Property in Tennessee
We paid cash for the land in Tennessee. It is developed land with utility hookups, but currently still has trees and overgrowth. It’s located in a large planned community with lots of lakes for boating and fishing and six different golf courses. From the research I have conducted, the whole town is pretty much a planned community.
Currently, we pay a monthly due because we own land in the area. Everyone who lives there pays dues for living there and for the club house. Our intention when we purchased the land was to hold it until we were contacted by someone who wanted to buy it for more than the initial purchase price. Because of issues with one of our other properties not bringing in income, we are considering putting it on the market.
The purchase process for the land was the easiest of all the purchases and straight forward since we paid cash for the land. Once all the paperwork and title work had been signed and registered with the county, we received the title in the mail. The ladies at the Cumberland County Records Office were really friendly and helpful each time I called them to figure out what paperwork I needed to change the land title from one LLC to another LLC.
Property in Michigan
When we were at the Buying Summit in September, we decided to purchase another property. This property is located in Detroit. All the paperwork and title were finished in October and received an escrow refund. We started paying the note in December and have only received one rent payment in March 2015.
The management company, Aspect Properties, was really helpful in the beginning. They went to court to have the judge make a decision about the back rent and if the tenant would be allowed to stay in the property. The court made a decision that the tenant would pay half the back rent once some repairs were made to the property. Aspect worked with BuyPD to have them pay for the repairs and Aspect received a check from BuyPD based off of a bid.
I contacted Aspect Property in May because there still had been no rent payment and because I figured the repairs should have been completed. They contacted the renter and she gave them a new list of repairs that still were not fixed. I sent the following email to the management company.
Rachel and Dallin,
Below is what the tenant says is not done.
Here is what the tenant is stating that isn’t done,
1. The tub still leaks into the basement ----was in court paperwork but not on service request
2. Back entry door is "messed up" and they don't have a key for it. ---- it this the side security door on service request?
3. No basement windows ------ was in court paperwork but not on service request
4. Mold and mildew in the basement --------was in court paperwork but not on service request
5. Bathroom is being held together by duct tape
6. Only once electrical plug in the master bedroom works ------was in court paperwork but not on service request
7. Gutters were never fixed now squirrels live in the roof
8. Kitchen counter needs to be sealed
9. Carpet was never cleaned
10. No bathroom mirror
11. Bathroom sink still leaks
12. Tree branches are still in the garage
The service request has other items that were supposed to be fixed as well.
This is what needs to happen. The items that were mentioned in the court notes need to be added to the service request and BuyPD needs to pay for them. Next Aspect needs to send someone by to verify the work on the service request was completed, and once the new repairs are done, verify those are done.
Once all the repairs noted to include the dryer are fixed the tenant needs to be told to start paying rent. the rest of the repairs she is listed that were not in the court notes will be fixed in order of issue.
I am very unhappy that we have had this property for almost 8 months and have not received any rents. I feel that Aspect dropped the ball because the number of issues is large and they should have been taken care of before the property was sold. Each time an issue was brought up by the tenant it should have been dealt with then and not when there are more issues caused by lack of interest in the part of the previous owner or the management company.
Let me know how you are going to fix this issue.
Three days later I received the following email:
Good afternoon,
I hope you are well. I am writing to let you know that at this time Aspect has made the decision to no longer manage your property. We appreciate your business and time working with us. We want to do what is right for you as the owner and for us as well.
Please let us know the new management company you choose and we would be happy to send them any information they need.
Thank you so much
So I now have no property management company and I have called BuyPD to help me try and figure out what to do next. Currently, I am waiting to hear from a supervisor.
Will keep you posted on what else we do with this property.
Property in Wisconsin
We started the process in July for the purchase of a property in St. Louis, but there turned out to be an issue with the title. So in November, the company offered to use the money we already paid with to switch properties. We decided to take the offer and get a property in Milwaukee. The paperwork went through and we started paying on the mortgage note in February 2015. In March, we received a refund from the escrow closing and we started to receive rents in May.
The management company, Building Helpers, has been great. Whenever I email, there is a response within 24hrs. It is refreshing to work with a company that keeps me informed about the renters and the property. For example, I received an email letting me know they had talked to the renters who would not be able to pay the full rent that month due to not having enough hours at work the last couple of week, and that they would pay the rest with the next month’s rent. I had no issues with this, and let the management company know so they could let the tenant know they would not be penalized. The next month, the tenants paid the past due and current rent.
Will keep you posted on what else we do with this property.
We paid cash for the land in Tennessee. It is developed land with utility hookups, but currently still has trees and overgrowth. It’s located in a large planned community with lots of lakes for boating and fishing and six different golf courses. From the research I have conducted, the whole town is pretty much a planned community.
Currently, we pay a monthly due because we own land in the area. Everyone who lives there pays dues for living there and for the club house. Our intention when we purchased the land was to hold it until we were contacted by someone who wanted to buy it for more than the initial purchase price. Because of issues with one of our other properties not bringing in income, we are considering putting it on the market.
The purchase process for the land was the easiest of all the purchases and straight forward since we paid cash for the land. Once all the paperwork and title work had been signed and registered with the county, we received the title in the mail. The ladies at the Cumberland County Records Office were really friendly and helpful each time I called them to figure out what paperwork I needed to change the land title from one LLC to another LLC.
Property in Michigan
When we were at the Buying Summit in September, we decided to purchase another property. This property is located in Detroit. All the paperwork and title were finished in October and received an escrow refund. We started paying the note in December and have only received one rent payment in March 2015.
The management company, Aspect Properties, was really helpful in the beginning. They went to court to have the judge make a decision about the back rent and if the tenant would be allowed to stay in the property. The court made a decision that the tenant would pay half the back rent once some repairs were made to the property. Aspect worked with BuyPD to have them pay for the repairs and Aspect received a check from BuyPD based off of a bid.
I contacted Aspect Property in May because there still had been no rent payment and because I figured the repairs should have been completed. They contacted the renter and she gave them a new list of repairs that still were not fixed. I sent the following email to the management company.
Rachel and Dallin,
Below is what the tenant says is not done.
Here is what the tenant is stating that isn’t done,
1. The tub still leaks into the basement ----was in court paperwork but not on service request
2. Back entry door is "messed up" and they don't have a key for it. ---- it this the side security door on service request?
3. No basement windows ------ was in court paperwork but not on service request
4. Mold and mildew in the basement --------was in court paperwork but not on service request
5. Bathroom is being held together by duct tape
6. Only once electrical plug in the master bedroom works ------was in court paperwork but not on service request
7. Gutters were never fixed now squirrels live in the roof
8. Kitchen counter needs to be sealed
9. Carpet was never cleaned
10. No bathroom mirror
11. Bathroom sink still leaks
12. Tree branches are still in the garage
The service request has other items that were supposed to be fixed as well.
This is what needs to happen. The items that were mentioned in the court notes need to be added to the service request and BuyPD needs to pay for them. Next Aspect needs to send someone by to verify the work on the service request was completed, and once the new repairs are done, verify those are done.
Once all the repairs noted to include the dryer are fixed the tenant needs to be told to start paying rent. the rest of the repairs she is listed that were not in the court notes will be fixed in order of issue.
I am very unhappy that we have had this property for almost 8 months and have not received any rents. I feel that Aspect dropped the ball because the number of issues is large and they should have been taken care of before the property was sold. Each time an issue was brought up by the tenant it should have been dealt with then and not when there are more issues caused by lack of interest in the part of the previous owner or the management company.
Let me know how you are going to fix this issue.
Three days later I received the following email:
Good afternoon,
I hope you are well. I am writing to let you know that at this time Aspect has made the decision to no longer manage your property. We appreciate your business and time working with us. We want to do what is right for you as the owner and for us as well.
Please let us know the new management company you choose and we would be happy to send them any information they need.
Thank you so much
So I now have no property management company and I have called BuyPD to help me try and figure out what to do next. Currently, I am waiting to hear from a supervisor.
Will keep you posted on what else we do with this property.
Property in Wisconsin
We started the process in July for the purchase of a property in St. Louis, but there turned out to be an issue with the title. So in November, the company offered to use the money we already paid with to switch properties. We decided to take the offer and get a property in Milwaukee. The paperwork went through and we started paying on the mortgage note in February 2015. In March, we received a refund from the escrow closing and we started to receive rents in May.
The management company, Building Helpers, has been great. Whenever I email, there is a response within 24hrs. It is refreshing to work with a company that keeps me informed about the renters and the property. For example, I received an email letting me know they had talked to the renters who would not be able to pay the full rent that month due to not having enough hours at work the last couple of week, and that they would pay the rest with the next month’s rent. I had no issues with this, and let the management company know so they could let the tenant know they would not be penalized. The next month, the tenants paid the past due and current rent.
Will keep you posted on what else we do with this property.