Keep property and become a landlord, or sell

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Then you have what we just went through with the pandemic where in many places there were laws prohibiting landlords from evicting tenants who did not pay if the non-payment was related to covid.

I'm going to count a world-wide pandemic separately from your normal situations. I'm assuming the PP was talking about normal situations, if they are speaking about pandemic-related situations hopefully they will clarify that.

 

[lanejudy]

How would it take someone 3 months to figure out a tenant hasn't paid rent? That would be the landlord's responsibility to ensure rent is coming through.

It can take time to show the consistent problem. It may be easily recognized -- rent due the 1st, by the 2nd it's late by the 10th it's past-due, etc. But while laws vary by location (state, county, municipality) one month missed rent isn't going to get someone evicted the next month. One month missed rent, several weeks of attempting to collect, a second month's missed rent, attempts to collect both, etc. It can take up to 3 months of "proof" before the landlord can even file a claim that will be considered. Then that process can be slow as molasses.

 

[KPeterso]

My friend rented out her previous condo and house. Her house it went ok - friend rented it from her and paid no issues. Now the condo --- renter paid on time every month but had constant issues calling them over to fix things. And then the renter's son punched a few holes in a wall and apparently ran up the carpeted steps in mud every day as it was gross and dirty when they moved out. The renter tried to claim that was all normal wear and tear (including the holes in the wall) and it got kind of ugly at that time. I know her place had a HOA too, but she was responsible to the HOA - not them. She said the money was not worth it and eventually sold both places.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

It can take time to show the consistent problem. It may be easily recognized -- rent due the 1st, by the 2nd it's late by the 10th it's past-due, etc. But while laws vary by location (state, county, municipality) one month missed rent isn't going to get someone evicted the next month. One month missed rent, several weeks of attempting to collect, a second month's missed rent, attempts to collect both, etc. It can take up to 3 months of "proof" before the landlord can even file a claim that will be considered. Then that process can be slow as molasses.

That's all well and good and I don't disagree but that was not at all what the poster said. If they would like to clarify their comment by all means they can. Their comment to which I was responding was "Once it is learned that a renter is not paying rent, which may be about 3 months". Bolding is mine and was what caught my attention.

Consistent problems do not mean anything towards eviction. That would be written in terms of a law or an ordinance if that was a requirement.

For example in my state 1 day past the due date means you can begin the eviction process. And clearly for my past coworker TX was similar enough in terms of basically you snooze you lose.

 

[Imzadi]

It can take time to show the consistent problem. It may be easily recognized -- rent due the 1st, by the 2nd it's late by the 10th it's past-due, etc. But while laws vary by location (state, county, municipality) one month missed rent isn't going to get someone evicted the next month. One month missed rent, several weeks of attempting to collect, a second month's missed rent, attempts to collect both, etc. It can take up to 3 months of "proof" before the landlord can even file a claim that will be considered. Then that process can be slow as molasses.

Thank YOU! for not making me type that all out. (Aren't you a lawyer too?) NY state has laws which protect the tenant, which is why it can be such a nightmare for a landlord to evict a bad tenant. It has to be established in court that the tenant was NOT making good faith efforts to pay, and are just falling (way) behind, but have every intention to pay, had circumstances been different.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Thank YOU! for not making me type that all out. (Aren't you a lawyer too?) NY state has laws which protect the tenant, which is why it can be such a nightmare for a landlord to evict a bad tenant. It has to be established in court that the tenant was NOT making good faith efforts to pay, and are just falling (way) behind, but have every intention to pay, had circumstances been different.

Which would be great to actually say that in your prior comment The way you worded it did not make sense to say it would take 3 months to actually find out someone wasn't paying rent, unless the landlord was not paying attention.

 

[tvguy]

I'm going to count a world-wide pandemic separately from your normal situations. I'm assuming the PP was talking about normal situations, if they are speaking about pandemic-related situations hopefully they will clarify that.

But what is normal now? While most pandemic specific rental laws has expired, the pandemic in some areas has spawned permanent changes to rental laws that aren't very landlord friendly.

 

[lanejudy]

Their comment to which I was responding was "Once it is learned that a renter is not paying rent, which may be about 3 months". Bolding is mine and was what caught my attention.

I guess if you read it very literally, but it seemed clear enough to me she was describing the whole process as steps, which may have an absolute waiting period involved at various points along the way.

Consistent problems do not mean anything towards eviction. That would be written in terms of a law or an ordinance if that was a requirement.

For example in my state 1 day past the due date means you can begin the eviction process.

Consistency problem, repeat problem - it does matter in some areas. Again, laws vary, and it helps to keep that in mind when reading posts. In places with tenants rights, some "savvy" tenants (translation: repeat offenders) even recognize just how far they can push that process before making a partial payment which bumps the timeline back again. Horribly long and challenging, meanwhile the landlord is covering possibly mortgage, insurance, taxes and possibly repairs for maybe a year or longer.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

But what is normal now? While most pandemic specific rental laws has expired, the pandemic in some areas has spawned permanent changes to rental laws that aren't very landlord friendly.

You're sorta trying to spin it all up in twists, there's no need to

If a place changed their law or ordinance due to the pandemic it's no longer a temporary change unless noted otherwise. That the pandemic spurned the change doesn't matter, it's just whatever the law is. I suggested the OP would want to check the tenant/landlord laws and ordinances of their area because as a landlord it is your responsibility to know what you can and cannot do and what your tenants can and cannot do. As a tenant is it your responsibility to know what you can and cannot do and what your landlord can and cannot do.

To give an example curbside liquor was temporarily allowed by my state's alcohol and tobacco department during the pandemic by temporary governor's orders. That change was made permanent. Although the pandemic was the catalyst it doesn't matter as that's the new law. If we were still under a temporary allowance for curbside liquor it would be customary for me to say that along those lines.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I guess if you read it very literally, but it seemed clear enough to me she was describing the whole process as steps, which may have an absolute waiting period involved at various points along the way.

I got the waiting period. The reason I commented again was because of saying it could take 3 months to find out someone wasn't paying rent. Because states all have varying laws how would I know that the person was saying in their state they have to wait until 3 months (or some vague term laws tend to use) of non-payment of rent in order to even start the process vs saying it took them 3 months to find out someone wasn't paying the rent (which is what they said). The rest of the comment I had no issue with.

Consistency problem, repeat problem - it absolutely does matter in some areas. Again, laws vary, and it helps to keep that in mind when reading posts. In places with tenants rights, some "savvy" tenants (translation: repeat offenders) even recognize just how far they can push that process before making a partial payment which bumps the timeline back again. Horribly long and challenging, meanwhile the landlord is covering possibly mortgage, insurance, taxes and possibly repairs for maybe a year or longer.

That's why I said "That would be written in terms of a law or an ordinance if that was a requirement." It only matters if your law or ordinance is written that way otherwise it doesn't matter. A condition such as that is not a blanket statement.

For my state non-payment of rent is under a different timeline than failure to comply with the lease. Both require 3 days/72 hour notice but eviction can start immediately if non-payment once the 3 days/72hours has gone by without payment. If it's due to failure to comply with the lease it's 30 days. If due to non-payment if the landlord accepts partial payment it restarts the clock again. And the reason I mention that is because of wondering why it would take someone 3 months to find out someone wasn't paying rent. If it was written that you have to wait in that person's area I wouldn't have wondered.

Laws and ordinances absolutely vary but no one was disputing that I don't believe

 

[Genie+]

Sell. Becoming a landlord in many ways can be like a part time job, plus expenses pop up. There’s risk and considerations either way, but the ease of taking the $100k and investing some is less complicated and less commitment, likely has a positive value on your quality of life.

I’d give renting more consideration if the market cools before you’re able to sell, or you like the idea of holding the property for your kid(s).

 

[TwoMisfits]

Although I realize most tenants are good people, with my luck I would get the ones that would literally tear the place apart, refuse to pay rent, and have to go through the long process of eviction. I would sell, take the profit, and not look back.

I agree, especially with this being a NJ property. I wouldn't want the risk of being stuck with no renter and the property taxes being due or worse, a non-paying renter who I can't evict with the property taxes due...

 

[lanejudy]

how would I know that the person was saying in their state

Because she said "here in NY state"...?

 

[Miffy]

Assuming you'd be making $600 clear every month from renting it--and there'd be no additional expenses, which is pretty unlikely--but, say, this is the case. If so, at $600/month, it'd take you 166 months to save $100,000. That's almost 14 years.

On the practical side of things, during those 14 years you'd probably have to invest some money in the property. Let's say $10K. Now it'll take you another year+ to get to the $100,000.

And, oh yeah, you'll have to pay taxes on the income of $600/month.

I don't know if you'll have to pay capital gains tax on the $100,000, so I can't figure that part of the equation. But, to me, I'd sell the place and breathe a sigh of relief.

Think about it--you could have good tenants, bad tenants, no tenants (and the property would sit vacant, just being an expense for you).

A friend of mine was a landlord for a while--the property was an investment, not your situation at all, but still--and she was beyond relieved when she finally sold it.

 

[TwoMisfits]

A little NJ landlord/tenant law from their courts - eviction would have to happen through the court process, so it, by definition, will always take time...you can also see some tenant rights from this page and it refers you to the laws you need to know for being a landlord...

https://www.njcourts.gov/selfhelp/s... file for an,landlord can take further action.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I would be afraid to be a landlord in these times. Unless my kids had hopes of moving back there someday, I'd lean toward selling now.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Because she said "here in NY state"...?

That was after the part of the comment I questioned.

"Once it is learned that a renter is not paying rent, which may be about 3 months, here in NY state, it could take another 3 months to start the proceedings to evict the person." I understood that in NY it could take 3 months to start the evictions process (the underlined part) once you've find out the renter was not paying rent. That is state specific.


The italics part is what I was questioning it was written that you may not find out for 3 months that rent was not paid. What I asked was "How would it take someone 3 months to figure out a tenant hasn't paid rent?" A clarification was all I sought from the poster who wrote the comment. And if the clarification is that the tenant needs to demonstrate a habitual problem then that's the answer to the question, problem solved!

The reason my coworker had such issues with her tenants in TX was she sat on the issue too long and it entered different rules and different court proceedings. It's not always a horrendous long drawn out process but if you sit on an issue it can be depending on laws and ordinances and if you're not familiar with the laws and ordinances of the state you are living in it can be. If you can see from my perspective that's why I asked about not finding out the tenant hasn't paid rent for 3 months, because in some places that can be a mess of your (landlord that is) making and if you're thinking about being a landlord you'd want to make sure you're aware, it could be a misconception that you need to do xyz. There are def. places that are much more tenant friendly and the opposite is true.

 

[abdmom]

Sell. If the property is currently being used as a primary residence by one of you, you may be eligible for the capital gains exclusion upon sale. If you rent it out for 3 or more years, you won't be. I'm another former landlord who is happy never to be one again.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

I live in NJ. Can you PM me the town? What are your Airbnb possibilities? My siblings and I own commercial real estate in NJ so we have some experience there. Also know that there are needs for short term furnished rentals in our area. I can tell you the little I know about that as well lol

 

[Colleen27]

Make sure you're looking at all the costs. I had basically the same choice to make about my mother's house, with very similar numbers... except that the city requires an annual rental inspection and registration, the property taxes would almost triple going from the current owner-occupied rate to the higher rate charged on non-primary residences, and the insurance on the property would go up (though only slightly) as well. So instead of the ~$800 I'd originally estimated I could clear based on the current upkeep expenses on the house, I'd be looking at closer to $500/mo in profit - nothing to sneeze at, of course, but a low enough number that it could easily be eaten up by repairs, legal costs, etc. That's not enough to be worth the risk/hassle, for me. The only way I'd have done it is if we wanted to hold on to the house for ourselves or one of the kids to call home in the semi-foreseeable future, but once we ruled that out, selling just made more sense.