All Forum Posts by: Patrick L.

 The first step in the process is the 3 day notice.  It is required prior to evicting, make sure you read the requirements for the 3 day notice because one slip up on it and you may end up having to start the process over again (little things like not having your phone number, not having or an address within the county to mail rent to, including other fees other than rent in the amount due) or counting days that do not qualify in the 3 days such as the day you post it, weekends, or court holidays)

They were able to push the last landlord around, don't let them do the same to you.  At this point they are an issue, give them a 3 day notice TODAY.  If they don't' want to work with you then that's their problem, it's probably an excuse because they didn't have the money yet anyway.   Just because the lease is up soon doesn't mean you should cut them an extra slack or avoid evicting them.   When their lease is up there's still nothing to force them to pay or leave other than an eviction anyway.

Everything is negotiable, especially if yours is the only offer at the time.  When I bought my primary I paid $250k below asking, but that was in the weak market.  Seller needed to sell more than I needed to buy it.   It's all about need and motivation.  

Here in Florida pools are very common....I do not prefer pools for rentals but I bought one rental with a pool back at the bottom of the market.   I learned after the first tenant to hire a pool service and build that cost into the rent after I got the house back the pool was black and full of frogs.   Pools can be expensive to keep up with equipment and maintenance.   When I eventually sold the house I had to resurface and tile the pool and that was $6,500.  

What's the land worth?  If it's truly that far gone then it's a tear down.  How much will it cost tear it down and how much can you sell the lot for?    

Unfortunately for me here in the Tampa Bay area the sub $30k properties are now long gone.   The properties I used to be able to buy for $20k a couple years ago are $60k+.   Low end properties are fine in your home market where you know the area, the people, and have local resources to manage and maintain them.    I have properties that I bought back at the bottom of the market for as cheap as $11k that rent for $800-850 a month now, they've been cash flow home runs for me.    I've also seen people from out of state buy the same type of properties and mismanage them and they end up vacant for long periods of time or end up with terrible tenants and trashed.

 I have my own in house rehab/maintenance crew so that keeps my costs in line and my properties well maintained.  One of my maintenance guys also handles showings of vacant properties, so all I do is the back end work (screening, paperwork, finance, etc).   One day I'll probably hire a property management company and pursue something else, but it's hard to find anyone that would care about the performance as much as I do. 

The answer is they generally have a different need for that equity, which could be anything.   Some people are just happy taking profits on appreciation and cashing out too.  I've sold a few of my rentals recently cashing out some of my gains and increasing my cash position in case other opportunities come up whether in real estate or somewhere else.  

 They're for hanging pictures, mirrors, decorative shelves, etc when you can't hit a stud.  They're not going to take the abuse/weight of a closet system.....even if they hold the drywall won't.   

 Those are anchors, you need to screw into WOOD.   Those anchors aren't meant to hold up entire shelves of clothing.    If there isn't a stud in the middle where you need to attach the rod then run a piece of wood across and screw that into studs and attach the rod to the wood.  Drywall isn't going to hold a rack of clothes or a shelf full of stuff, it will always pull out eventually. 

Classic stall move.   Try to get the landlord off your back for a couple more weeks.   I very it highly unlikely that the tenant will be out on the 1st.  Post a 3 day notice today and let the tenant know to be out by that deadline or that you will file an eviction.   If the tenant skips out and you lose a bit of rent it's a win because you'll be able to get it re-rented to a better tenant (hopefully) and lose some drama in your life.  

 If you're talking about a foreclosure auction (possibly listed on auction.com as well) then all of them open at $100.  None of them sell for anything near $100.   If it's worth $300k expect it to go for at least $300k.   Tampa is a VERY competitive market.