All Forum Posts by: Jennifer T.

In exactly the same boat as yourself, but I expected it.  Closed on two duplexes June 24th...3 out of 4 units had month-to-month tenants paying substantially below market (4th was vacant, thank goodness).  Posted 30-Day Notice to Vacates on June 25th (I actually gave them until July 31st), along with an intro letter on how/who to pay July's rent to and that they cannot use their security deposit for last month's rent.

There were grumblings from two of the units along the lines of "oh, bummer, I wish I hadn't just paid rent."  As in, June's rent.  Ummm, yeeeaahhh.  Rent was due on July 1st for two of the units.  Posted 5-Day Pay or Quit notices today.  And will file for an eviction(s) on July 12th if the rent has not been paid and they are still living there.

I already had the third one call me last week about the 30-Day.  So upset because she thought she would have more time than that.  It's going to cost $1K-$2K to move to a new place and it's going to take her time to save that money.  I nicely explained that I am only required to give 30-Days Notice, per Orleans Parish (county) laws and I've even included an extra week, just to bring it to the end of a month and rental period.  I gave her some mutually beneficial ideas, like buying her used appliances, if that will help out.  The previous owner didn't supply appliances, but I will.  I also offered that, as long as she pays July rent in full, I will refund any pro-rated unused portion on her move-out day if she moves out before July 31st. 

But what I really wanted to say?  "Your failure to plan does not constitute an emergency and loss of income for me."  Plus, she's known since at least March that these properties were for sale and she'd be facing either a substantial hike to her rent or a Notice to Vacate for whomever bought them.  Sooooo...why hasn't she already saved some money?  And how would more time be any different than that?  Right.  It wouldn't.

At any rate, that's my long story to say DEFINITELY start the eviction proceedings.  Right now, you're totally assuming they'll be out by July 31st, just because their lease was terminated.  But, just like tenants sometimes ignore paying the rent when they're supposed to.  They'll sometimes ignore Notices to Vacate/Lease Terms. also.  Had that happen to me last year and I had to take her to eviction court, once the 30 days was up.

In addition, when a tenant knows they're not getting their security deposit back, you are almost guaranteed to be given back and filthy and disgusting unit, including the appliances.  And if that's all that's wrong, consider it a major win.  It's free to clean but, with no incentive, people need to possess personal responsibility and character.  Not usually qualities you find in people who don't pay their rent.

@Erik W. gave a great and detailed answer.

Not paying more than 3x a person's gross income for housing isn't just off a LL requirement.  That is an across the board recommendation to consumers from economists, financial planners, banks.  Everyone.

When people start inching past that, whether it's rent or a mortgage, it starts becoming increasingly more difficult for those individuals to live comfortably within their budgets.

Like anything else, it can vary by individual.  I have certainly had tenants who should have easily been able to afford the rent based on their income.  But managed their money so poorly, it was usually excuses and late payments until finally they either crashed and burned.  Or I gave them a 30-Day Notice to Vacate because I was tired of having to nag and babysit grown adults, especially when there are so many great tenants out there.

That's another example of the risk LL's take with tenants, even with people who "on paper" shouldn't have trouble.  So it's that much more risk when it's someone who "on paper" looks like they might be getting themselves under water.  Though you do sound like the other side of the coin from my example.  Someone who manages your finances quite well, despite being a bit house-burdened with your expenses.

To give potential landlords some additional reassurance in renting to you if they require 3x income, I'd also suggest you offer them a qualified co-signer and/or first and last month's rent along with the security deposit.  Or double the security deposit.  If you have a pretty decent credit score, like over 700 or so, I'd also bring that up as a show of how responsible you are with all of your bills.

I can't watch the video at the moment.  But ESA's and service animals are two totally different things.

Service Animals=an animal that has been trained to help someone with a physical disability.  Examples are seeing eye dogs, diabetes dogs, dogs who can sense seizures, and the list goes on.  They can ONLY be a dog or a miniature horse.  Service animals must be allowed practically everywhere.  The only exception I've heard (though there could be others) is they do not have to be allowed in "clean" rooms.  Like an operating room.

Emotional Support Animals (ESAs)=an animal that supposedly helps someone with an emotional issue like PTSD and/or anxiety.  Unfortunately, there is no training required for these animals.  Not even obedience training.  They should be prescribed by a doctor or mental health professional; however, there are also websites that "sell" certificates/letters.  They can also be any type of animal.  It is not limited to a dog or mini-horse.

Contrary to popular belief, ESAs do NOT need to be allowed in public places.  It is up to the discretion of the business.  In the case of a ball park, they would have to allow service animals.  They would NOT have to allow ESA's. 

BUT there are a few industries that are required to allow both service animals and ESA's...lodgings (hotels/motels), airlines, and housing (rentals).  Though there are some limitations and exceptions.  Airlines have a plethora of them and have been really cracking down lately.

I agree with @Johann Jells.  I don't hide that I'm the owner of my personal duplex.  Or any of my other properties, for that matter.  In fact, when I have a vacancy for my own duplex, I'll include in the advert. that I live on the other side.  I'm surprised what a major selling point that is for potential tenants.  I tend to have at least a third of my showings mention they like that.

@Mike Hoherchak, you bring up another good point.  If it's your own personal home, I'd recommend you buy it under your name because the benefits of financing for an owner-occupied property vs. a non-owner occupied are night and day.  And property sales are public records.  Many municipalities even have the records available online.  As a tenant, it would put a bad taste in my mouth if my LL was pretending they didn't own the property and were "just" another tenant or the PM.  Only to find out they were lying.  For example where I live in Orleans Parish (county), all you have to tell me is an address and I can find who or what company owns that property in about 30 seconds. 

Welcome to inherited tenants and lackluster previous owners, haha!

Who does that?  All four properties I've purchased that had inherited tenants.  I don't get it either.  And 3 out of those 4 didn't previously have written leases either.

To be fair, I tend to buy C-Class properties (safe, but lower middle-class neighborhoods), where I assume that kind of thing is more common.

While I'm sure something like that could be drawn up, I would never agree to something like that if I was in your boyfriend's shoes.  Paying him for a place to live, just like you all have been splitting the rent, does not entitle you to half of any of it.  He is buying this house on his own.  With his credit.  With his down payment.  Presumably, with enough income he can pay the mortgage himself.  On that same token, he is also on his own to pay for any improvements/repairs/etc. that the house currently or will need.  Do NOT spend any of your own money on those things unless he is willing to give you some kind of ownership, in writing.  Your obligation ends at the rent.

I even have a very real life example that worked out quite well.  I bought my own personal duplex when I'd been living with my b/f for years.  We'd always paid half of everything and kept our finances separate.  The fact that I bought a house totally on my own and under only my name...my credit, my down payment, my mortgage payments...was no different.  We agreed he'd pay for half the utilities/bills/food just like we'd always done and also give me $400/month for rent.  And we wrote ALL of it up in a signed contract for our mutual protection.

Then, we decided shortly after I closed that I really needed to get the house an initial termite treatment for protection and then under an annual contract.  Except the initial treatment was something like $1800 and I didn't have it.  My b/f did and he LOANED me the money.  In a separate written agreement with the mutually agreed upon payment terms.  Because an improvement to the house was my obligation.

It probably sounds a little convoluted to some people and very unromantic to all, lol.  We had it in writing to ensure there was no ambiguity and that we both had the same understanding.  Most importantly, we both agreed on how we were handling things and both felt the contracts were logical and fair.

We got married a couple years later.  It was only at that point we mostly combined our finances.  So he doesn't pay me rent anymore, but now we also pool our resources.

This post is just a long way to say that I wouldn't read into the fact that your b/f wants you to sign a lease to protect his interests.  I see it more of a difference in how you all view finances, in terms of mixing them in a relationship.  No one likes to think in terms of "if this marriage/relationship ends".  But the fact of the matter is, that happens.  A lot.  And it's practical and smart to also consider those "what ifs" when making important decisions.  

We have a crazy neighbor at one of our properties.  Shortly after we bought the property, my husband was out there doing yard work and this neighbor came over and started screaming incoherently about wanting us to take one of our backyard trees down.  Neither the roots nor the branches encroach on his property at all and my H was trying to understand why he wanted this tree down, but the guy either wouldn't tell him or couldn't tell him because (we think) there might be mental illness going on.

Then the guy starts threatening that we better take the tree down or he'll call the city inspector because he "knows what they did to that house".  My husband asks what he is talking about.  The guy just keeps repeating smugly, "Oh, you know!  You know!"  My husband points out we just bought the property and "No, we don't know, is there something we should know about the house?"  But the guy just keeps repeating that "we know" and he's going to report us to the city.  Okay, crazy man, enjoy the day.

We did have a city inspector come out about 1-2 weeks later for a surprise visit, lol.  Thankfully, my husband happened to be at the property that day.  The inspector couldn't give specific details about who had called and for what.  But without quite saying the word "nuisance" he said they had a nuisance call from a "frequent flyer" neighbor who lived in the area.  He said, since a call was made, he just needed to walk around the perimeter and make sure there was nothing obviously amiss.

A few years later for that same property, we decided to put in a new kitchen when the tenant left.  I got a letter a few days later that there had been a complaint and we had 30 days to pick up the trash in the front yard and driveway.  It was dated on literally the SAME day we had started our rehab!  I know it was that neighbor.  Some people are like that.  Happiest in their complaining and misery.

It's great to think outside of the box!  But, even if you could somehow guarantee you'd be bringing 8 new checking accounts to the bank from future tenants, I don't think a bank would slant their normal underwriting requirements for it.

I got into real estate investing with a house hack.  My first home...still live there...is a duplex.  The electricity is separately metered, but the water/sewerage bill is not.  My tenants on that side are responsible for their own electricity with the bill in their name.  I have the water/sewerage bill in mine, but it's in my lease that we split that bill.  But I know others in similar situations choose to charge a bit more rent and include the water.  It's largely up to you and what the norm is, in your area.

A couple things I wanted to warn you about with financing a house hack. Though I bought my home eight years ago and it's possible some of this has changed. Even though the total purchase price fell within what I qualified for even for a SFH, because it was a multi-family property, I was held to stricter standards. Simply because multi-families have a higher foreclosure rate than SFHs.

I was also initially under the mistaken impression that I could count potential rental income with my own qualifying income.  Nope.  Not usually.  Maybe if there are currently tenants living in a unit(s) and there are leases.  Depends on the bank, but this is a key question to ask if rental income is something you are counting on to qualify for the loan.

Perhaps companies like Lead Sherpa already filter for this, but also keep in mind that text spamming to a number on the Do Not Call List is illegal:

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0350-text-message-spam