All Forum Posts by: Suzanne Player

Hi Manish

You need a landlord tenant lawyer - they may refer to themselves as real property or real estate attorneys also. The attorney needs to see your lease and discuss the specifics in detail with you.

It is helpful to require certified funds or the receipt of electronically transferred funds before giving the keys to a new tenant.  Good luck.

Hi Michael

You definitely need to get specific personalized advice from a CPA for your tax planning and for setting up record keeping.  You’ll want to get references for experienced people in you area.  Don’t waste your time on the internet for this type of thing, even the forums won’t be able to do this for you.  It will save you money and time.

@Nathan Gesner

@Nathan Gesner Did the person who as listed as emergency contact actually refuse to take custody of the belongings?  Or did he want to see about a will?  

It’s a good idea to take photos or a video of the belongings that are in the unit to show what was there at the time of death.  You don’t want any relatives coming by asking where the Monet, priceless coin collection, & diamonds went!

Hi Canaan

I would suggest taking detailed notes on every conversation.  You'll be getting a lot of info.  You want to be following the instructions on what docs to supply to the letter - for example if they need a bank statement they may want all the pages, not just the useful pages - so even the last blank page of your bank statement that actually says, "This page intentionally left blank."  It sounds funny, but when they say "complete" bank statement, they aren't allowed to take any with missing pages (it's coming from the underwriting guidelines, not the individuals you are working with, they are stuck with these rules).  This is they type of detail that makes the difference in how fast your file goes through.

Definitely ask how long the file will be in underwriting once all of your docs (including the appraisal) are received.  

Get a breakdown of the estimated monthly payment.  But contact an insurance agent or broker for a better estimate of the hazard (a/k/a homeowners) insurance.  Also check the taxes directly with the municipality, a seller's estimate could be inaccurate.  Also the municipality would know what the next tax increase will be.

Being organized and responsive to what you need to get your mortgage pro really helps make the process smooth.  They should also be responsive to you as well, you should be in touch at least once a week.

@Nathan Gesner I'm glad you brought up this issue.  We can't simply leave it all to the estate.  There can be confusion, often there is no will, & even if there is it can take many months before the deceased representative can act.

For example, in New York, whether there is a will

https://nyestateslawyer.com/20...

or not - 

https://nyestateslawyer.com/20...

it will take months, according to one New York estate attorney.  (I have no affiliation with this attorney, nor am I giving legal advice, just pointing out that the Court system can be slower than we even imagine to provide assistance.)  Landlords need to be able to re-rent their property immediately.

@Denise Evans Do you have any sort of default provision that allows the landlord to take out the possessions & re-rent immediately, if there is a situation where the emergency contacts are no help?  

I would imagine that in some cases they either can't be found - or are so grief stricken they tell you they just can't deal with going into their loved one's place just yet.  In the meantime, the rent doesn't get paid (& there is no estate to pay), the lease term won't be over for a long time, and the eviction process won't provide relief in a timely manner.  The Courts may close due to Covid, or in some states it can take at least 6 months to evict (even if the tenant is clearly at fault).  It costs money to put their things in storage.

@Nathan Gesner I like the idea of the tenant authorizing someone to handle their estate so that the landlord doesn't get involved in making judgments about who gets to remove which possessions or what is thrown out.  

@Scott Mac Having a plan in the lease to deal with pets is an excellent idea - even if the tenant wasn't supposed to have any, we know sometimes they are tempted to sneak in furry friends.

It's good to have these things in the lease because if a landlord wants to re-rent the unit quickly, they will be seen as not being compassionate even though they feel very bad for their tenant & family.  But it is expensive to have a property sit vacant.

I was wondering, have you considered doing a master lease to see how things go, then perhaps purchasing the property later?  Either way, you must be represented by your own attorney.

Brandon Turner explains a master lease here, in case you’re not familiar with it:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

This could be a very motivated seller, which is not easy to find.  Put yourself in his/her shoes & imagine you have a building you are sick of dealing with, and 50% no paying tenants, and someone comes along who might take it off your hands.

 Zelle and PayPal can also be used, but PayPal charges a fee - you want to specify who pays the fees on things like this (let me guess, it won’t be the landlord....)  Electronic payment is popular with Millenials especially.  Perhaps a discount for setting up an automatic payment timed each month to transfer before the 1st to your bank account might work in some markets.  

You need to call your attorney in the morning and run this situation by them.

Definitely have a landlord tenant attorney prepare your leases for you.