All Forum Posts by: Sylvia H.

This is a simple lease violation. Send the tenant a letter telling them they are in violation of the lease and they need to get this person out of the unit by whatever date you state.  I'm not sure if you live in the property but you will be hard pressed to prove a daily rate. They can and will deny the person lives there.  The lease is the contract. You cannot go outside that contract and create another one that is not agreed to by both parties. If you evict the tenant for this you will need proof that someone is living there and that's where it gets tricky. How do you prove it? They will deny they have someone living there and the judge will ask for proof. 

This happened to me and what I did is I terminated the lease after the time passed for the tenant to correct the violation and then I sent them a letter increasing the rent by 100 dollars a month. The extra person was her boyfriend. One year later oyfriend ended up moving out because they broke up and the rent stayed the same. 

Buying a home without an agent is done all the time. The first thing I would point out to the seller is if an agent was involved they would have to pay that agent at least 5 percent of the sales price for a commission so they are effectively selling the house and saving 5 percent. You should be able to negotiate 5 percent on the deal. So lets say the house is worth 100K. They would have had to pay the realtor 5000. Because it's private they are saving having to pay that commission. They would be crazy not to at least meet you in the middle and take something off the price for not using a realtor. Regarding the paperwork a real estate attorney will be able to write up a contract for you which outlines the terms and conditions of the sale. FHA will not allow any type of peeling paint or safety hazards so be sure that none of that exists. Also for FHA financing you will need an FHA approved appraiser. You can't just use anyone it has to be FHA and that will be ordered by your lender. FHA also gives you an out that the seller has to sign should the house not appraise so you are covered. Good luck.

Real estate prices will come down as rates go up. It's supply and demand. If rates go up there will be less people buying which then makes sellers unable to sell quickly and then you will see the prices go down. If you find a deal that works for you then go for it but make sure you over estimate costs and under estimate rents. You also have to consider tenants not paying as often happens with a new landlord. Had a client that purchased a home with two tenants in it and both refused to pay rent. He had evictions right off the bat and had to pay the entire mortgage by himself for 6 months. Be prepared. Best of luck!

I would listen to your attorney. That is the person who knows best. Title companies are not attorneys and they cannot advise you of the pitfalls should something happen. Telling you that they do this all the time only means just that. They do it all the time, doesn't mean it's correct. Best of luck. 

Quote from @Michael Sheridan:

So I was curious what every one did after you successfully get someone evicted or do cash for keys or whatever. But if a tenant still owes you let’s say $5000 in between back rent and/or some damage to unit. Does anyone recover that money themselves by suing former tenant or does anyone just send it to collections and move on.

Just curious to hear everyone’s thoughts and if anyone has gone through this what they did to resolve?

I have sued in small claims and was successful. The woman paid back the money and was never late. This was a case where a woman broke her lease and left the deadbeat boyfriend in the apartment and I had to evict. I went after her because they were jointly and severally responsible for the rent. She had the good job and credit. If she chose to sue him after should could try but he wasn't working so that would have been futile.  This is why you don't rent to people with bad credit and no job. I knew she had the stability and if anything went south I could go after her and I did. Sounds like you may want to cut your losses if you gave them money to get out they aren't going to pay you back rent. Best of luck

Quote from @Jeremy Watson:

Have had our current tenant occupying our property for a bit over a year now.  For the first year the tenant was utilizing the United Neighborhood Program for 12 Months of Rent (they paid us each month, like clock work).

We prefaced to the tenant that they should be prepared to pay once the program was done a few months prior to it ending. Not much communication from them / and then they relayed they would be applying for ERAP (Emergency Rental Assistance Program). No problem, we wanted to help them as much as we could / ensure they have a safe and comfortable place to live. 

It has been weeks and weeks with non payment (we’ve also been in contract with ERAP…’it’s coming‘, was all we heard).  Finally we hear that the program has halted funding, and it leaves us no choice but to evict the tenant.  

We will be filing tomorrow/ I’ll keep everyone updated on the progress.  

Please feel free to reach out with questions. 

* It is never our intention as landlords for this to happen / we provide as much assistance as we can (working with these programs, sending job openings locally, etc)..however, this tenant has chosen not to help themself. 

Just to save you a lot of grief I thought I would let you know that most courts will not evict for non payment of rent with an ERAP application pending. The courts hands are tied. Once you have accepted it then you will probably have to wait to get your money. You state that they applied for ERAP and were told it was pending then you later state that you found out the program was halted. Was it the ERAP people who told you the money was coming or was it the tenant? ERAP calls for the landlord to file as well and if you have not received any paperwork from ERAP chances are your tenant was pulling your leg. You will have to prove to the court that no ERAP case is pending  because that is going to be your tenants defense and you will need something in writing or your case will be continued with delay after delay until you do. Good luck. You're going to need it. 

Quote from @Rich Emery:

I'm curious if anybody is aware of loan/mortgage programs available for nurses/healthcare professionals?

I'm a registered nurse on my way to growing my real estate portfolio.  I read that Florida has a "hometown heroes" program that has a lot of incentives for nurses to purchase real estate.  That got my gears turning and I'd love to take advantage of a programs like this.  

At this point, I'm a travel nurse and am very open minded as to where I'd like to invest/live.  So, really, two questions - are there any banks/brokers people know about that have good incentives for nurses to invest in real estate?  Are there any states/local governments that provide assistance or favorable deals on real estate purchases? 

You can google it and view all of the information online. Best that you get your info from the source. I think it's an excellent service. It offers discounts on services so would be worth it to check out the program. Best of luck. 

Never heard of such a thing not even from the worst hard money lenders. This feels like another planet of financing. Makes no sense. 

I never allow my rents to be collected by anyone but me. I don't collect in person. They are instructed on their lease on how they pay and what payment methods I accept as I don't accept personal checks.  They are given the account number at signing and it is just used for rent. I have 15 units and all pay with Zelle or they go to any branch of my bank and pay at the counter with a money order. I have a separate account for the rent and as soon as they pay it I'm notified with a text message and go in and sweep it out into my expense account. I use Online bill pay with Bank of America and it has worked perfectly. You don't need anything fancy.  I use numbers (Mac) to record rent and there is also a message box that I can write in any small notes I need to assign to a tenant. I use the same for tracking expenses. Best of luck. 

Quote from @Tony Pragosa:

Hello BiggerPockets community!

I just recently joined, and am new to the real estate investing field. I'm a first time home buyer, and looking to purchase my first multi family unit building. I do have a few questions, and would love any and all advice/critique of the below deal. I'll try to make this post as concise as possible, but please let me know if you need any additional information. Thank you all in advance!

My Situation:

Looking to purchase a duplex in Philadelphia, PA.

I plan on occupying 1 of the units.

Due to my job, I work and live overseas for approximately 6 months per year. My annual expenses are low, and my income is fairly high.

I plan on going the conventional loan route. I also expect to fully pay off the mortgage in 10 years or less.

The Building:

Current purchase price is $365k.

2 beds in each unit.

Both units are fairly updated, so repairs/value add would be minimal.

Projected rents in that area of similar units ~$1500/month.

I will be having property management take care of the rented unit.

What do you all think of the below metrics? Am I missing anything? Are my percentages too low?

Should I opt for an FHA loan instead of a conventional loan?

Am I over-analyzing?

Home Price	$365,000
Down Payment %	5%
Down Payment	$18,250
Closing Costs	$14,600
Down Payment Total	$32,850
Mortgage Term (In Years)	30
Loan Amount	$346,750
Interest Rate	7.000%
Rent	$1,500
Mortgage Payment	$2,307
Property Taxes	$300
Insurance	$100
Property Management (12%/Month)	$180
Vacancy (5%/Month)	$75
Repairs (5%/Month)	$75
Total Monthly Payment	$3,037
Total Annual Payment	$36,443
Monthly Cash Flow	-$1,537
Annual Cash Flow	-$18,443
Monthly Cash Flow w/out Mortgage	$3,077
Annual Cash Flow w/out Mortgage	$36,923

Hi I'm not licensed in your state but you are welcome to use the great calculators on my website. low bank rate .com There are lots of first time buyer products that will allow you to put a minimal amount down. FHA is a good option but the MIP (mortgage insurance premium) is pretty high and if you are going to pay it off in 10 years you don't need that. First time Fannie/freddie products can be good but there are income limits and you might be over. Best of luck