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- Mar 3, 2009
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I do not own a rental property but I just feel like there's a devil's advocate argument here that's pro-Fastlane. Seems like a lot of the horror stories are for low-income tenants with individuals who are doing this as a hobby on the side, not a main business. On the fastlane side, you can earn substantial cashflows with like 35% return on capital for low-income housing, more than enough to hedge on legal expenses etc to flush them out. Still comes back to why you bought in the first place.
I see you are in NJ. I have 12 rentals there and it is one of the worse places in the country to be a low income land lord because if the tenants run off and leave a massive water bill... it gets attached to your house and you have no other choice but to pay it off.
This happened to me in 2005:
I have a rental with an enormous walkout basement. The previous owners had a bar, living room, bathroom, and a dance floor down there.
My lease states the tenant is responsible for all utilities, except sewer. I interview a tenant and she says she wants to put a washer and dryer in the basement.
I don't care because I'm thinking she's responsible for it so I rent the place out to her in April.
Around late August, I get a past due water bill notification.
It's $3600 bucks!
It's about 5pm. I dont call this chick... I hop in my truck and make a bee-line down the turnpike 2 hours away to her house.
I calm myself down and get into land lord mode. I knock on the door. No one answers, but I see all the lights on. And I hear music.
I go around back and Im blown away... this chick has a big a$$ above ground pool taking up the whole 2 car driveway. And it looks like the whole neighborhood is over having a party.
I walk in the basement and damn near faint... she has a small wading pool in the middle of the dance floor.
There's big fat ladies that have no business wearing bathing suits lounging in the pool drinking Alize and Hpnotiq out of little plastic cups.
There's all sorts of thugs posted along the walls or shooting dice in the living room.
And this chick is behind the bar serving drinks and making cash hand over fist.
My professionalism went out the window and the hood came out of me.
I was like, "Yo what the f#ck are you doing?" It got crazy quiet in the basement and everybody turned to look at us.
She was like, "What it look like I'm doing? I'm getting my grind on."
Cliff notes...
- I tell her about the water bill
- she says she aint paying shit
- I say I will evict her and take her to court
- she says "do you"
- I leave, then call her case worker the next day
- the case worker says put in a 60 day notice to evict
- I get her out in 30 days
- the place is smashed to hell, pipes are ripped out the wall, the refrigerator and stove are missing
- the final water bill is almost $4500
- I file 2 lawsuits in small claims court
- I'm still waiting on payment in 2014
- I have to LOL... because if I don't, I'll cry
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