All Forum Posts by: Tom Fidrych

Quote from @Matt Devincenzo:

You are in CA so your rent increase is capped at a maximum of 10% per year. So consider that in your analysis.

As Matt mentioned, California caps the annual rent increase to 5% plus the local rate of inflation-approximately10 % for 2022. I don't think you can give them a no-cause eviction either. Look into AB 1482. I believe if you plan to do a substantial remodel, then you can terminate the lease but will need to pay them a relocation fee equal to 1 months rent(it could be worse). Additionally, some localities has more restrictive covenants. NOLO press publishes books(not just one) specific to California rental owners. You will do yourself good to read them.
Happy landlording.

If a real estate listing is located next to a dilapidated crack house, what are the odds that the listing's photos will show said structure-perhaps 0%. Likewise, asking the tenant to self inspect by providing photos won't work.
I inspect annually, checking under sinks and around hot water heater for water leaks and ask if there are any maintenance issues. Also, clean the electric wall heaters.
(4)24 hours is the mandated advance notice in my state but I'll contact them a week early to work out a convenient time.
(5) Never had a tenant deny a request but your state law will dictate that you have the right to enter. If they are not willing, there's likely something to hide.

Quote from @Travis Rogers:

@Tom Fidrych totally agree. I not only sold all my property there, I moved to a red state myself. @Troy Walling beware if you do become a landlord in Eugene, Tom's points are some of the other reasons I wouldn't recommend it. Spot on Tom! Also, keep in mind what they did during covid allowing tenants to get away without paying rent, etc. 

Good for you Troy. I've got 3 properties with 10 units there. They are paid off and updated so I'm just going to bend forward for now. 
The progressive agenda is killing me though. Anything resembling a standard is now termed discrimination. "It's discriminatory to screen someone based upon credit score." "If someone molested a child out of state, it's discriminatory to use that crime to limits someone's eligibility." etc.

I wouldn't recommend getting started with rentals in Eugene. It's an increasingly landlord hostile city. Find a red state where the numbers pencil.

Eugene is instituting a 3 phase regulatory framework. The first phase was announced this summer and limits application fees to $10/tenant, provides the framework to substantially increase the annual per door city tax, limits ability to search out of state criminal records, among other goodies. Below are the anticipated phase 2 and 3 regulations.

These regs are on top of the statewide 3% plus inflation annual rate increase cap and 90 day rent increase notice. 

Phase Two Recommendations include
• Limiting deposits (including security deposit, last month’s rent deposit, or other designated deposits, but not pet
deposits) to a maximum of twice the monthly rent.
• Require that applications be processed in the order received(I believe the state already requires this)
• Landlord payment of relocation expenses for issuing no-cause or qualifying landlord reason termination notices.
Phase Three Recommendations include:• Prohibit screening out applicants for credit defaults related to medical or education debt, and limit screening for minimum credit score.
• Loosen minimum monthly gross income screening standards to no greater than twice the monthly rent.
• Enact moratorium on no-cause terminations of tenancy unless landlord pays relocation.

Santa Cruz limits the number of whole house short term rental permits to 250 and there are no more available. So that precludes investors purchasing the home as a short term rental. The investment thesis will be based upon offering it as a long term rental(doesn't pencil at that price) or an appreciation play(unlikely in the short term). I suspect home prices will continue to decline for a while so you might want to price it competitively if you really want out. Surely your agent is getting some feedback as to the issue.

I don't have a short term rental but our family stayed in one this past summer as we do each year. The host wanted the place cleaned to the point of move in ready for the next quests- with the exception of washing the linens. What at PITA and on top of that she charged a cleaning fee! We would have considered renting the place next year but won't based on the cleaning requirement. 

Quote from @Robert Flores:

Thanks Greg! Iwill ask my realtor if they know them. I appreciate your input.

I'd find a reputable home inspector independent of what your agent recommends. I've found that some agents  refer you to an inspector that won't rock the boat to hard.
As others have stated, foundation work and sewer line replacement can be biggies. It's not the age of the property so much as the state of the property-upgrades that have occurred to the plumbing, electrical, etc.

Cameron. You will only be able to use the solar power during an outage if you have a back up battery. In several years time, most electric cars will act as back up batteries and be able to back feed into your home to provide power during an outage.
David. As Chris stated, the UL 1741rating of a system prevents the solar from back feeding during an outage. This has been code for 30 plus years so it's interesting that it's still a concern. Likewise, generator back up systems have a transfer switch that prevents back feeding.
In the past, a system would cost $10 or more per watt of face plate production capacity. So a 5,000 watt system would cost $50,000. Due to the high price, leases became common but the contract's fine print would kill real estate deals and cause a lot of pain for the lessee upon sale of home. Now days, the system cost is closer to $3 per watt so a 5,000 watt system is $15,000 minus a 30% federal tax credit. Most people buy the system outright these days and is the recommended option.

Some excellent points above but I look at it a bit differently. If your student loan debt is at a 4% interest rate and a 30 year mortgage is 7%, I would apply any available funds towards the home purchase. Your ahead by 3% on your debt this way. If you applied the whole $40K toward the mortgage and let the student loan remain, you would make 3% x $40,000= $1,200 per year in interest savings. Use this savings to pay off the higher cost money.

Offer to pay to have movers transport the "valuables" to a storage unit and pay the first few months so the seller can have time to sort through it. If the price is right, this may be a way to convince them and also get a discounted house.