All Forum Posts by: Tony Mai

@Nicholas Brady you do not need a degree to be successful in anything you do. Being a successful real estate investor does not require a degree BUT having a degree does help educate you and you will need that in any area you go into. Also you need money to buy real estate so you will use your own money which is the easiest or you will use other peoples money which will cost you time and or money! My advice is do both.

@Todd Wheatley Run! Foundations are one of the most expensive items to fix. Unless the seller will pay for the repair I would skip this deal and move on to another deal! Good luck

@Jerell Edmonds Simple answer to your question is yes. Why? Because once you master investing in Single family homes then you will the means and choice to invest in other areas.

@Saravanan Varadan

Hi Saravanan, without knowing the exact details of your property, this property manager is not a good fit for you. You should be prepared to pay to get out of the contract. If it cost you $18k in 3 months, what will it cost you in 1yr? Weight the cost of 1yr vs paying the penalty if the PM tries to come after you for breach of contract. You are going to pay to stay in the contract or pay penalties to get out of the contract. Figure out what’s cheaper and save yourself money. I am sorry you are going through this but this actually happens often.

@Patricia Steiner

This was the best response! You should listen to her 100%

@Sharon Steenbergen

Your current Property Manager needs to get fired. The fact that they told you the wrong information about the deposit is enough for me. Not all property managers look out for your best interest. Ask the next property manager what would they do with a deposit from a tenet that did not pay their rent? Property managers makes more money by releasing your unit vs spending the time of going to court.

Since you are about principle. I would keep the deposit and have the tenet fight you if they want it back. Get a better attorney that specializes in evictions and collections for a better price. If you are going to be doing this for the long term, you will need a better attorney and property manager.

@Garrett Blanchard there are a few ways of doing this.

The fastest is give everyone notice and see who stays.

On medium speed, pick your lowest renter and give notice. If they stay and pay move on to the next lowest until all are at market rent.

The slowest but easiest for the renter is slowly increase their rent with each lease renewal or every year until they are at market. It takes the longest but will make it easier for good tenets to stay. In your situation each renter is month to month so give them notice you are the new owner and will raise rent 5% and then wait 9-12 months before raising again. There are pros and cons with resigning a lease but obviously it’s better if they move out so you can increase to market rent.

With all of these options you will need extra funds to account for turnover cost. So raising rent will hurt you short term with cost but reduce your lost to lease cost.

@Adrian Vega I would say if they have paid you ontime since you have owner the property it is ok to give them there 5 day grace period. Your tenet is right and if you were my landlord I would prob tell you the same thing. Hope that helps.

@William Collins as a fellow landlord this is close to if not the worst tenet landlord story I have ever heard off but thank you for sharing.

I would follow up with the lawyer you hired and do what the cops said evict them fast.

Do not reward them with cash. If fact I would spend money and see if some “guys” “talked” to these squatters and they might leave.

Also if the previous tenet subleased this unit to these squatters. The previous tenet could have also subleased it to another “squatter” “roommate” that doesn’t get along with the ones you have now. I remember in college sometimes roommates don’t get a long and moved out. I suppose the “squatter roommate” would be just as legal as your current squatters if that was the same “sublease”

@Dan Gustavson

Don’t fall for the I pay everything in cash and no credit history. That’s just playing with Fire. I would not accept them, just move on to someone better