Friday, October 16, 2009

The Importance of Walk-Through Inspection for Apartments

The recent article in the Waco Tribune Herald (See below) started me to think about the importance of having a systematic and documented walk-through procedure with all tenants at move in and move out. In this case, a local apartment complex lost a suit against a tenant for damages to an apartment. No formal walk-through was conducted and the entire incident ended up in court with the complex paying nearly $12,000.00 in legal bills for the tenant. Yikes!

The walk-through is a critical part of the lease and it should not be avoided. It is sloppy management to allow tenants to move in without documenting the state of the apartment. I am reminded of the simple procedure that all of us encounter when we rent an automobile. They require you to initial a checklist of any damage to the car. You must take the time to note any scratches, stains or dents so that you're not liable later. This is meant to protect the renter but it also protects the owner.
When a landlord lets a tenant move in without a walk-through, they are starting the relationship on a flawed foundation that is likely to cause problems in the future. There is no "baseline" of the property condition that both parties have agreed upon that would allow you to determine abusive damage upon moving out. Any damage that shows up at move out would be characterized by the tenant as "That damage was there when we moved in". Conversely, the landlord looks at any damage at move out and characterizes it as "damage was caused by tenant during the lease". Hence, a disagreement and a problem that is nearly impossible to resolve, since it is left to a "he said / she said" dispute. The presence of an initial walk-through sheet completely removes this controversy by placing in writing any damages that are present in the property. It is imperative that this be done in writing since a verbal agreement is not enforceable.

The exit walk-through is just as important and is the critical second half of the process. This is where both the landlord and the tenant take the time to walk through the property and identify any new damages to the property, verify that everything is removed and that the apartment is cleaned properly. Our management uses a checklist that spells out the reductions in rental deposit that will happen and the tenant can either correct the problem and receive their entire deposit back or take a reduction in the deposit. IE -> If oven is not cleaned we charge $25.00.

This exit walk-through also needs to be done in writing to protect both the landlord and the tenant from any confusion.This can come back to you in a negative when a tenant leaves under bad terms. It is the proper way to conduct business since it avoids costly disagreements and sets a professional level of conduct.

The beginning and ending walk-through meetings are critical for a property owner's success since it sets a tone that will persist throughout the lease and after the tenant leaves the property. If the manager doesn't do a good job and tries to abuse the tenants with sloppy management and paperwork then the property's reputation is harmed. A good landlord sees the long term benefit of consistently doing a great job with documentation and runs their business as a professional. This is the kind of landlord that will be in business for the long run. Any ill-gotten profit has a way of corrupting the property and only benefiting the owner in the short term.



Highlights from the article is included here:
------------------------------

Source: Waco Tribune Herald (August 16, 2009) Buzz up! By Cindy V. Culp Tribune-Herald staff writer

2 Waco apartment complexes increasingly taking former tenants to court over damages

Two local apartment complexes have filed lawsuits against multiple former tenants, alleging they caused damage totaling hundreds or thousands of dollars.

Attorneys for the complexes, Saddlebrook and Saddlebrook West apartments in Waco, says the suits are justified. But some targeted tenants claim the apartments are acting unfairly.

During the past two years, the complexes have filed at least 34 suits against former tenants. A few are pending. Some have been dismissed, and others have resulted in judgments for the apartments, with amounts ranging from about $500 to nearly $10,000.

Last month, however, a former tenant prevailed at trial. Baylor University associate professor Sung Joon Jang and his wife had been sued by Saddlebrook West for alleged damage to the carpet and countertops.

The Jangs contend they left the apartment in better condition than when they moved in. Their attorney, Dan Tilly of Waco, tracked down the previous tenant, who testified in court that her family had either caused or inherited the problems for which the Jangs were charged.

The jury ordered the complex to pay the nearly $12,000 in legal fees the Jangs have incurred.

What most complexes do to recover unpaid damages, is send claims to a collection agency. The former tenants then get “harassed” without the benefit of a third-party arbitrator like a judge, he said. Plus, the complexes usually only recover a fraction of the money due, he said.

The Jangs’ experience with Saddlebrook West began two years ago, when the family moved to Waco from out of state. When they arrived, the carpet in their unit had multiple stains, Tilly said.

That was a special problem for the Jangs, since their custom is to remove shoes before coming indoors, Tilly said. They asked the management to replace the carpet but were denied, he said. Another anomaly the Jangs noticed after move-in was a cutting board glued into the kitchen countertop. When they asked a maintenance worker about it, they were told it was normal for the complex, Tilly said.

A year later, when the Jangs’ lease was about to be up, they contacted the apartment’s staff about doing a walk-through. The staff acted surprised that the Jangs wanted to be present for the walk-through, Tilly said, and stalled in setting a time. Because of that, the Jangs ended up vacating the apartment without a walk-through.

Not long after, the Jangs received a letter stating they owed damages totaling about $1,450. If they did not pay within five days, the letter said, they would be liable for more than $4,200 because of fees that would kick in for violating their lease agreement. When the Jangs went to the complex and asked to see the alleged damage, they were denied, Tilly said. The next day, all of the carpet from the apartment was removed, he said.

At trial, apartment staff presented photos they said were of carpet stains. But the photos are so close up, there is no way to know the true nature of the stains, what room they were in or even if they were in the Jangs’ apartment, Tilly said.

In preparing for the trial, Tilly learned the carpet in the Jangs’ apartment had not been replaced since the complex was built in 2001. “The day they moved in, the carpet was 6 years old,” Tilly said, noting that the complex has a six-year depreciation schedule for carpet.

The prior tenant also testified that the kitchen countertop had been damaged when someone in the family set a hot pot on it, Tilly said. She notified the apartment of the damage, she said. The complex chose to “fix” the damaged portion by gluing the cutting board over it, Tilly said. Photos of the burned area underneath the board were introduced at trial.

“What the apartments were doing was rather than pay that as maintenance costs was to charge Dr. and Mrs. Jang,” Tilly said. Tilly said his clients are pleased with the jury’s decision.

Sprigg emphatically denied that the complexes try to avoid doing walk-throughs with tenants. In fact, he said, the apartments’ staff encourage tenants to participate in walk-throughs so any potential issues can be quickly sorted out.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Opportunity Costs and the 1031 Exchange option

Opportunity Costs: The unexpected costs of property ownership!

You've done quite well with your property...perhaps now is the time to cash in your midsize property for a larger one. Holding on to a property can actually limit your ability to go after a bigger property.

The occupancy is high, the debt service is low, maintenance is stable...did you know there's an opportunity costs associated with owning an apartment property?

There’s a phenomenal tax incentive available in a 1031 Exchange, which allows you to take the gain from the sale of a property and roll it over, tax-deferred, into another property.

When you sell the property, the original deferred gain, plus any additional gain since the purchase of the replacement, is subject to tax. Unless, that is, you opt to roll-over that gain into another like-kind property.

One way to avoid premature receipt of cash or other proceeds is to use a qualified intermediary or other exchange facilitator to hold those proceeds until the exchange is complete. Be careful! You, nor anyone who has worked for you (attorney, broker, etc) in these capacities (for the past 3 years), can act as your facilitator!

“Whenever you sell business or investment property and you have a gain, you generally have to pay tax on the gain at the time of sale. IRC Section 1031 provides an exception and allows you to postpone paying tax on the gain if you reinvest the proceeds in similar property as part of a qualifying like-kind exchange. Gain deferred in a like-kind exchange under IRC Section 1031 is tax-deferred, but it is not tax-free." (Source: IRS.gov FS-2008-18, February 2008)

Investing in Real Estate Tip - Leverage

I believe that people have an innate desire to own something solid and substantial that they can actually touch.[.1] Real estate is great for this type of investor.[.2] It is one of a small group of investments where an investor has the potential to impact the profitability through good management, hard work and smart negotiating. As you look at all of the types of real estate available for investment, I believe that Multi-Tenant investment real estate deserves a special look. It has the unique ability of allowing you to leverage a group of tenants with a single transaction. A single apartment complex may contain from as few as 4 units to several hundred apartments. Each one can be purchased with a single contract and is treated as a single transaction.

Leverage, as a term used in real estate investment or in fact any investment, allows you to multiply the return on the money that you have invested to get even greater returns. "Give me a lever and a place to put it, and I can move the world". [.3] A great quote! This is truly the power of using leverage in real estate. You can invest a small amount of capital (say 20% of the total purchase price) and see huge effective returns on that capital on an annual basis. This is what we are talking about when we talk about leverage in a real estate transaction.[see my video below!]

[.1] There is plenty of competition, be ahead of others by having a good relationship with your local bank and an experienced realtor.

[.2] There are no "no risk" investments, even if you can touch this. Make sure you've done your homework.
[.3]Archimedes of Syracuse


Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Getting Started in Investing with Confidence

Confidence is the key critical factor to be successful because without it many investors would not move beyond their first initial property.

If that first property turns into an “alligator” and cost them a ton of money, they would have sold it at a loss and never purchased another property.
It takes lots of
courage to begin an investment and it is this that needs to also sustain you when things are tough. Courage to sustain you when you get calls for unplanned expenses. Courage needs to sustain you when you must evict tenants for non-payment of rent, illegal activities, etc. And finally, courage needs to sustain you to complete your business plan as well as facing the true expenses / income numbers that demonstrate how your property is performing.

Confidence keeps you making the tough phone calls when you would rather stick your head in the sand and hope that the problems go away. The confidence allows you to hold your head high and celebrate when things are going well and you know that you have faced every challenge head on.

This reminds me of a familiar passage: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27a.

"Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should."


THE SHEEHY TEAM: Empowering Investors To Do More Deals!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Laying the Groundwork - Investing in Real Estate


“It takes a bigger foundation for a courthouse than it does for an outhouse”. I can remember reciting this phrase when people would make fun of size of my feet. There is a similar principle: a large building needs a big foundation in order to support the structure, similarly you need to build a strong "investment" foundation as preparation to build a strong real estate investment portfolio.

Therefore, you must begin your investments by creating a strong financial foundation that will carry you through your investment deals.

Here are some of the basics:

The 80% rule. It is imperative that you maintain a good credit score and the easiest way I have found to do this is to live beneath your means. In general you should live on 80% (or less) of your take home pay. If you have overspent and are unable to live at that level, you have two options. One, begin spending less immediately (pay off debt, etc) or two you can make more money. Professionals in all fields who excel at the basics are successful in athletics and investing and in life. Being diligent with your finances and saving a portion of each paycheck is simply a pre-requisite to successful living--throughout your life.
Keep Your Day Job: In the initial stages of investing in real estate it is nearly impossible to live on the excess cash flow. Property expenses and debt service take up nearly everything that you have coming in every month. Additionally, if you take money out every month it is difficult to build up the cash needed for the occasions when capital repairs or improvements are needed on the property. The benefit in the early years is that you are building equity in your investment that will allow you to live on in the later years. Remember the child’s fable of the tortoise and the hare. The hare-type person wants to take money out of his investment immediately, while the tortoise-type person is content to wait and roll all of the cash into the property each month. The tortoise is the one that crosses the finish line first in the fable and the tortoise-type in real estate investing

Cash Is King: Banks love to see a borrower with cash on hand. My recommendation is that you build up $100K (or more) of cash as soon as possible and have it on hand with your local bank. It seems like a lot of money but it is a great way to rapidly get a banker working for you in completing your deals. In most of your deals you should not need to leverage this cash toward individual transactions.