her case worker and complained about the non-working central a/c. I spoke to the case worker, who sided with me. So, when that didn't work, the tenant asked for another inspection. The previous annual one had only been four months earlier (eye roll). I was especially PO'ed that, in addition to the central a/c, she also mentioned other things that she'd never even complained about to me.

I got a call from S8 at 4:30PM on Fri that they were doing a surprise inspection on Mon. morning.  Wow, S8.  Thanks for the almost zero notice.  And then you wonder why landlords don't want to be part of your program.

Sorry that's such a long story to say that only THEN did they fail me on the inspection for a non-working central unit, for a/c.  And, gosh, the tenant who thought the house was so terrible she had to call for an extra inspection surely just complied with the notice to LEAVE, right?  Nope.  Of course she didn't.  I ended up still having to take her to eviction court because she stayed past the end of her lease, smh. 

I think your best bet is to do your own research.  Compile some data to show real facts on what the market rent is in your area.  Market rent and potential "percentage differences" is HIGHLY dependent on area.  I'm not even talking the same city.  I'm talking the same neighborhood.  This is also presupposing that your current rent is at market rent and not already below it, at least to some extent.

In a nutshell, can you find a different rental in the same area that is in a similar condition and has the same "perks" as where you are renting, but has cheaper rent.  If not or there aren't many, I suppose it still doesn't hurt to ask, but I doubt you'd be successful.  However, if it looks like your rent is too high, then accompany your request with your facts/data that has led you to come to that conclusion.  It still may not work.  But at least that would be a lot more compelling. 

I have 6 tenants, though one is on financial assistance with a charity (not S8).  All of April rent was paid, except for a trailing $50 short from one tenant which isn't unusual for her.  She was the first person I was expecting to use COVID-19 as an excuse, so I'm glad it's just the 50 bucks.

Felt good going into May and then ((screeching brakes)).  You all might enjoy this story.  While I normally don't pick up rent, just during the "Stay At Home" order, I've made an exception on that for one tenant that does not have a car.  She usually has her rent on Sat.  I texted her Fri. and offered to come pick it up like I did last month.  But now she tells me she doesn't have the money because she lost her job.  Nothing.  Not even a partial payment.  And no notice whatsoever before I got in touch with her.

I tell her that I can work with her, but we need to come up with a plan so I'm going to ask her some questions.  Despite "supposedly" losing her job which I can only guess "supposedly" happened at least two weeks ago...she STILL hadn't filed for unemployment.  Because she doesn't know "where to go or how to do that".  I actually texted her back the web address.  Oh, you know, that I found in a 20-second Google search.  That's a lot of "fishy" going on.

The next day, I posted a Pay or Quit notice that gave her until May 17th.  The "Stay At Home" order in our state expires on 5/16.  So I assume the first day evictions can be filed will be 5/18.  Hopefully, maybe not, but that's what I was going with when I chose that date.

I followed up with an e-mail that, while normally Pay or Quit notices are only 5 days, I was extending her some extra time to get rolling on filing for unemployment.  I also told her I could be even more flexible than 5/18, but we have to have a plan in place.

She texted me back that, since I wasn't being considerate of the pandemic, I could pick up the rent on Monday.  LMAO.  And I picked it up earlier today, paid in full.  How wonderful she had a magical visit from her fairy godmother over the weekend, so that she could go from paying $0 of her rent to paying it in full.

NOW I am 100% for the tenants that have their rent due on the 1st.  I also have three who have their rent due on the 15th so, we'll see, but I'm only a little worried about one of them.

When there are problems like you are describing, of course I have a discussion with the tenant to give them a chance to correct things.  Usually multiple chances because I hate turnover just like everybody else.  But if they ignore me and don't, when I get to a point where a vacancy sounds better than having to deal with them anymore, then they're served with a 30-Day Notice to Vacate.  Or, if they're lease isn't month-to-month, then I'll non-renew 30-60 days out.  I'm required to give at least 30 days, but I'll give more time if I've made my decision sooner.

My husband and I were just talking about that last night!  We have tenants who have a number of positives but, overall, are problem neighbors to the other tenants we have on the other side of the duplex.  Too much loud noise and too often, though this has become a lot better since I've had multiple discussions with them and posted a Cease or Quit notice.  I can't prove it but they have God knows how many people living there along with people over all the time.  So it's a constant opening and shutting of their door.  There is a lot of arguing.  They and their guests just throw trash on the ground in the front and back yards.  Which they share with the other tenants.

Now that they have improved the noise, I just feel like there isn't anything I can quite hang my hat on to have a justification to break their lease.  Especially since the complaints are hearsay from the other tenants.  But, at the same time, I believe them because they're great tenants and I've seen or seen hints of what they're talking about.  To me, the problems fall into the category of not a big deal if they happen once in awhile...except for the unauthorized residents, which I can't prove.  But they are a big deal when it's constant and ruining the quiet enjoyment of the other tenants.

At any rate, what my husband and I were talking about last night is that their lease expires in Sept. and we're going to non-renew them if things don't improve.

I have actually heard this same thing and it stopped me from requesting a forbearance on my personal home loan.  But I'd heard it on posts (not on BP) here and there.  Wasn't sure if it was true.  So away to Google I went!

Same situation as you.  I can pay the mortgage.  But I've lost income and would rather conserve funds for the time being.  But am looking to do a cash-out refi in a couple months.  After what I read, I wouldn't touch a forbearance with a 10-foot pole!

Right out of Transunion's own mouth (link below).  A forbearance will not lower your credit score as long as promised payments are made, timely and in full.  But lenders can place a note on your credit report that the loan is in forbearance.  And especially at a time when lenders are being extra cautious, I could definitely see where it might not matter if someone has a stellar credit score.  If a lender sees a note like that, it will be red flags and sirens going off.

Quite frankly, I find it infuriating that this pretty major consequence has not been discussed on articles about mortgage forbearance at all!  Instead, the implication is just the opposite because there's always an emphasis that it will not affect credit scores.

https://www.transunion.com/blog/credit-advice/managing-credit-through-financial-hardship