Archive for July, 2008
Do You Trust Franklin to Choose Your Tenants For You?
July 30th, 2008 categories: Home Buyers, Investors/Landlords
This is based on a true story. The names have been changed to protect the guilty.
Meet Franklin
My client is looking to purchase a vacant two-family to live in.
Franklin is an “experienced” landlord with property for sale in Connecticut. Franklin has hired a reputable real estate firm to represent him in the sale of his two family, which he and the firm have advertised as being “vacant.”
I called to make an appointment to see the house and was told that there was a tenant in one of the units. I call the listing agent to verify this and to make sure that the tenant is month-to-month since my client is buying the house to live in it and rent out the other unit to tenants they’ve selected.
The listing agent assures me that the tenant is “family” and month-to-month.
My client writes up an offer. After some negotiation, everyone agrees on the terms but I was faxed back the contract with the most important clause of the contract scratched out - “Property to be vacant at closing time.”
Two weeks and 20 phone calls later, we slowly unravel that either Franklin lied to his agent or the listing agent lied to me. The property has a tenant with a lease - which won’t be up for 7 months. On top of it, the tenant is on some type of state assistance and has claimed an “attachment” to the apartment so the owner can’t force the tenant to leave now, soon or possibly ever.
All along, I advised my client that it’s not a good idea to inherit someone else’s tenants because you don’t know the previous owner’s standards.
For fun, I thought we could imagine Franklin’s tenant screening methodology.
Franklin’s Tenant Screening Process
Step One: Put Out a For Rent Sign
Qualified tenants are always just out walking around, looking for signs.
Step Two: Phone Interview with the Applicants to Pre-qualify
Forget employment status and credit history. Potential tenants score points if they have a sob story. See photo of my daughter who knows how to put on a sad face.
Franklin would rent her an apartment today.
Step Three: Show the Apartment
Hey, if they saw the ad on-line, who needs to see it in person. Congratulations! The lease is in the mail.
Step Four: Sign the Lease
Even if it’s on a napkin, it’s binding.
The Problem with Inheriting Tenants
It’s hard enough to choose qualified tenants without adding a middleman - the former owner who you don’t know. Before you buy a multi-family, make sure the tenants are on a month-to-month lease so you, not Franklin, can make the decision. Year leases must be honored by the new owner.
And in case you forgot about the problems tenants can cause, here are some good old fashioned tenant horror stories.
http://news14.com/content/top_stories/597845/man-charged-with-killing-landlord/Default.aspx
http://realestate.msn.com/Rentals/Article2.aspx?cp-documentid=4972876>1=35000
For related stories:
Deadbeat Tenants Win The Day in This Eviction Video
Really, Really, Really Bad Tenants
Even More Really, Really, Really Bad Tenants
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Connecticut Realtors Optimistic About Real Estate Market
July 26th, 2008 categories: Central Connecticut News & Information, Real Estate Industry
Connecticut Realtors have demonstrated their optimism for the real estate market by renewing their state licenses at a higher rate than last year and beyond what most people were expecting, including me.
7,313 licenses were renewed this year, compared to 6,876 last year. (RIS Media)
Realtors in neighboring Rhode Island don’t share this view - renewals are down 30% compared to last year.
While I think this shows Realtors aren’t believing the press coverage, I wouldn’t mind seeing the number of Realtors in Connecticut shrink a bit.
For related stories:
Central Connecticut Real Estate Market Report 7.11.08
Your House Isn’t Selling? Blame the Hartford Courant
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Natural and Premium Pet Food Stores in Central Connecticut
July 23rd, 2008 categories: Central Connecticut News & Information, Pets & People
I’ve searched high and low for the best dog food for my three dogs, shopping at each one of these stores.
DJs Grooming and Pet Supply in Manchester
I put them first because the owner recommended the food I currently feed my dogs, Artemis. It has turned out to be a great choice for my dogs. They love it, it doesn’t cause any unpleasant conditions and I don’t have to take out a loan to buy it. They don’t carry a big selection but they know the products very well.
Sweet Pea Natural Pet Foods in South Windsor
Sweet Pea just expanded so they carry even more great products. The owner is also very knowledgeable about the food she carries, which also includes Artemis.
Agway in Ellington
I used to buy Canidae at Agway in Ellington until my dogs didn’t like it anymore. After 2-3 years of feeding them this dog food, they just refused to eat it. I would get bored too if I ate the same thing for 2-3 years. The one thing I really liked about the Agway was that they always brought the food to the car for me:)
Millers Foods in Avon
Millers Foods makes their own line of raw food, Oma’s Pride, which many people I know swear to. Their food is also sold around the state so you don’t have to drive to Avon.
Pet Supplies Plus in Bristol, West Hartford & Wethersfield
Not much help if you have questions but they are conveniently located and carry many brands.
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Don’t Forget the Pool in Connecticut Real Estate Buying or Selling
July 21st, 2008 categories: Home Buyers
In Connecticut, a pool is generally considered to have no effect on a home’s value. For some people it’s a positive, but for others it’s a big negative.
Whatever your view, a pool may not impact value but it can impact the sale.
Sellers - Open the Pool, Please
If your pool is nice, open it up. Not only might it help convince skeptical buyers but you’re going to have to open it up anyway for the inevitable pool inspection. If your pool is covered, you can guarantee an inspection or at least setting aside some money in an escrow account to pay for possible repairs.
If your pool looks something like this, do everyone a favor and sell the pool “as is.” Leave the cover on and have your agent get some estimates to have the pool filled in or fixed and be prepared to give some money to the buyer for the task.
Buyers - Get it Inspected
For 8 months of the year, buyers can’t have pools inspected because pool season really only lasts 4 months - from the end of May to September. But during those 4 months, if a seller has the pool closed, your buyer radar should go up. Why hasn’t the seller opened it? Start imagining the photo immediately above.
In two recent purchases I was involved in, a seller chose not to have the pool opened but professed the pool’s perfection. “We used it last year!” After inspection, though, each pool was found to have problems. One had to be replaced entirely, for a cost of $4,000.
In both cases, the seller refused to address any problems with the pool but at least the buyers knew what they were getting themselves into.
Pool inspections run about $150 - $200.
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The People’s Republic of Starbucks in West Hartford on LaSalle Road
July 16th, 2008 categories: Central Connecticut News & Information
Not too long ago, I called West Hartford Center my home. I walked to Starbucks, Baskin Robbins and Ann Howard’s (yes, it was several years ago). I walked my dogs through the Center, did my hair and nails there and I even worked in the Center for five years. I feel like I know the center - or at least knew it.
Fast forward to last week. I was meeting a friend at the Starbucks on LaSalle so I grabbed a table outside. The store wasn’t terribly busy but all the tables outside (three of them) were taken. The table next to mine was talking politics so I just read the paper and drank my coffee.
By sitting at that table, drinking my coffee and reading the paper, I opened some portal to enter The Peoples Republic of Starbucks in West Hartford on LaSalle. I was greeted by its residents, which is how I know I entered a foreign land.
1. Can I Have a Seat And Blow Smoke in Your Face
A young woman quietly walks over to me, looks at the empty chairs at my table and politely asks if she can have a seat. I tell her, “OK, just until my friend comes.” Then she opens her purse and asks, “Can I smoke?”
Do I look like someone who enjoys second-hand smoke? And as politely as she asked to sit at my table, I told her “no.” She walked across the street and sat on a park bench. Note to young woman - that’s what park benches are for.
2. Am I Breaking Some Starbucks Rule By Sitting At A Table Alone
Still waiting for my friend and three more people ask to sit with me. First cigarettes - what’s next? Close talking and eventually groping? I couldn’t risk an escalation in personal space violations so I turned them all down.
3. Three’s a Crowd
After my friend arrived, we got to really talking - all personal. Another young woman approaches us and asks to sit at the table. I tell her she can take the chair and sit somewhere else but she wanted to sit with us. I then told her that my friend and I hadn’t seen each other in a long time and wanted to talk, PRIVATELY. Having her sit at the table leads to me having to acknowledge her presence, include her in on the conversation or ask her opinion. So, what brand of diapers do you use?
Shortly after that girl sulked away, my friend and I parted ways. But I walked away disturbed.
Am I anti-social? Yes.
Do I like my personal space? Yes.
Do I fear strangers (hello, I’m the daughter of a cop so everyone is a potential perp)? Yes.
However, it seemed to me that Starbucks on LaSalle had this whole communal thing going on - the shared experience of coffee drinking. The tables belong to the people??
As one of the people, I want some space and privacy so find another table to sit at, thank you very much.
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