All Forum Posts by: Burt L.

The title covers most of it- I get lots of "electronic interest" but still want to speak to a human before setting an appointment to show a  unit. I also live at the fourplex and want to learn of the person I'm to invite onto the property. I have experienced unknown persons looking in the windows overnight with flashlights and scaring the other residents, etc. 

It seems alot in my area are willing to open their doors to unknown persons simply after a point/click and generating one of the 3 responses Zillow provides them to make, short of something generated by themselves. 

I put at the end of an ad that the best contact method is through calling and maybe 10 percent do this and they are the better candidates. It also tells me  they read all the information instead of just pointing/clicking on dozens of ads. If I put the same statement at the beginning of an ad, the interest falls off a geat deal and I don't get the electronic statement about the number of people and pets, etc. . 

Once I get a tenant I've not had issues, but can lose 1-2 months each time and about to go to month 3 on one, currently.  Do you- or your manager book appointments electronically without any other contact? I want to at least hear what the approximate occupancy date it is, the number of persons, and pets - in their own voice as most anything can walk through the door- so to speak. How do you handle the initial screening before showing?

I do have more options with my standards as an owner/occupant. 

It can also be a good move to put in a lease that commnications concerning the property will go through a designated property manager. My list of lease inclusions grows on a regular basis. 

The security deposit was $1550 and I stopped adding repair items at $1800 and all are legitimate. They will agree to $130 or we are "going to court" Thats exactly what I've prepared for. 

The lease is in the name of my LLC and there is no requirement that the address of the LLC be in the lease. The registered agent's adresss can be found at the Sec of State's website if the tenant continues to inquire. I do welcome another chance to go before the local judges and have obtained very good results there before.

Great to know that being a day late on the certified mailing doesn't give the tenants any greater losses- its not like a lotter ticket - and they are already in the negative which may be another deterrent to filing a case against me. 

My awesome lady lawyer of 30 years-who was also a landllord- retired last year and I've been loathe to go to doubled pricing and she and I went through many of these items and she always showed me where to get the forms and I should be better at looking up the statute by now. On a bigger item in the future, I will have to pony up for new representation. 

@Ned Carey

I think our emails crossed at nearly the same time. What I mean by helping the tenants serve a notice to appear is that they will want my personal address so I can be served a summons to appear. 

I've provided an item by item listing of all the repairs and costs done - I even didn't include some repairs as the total amount already exceeded their security deposit. 

I'm in Colorado which allows up to 60 days to return a security deposit/provide an accounting. My lease says it will be returned in 30 days and it was postmarked certified mail on day 31. I don't believe a judge would enforce treble damages for one day but can't be certain. I will have pictures, receipts, witness letter of the damages. 

Colorado requires that an accounting be sent to the tenants and I do admit I missed it by a day. I could still countersue for damages though. Based on  your suggestion I did read the statute and it requires the tenant to send a 7 day demand letter for return of security deposit by certified mail. It would seem all I have to do is ignore that certified mail notice sent to the UPS box  - they have left such a bad taste that its hard to do anything "helpful to their case". These tenants sudden desire to be so communicative is hard to stomach but there's alot of that in landlording.

Recently was stuck in a place where a different tenant wanted me to promise not to tell her significant other that I knew about the restraining order between them, but thats not so on-topic other than the difficult decisions we have to face. 

I did send the letter with a broken-out listing of repairs expenses and they took over a month to respond. They have since made their "going to take you to court" statements if we don't hear back from you by x date, which is tomorrow. 

All I can think is - "go ahead, knock yourself out" and havent' responded to either emails or texts. The listing of repair expenses and sending certified mail was all done in preparation for a court hearing on it. I"ve never given out my personal address to tenants and all they have is the UPS box address but since its held in an LLC all they would have to do is serve the registered agent should they eventually figure that out but have to assume they eventually will.

I'm at a loss- so far- as why I would help them in any way serve me papers for a court appearance, in objection to my accounting of the repairs. 

I've stayed out of courtrooms for the past five years but it appears I have two that will be going nearly back to back. 

Had a pair of tenants that I allowed to have a second cat and kept two litter boxes on the carpeting, with obvious results as well as drilling over 60 holes in walls for anchoring bolts when only small nails permitted, and other things. 

I've received emails and texts that if I don't respond to them by x date, they are "going to take me to court".  They say they will admit to $130 in damages and no more, otherwise. The actual damages exceeded the entire security deposit and I can pursue that but have little chance of recovering the deficit. I have receipts, pictures, etc. 

I've not responded to them and the deadline they've given me has nearly passed. I don't see any reason to help them serve me papers. My UPS mailbox has always been the address I've listed. I hold the property in an LLC and they may eventually realize all they have to do is serve the registered agent, but I don't feel that I need to help them figure this all out. They have also moved across country, though I believe persons can appear in court remotely, now.

The lease also states I can report financial matters to credit agencies, and I believe a deficit in security deposits would qualify but I'm sure I'd never recover the deficit, even with a judgement for it. 

Do I need to help them serve me papers for any reason?  Thank you. 

Last month I received a call from another landlord, asking for a referral on my long-term tenants.  I was certain it was for both tenants as they've always been a couple and was happy to provide a good reference as the two have been fine tenants and are now on MTM and have every right to move, if desired. I received no call notifying me they were moving or about providing a referral, beforehand or afterwards.

I called the tenant who has always handled communication to learn when they were moving. I was informed that only the gal was moving and that the new location was only for her. Then she texted me a copy of the partial restraining order that she had against her long-term boyfriend and saying she was getting the keys for the new location in two days. Under the restraining order the two can have contact but there are other restrictions on the fellow. 

As it was now the first of the month, she was moving imminently, and I don't want such a person remaining, I served a 30 day notice to vacate  -on the following day. The girlfriend is now waffling on moving out and says she doesn't want to lose the 8 years she has invested in the relationship. She insisted I not tell the boyfriend that I had knowledge of this, and didn't tell him I would be serving the 30 day notice. He just walked up on it and she pretended not to know why I was serving notice, though I had told her this is just why I am serving the 30  notice to vacate. 

The fellow doesn't want to speak on the phone and has sent many threatening messages- mostly legally threatening. I contacted the police and had them do a general welfare check on the gal and they looked at his phone to examine the messages and the police said they weren't of a nature they can call personally threatening. I let the fellow know his texts were now blocked, and he proceeded to play loud music until an escalation of words resulted with the tenant next door. That tenant contacted me and I suggested he call the police. He said he would take care of it directly and is of an imposing figure and I haven't heard further on it currently. 

The tenants says he won't move and these things tend to end with property damage and costly physical evictions. Should I let him know this is of his own doing - which it is - and set aside the girlfriends strong insistence that I not tell him I have knowledge of the restraining order? I don't know if it would put her safety into danger but he seems to be more of a troll and won't speak on the phone. She's done a fine job of "playing dumb" with him about why the notice was served. 

How Might I proceed? Sorry for all the info here - not sure how else to present it. 

I'm looking at purchasing an owner-occ SFR for myself for first time in decades and am no longer a W-2. Multi-family DSCR's were much easier to obtain, I'm recognizing.

I'm off from meeting the DTI ratio by a ways, although I've rented this same house for years and the debt service won't be too much over the rents. and I get a haircut on the rental property income, etc. I also can have early Soc Sec starting in a few months and receive a small pension. My 1120S income varies. I presume I would have to go FHA as they are supposed to be more lenient.

To use a related cosigner, do you "at least have to be close" or something along that thought-processs by the lender?  I would presume nobody would want one to be reliant on the co-signor. I've also read that the borrower has to "at least  have some income" but which is somewhat vague. 

What might be the general income gap a Cosigner will help a borrower overcome, or is it pretty broad-  as long as both incomes qualify together? Happy to say I don't  need a cosigner for the credit puposes. Thank you for any info. 

BP Nation- I signed a lease with a couple six months ago and since then the fellow developed a monogomy problem - I used to  live next door. There is a new boyfriend presented as a new roommate and what happens behind closed doors is not at issue. 

I let the gal know the fellow would need to fill out an application so I could have his info. I checked at TLO and no liens, etc but no background check done. I think I should at a minimum ask to approve a background check as well. The security deposit issue will need to be worked out amongst the renters. 

The fellow also has two dogs and I've always had a one-dog maximum, or with a fourplex I shortly will have 8 dogs. These pets are a 10 year old Collie-mix and an 8 year old Hound-mix; not really sure what that is. The gal had an older dog but had to put him down a month ago or so. I should probably call his landlord, even though I'm in the middle of a year's lease and didn't think I'd  be doing such screening. I had to "exit" a previous renter in the same  unit for having a very aggressive dog - the pets can be worse than the people, though they are usually similar. I have since met the pets beforehand but that renter came from out-of-state. I don't really want to turn the unit and probably can't legally, if an original tenant remains. 

I think I don't I want to put this potential new resident on the lease, as if she should leave, then I get whoever he might find next and I've strayed further and further from my initial screens.  

I wanted to see what I"m missing here - thank you. 

@Jay Hurst

I appreciate the info Jay - it took a few looks to follow what the LLPA's were for. Keeping up with new lender rules seems similar to a CPA having to keep up with new IRS regulations and tax cases. 

With a 710 credit score, it looks like a conventional rate would be adjusted up 7/8 of a point and then again another 1/4 point if an ARM. But there are no FHA loan level adjustments if the borrower is above a 660 credit score. Of course there is the permanent MIP with FHA.

I see that 5/1 ARMS are mentioned in online searches for FHA at about 6%, but nobody contacted seems to do FHA ARMS.

Thank you, Jay.