All Forum Posts by: Terry Matula

Thanks again for the advice.
They had technically started eviction proceedings, since the first step is hand-delivering a Notice To Vacate. But they never went beyond that.

To update: I called the Title Company lawyer, just to assess my options. While he wasn't able to help much, since he's not able to be my representative, I guess he did put the screws on the Seller's agent since I implied that I was looking for ways to break the contract. The agent ended up paying for a truck and got the tenants to move that night. Besides some trash left behind, there really wasn't any damage... so we caught a break.

Now we're waiting for the seller to sign the closing papers and wire their closing costs. If THAT doesn't happen by midnight, they'll be in breach of contract... and I get to call another lawyer tomorrow. Fun.

I may not be cut out for the real estate investment business.

Now I'm wondering, and Google isn't helping, if they DO pay the back rent after/if we close... do WE get the rent?

Thanks everyone!
Our agent put in the "proof of eviction proceeding" because he said something about not being able to force the seller to evict the tenants, or something.

And to be honest, the tenants are a very nice family, so I don't think they'll trash the place. They just got in over their head. I just really don't want our first experience as landlords to be filing eviction papers with the court... especially when we were under the impression the sellers were going to do that. We're actually looking for ways to back out of the deal... especially since the sellers have dragged their feet on a LOT of things, like getting us the disclosure, and signing/initialing certain documents.

I'd also like to point out, we've never received the original lease agreement. Is that required, or does it need to explicitly stated in the contract?

I'm waiting on a return call from an attorney, but I wanted to see if there were any quick opinions/thoughts on this: My wife and I are buying a duplex, and the existing tenants are 3 months behind. The current property manager told us they were being evicted and would be out by the time we closed (Wednesday). Now, it doesn't look that way.

We had a provision in our contract that states it would "be vacant or proof of eviction proceedings shall be provided"... and so far, all we got was a letter the manager sent, telling them to vacate the premises. And in the email, he said we could files with the court whenever we wanted. Eventhough he told us before that HE was going to file. I just don't know if that one letter constitutes "proof of eviction proceedings" or not.

The problem is, I think the tenants are waiting for us to get the house, hoping they can "reset" the deal, so to speak.

So how would you handle this? When we put the contract in, we were thinking we'd get a vacant duplex to fix up, live in one side, and eventually rent out the other side to tenants of our choosing. Now, we're faced with the hassle of evicting previous tenants. And I assume there are fees we'd have to pay with filing the paperwork, and eventually having to physically remove them from the premises.

And with their deposit, does that go to US... or do the sellers keep it, since they haven't gotten the rent? (we're in Texas... if that matters)

Thanks!

That makes sense.

What I wonder, do other investors look at the properties around theirs and could they be influenced to improve their own properties? So, if I upgraded our 4-plex, and started renting at $100 or above the average, would other's maybe follow suit? The location is good enough, that I think getting $800-$1K/ month wouldn't be unreasonable, if the buildings weren't so trashy.

The zip code has fairly low crime rates, but those two blocks are not so good. Though it's mostly domestic issues, with some theft and graffiti.

And as I was saying the neighborhood is very nice, and improving. It's literally just 2 blocks of 4-plexes and duplexes that are less than desirable.

It's just north of the Wooten neighborhood... close to 183 and Burnett.

I'm looking at a 4-plex in Austin that's under HomePath FirstLook, and I would OO for a year. It's listed at $156K, two 2/1.5 and two 1/1.5 units... one 1/1.5 is rented now at $550, the 2 br could go for $650 as is. But the place is looking pretty crappy, and I'd have to do renovations.

With a Homepath Renovation Loan, I could get $35K above, and I was thinking I could put $10K into each 2 br, and $7K into each 1 br.

The issue I'm having is the area is not the nicest. Actually, it's JUST the two blocks with a bunch of 4 and 2 plexes... go 2 blocks into the neighborhood, and it's a very nice, upcoming area with home prices in the mid-$200s. It's relatively close to downtown Austin, and convenient to other areas. I would like to think it might become a bit more gentrified and be influenced by the neighborhood, or at least attract some college students, or post-grads, that want something more than just an apartment. But I don't know.

There have been a few other 4-plexes sold in the past year or so, but there's no suggestion of those landlords making their property any better. Their crappy looking properties can still make money, so is there any motivation to make the area nicer? Personally, I'd like to have a nicer complex and increase rents by $100... but will that be financially smart? Does is hurt to have a nicer property amongst crappy properties... or is there a possibility that I could influence OTHERS to make their properties nicer?

I just don't know enough to be totally comfortable with the investment. Any thoughts on matter would be appreciated.