Monday Madness – Shhh, the Tenants don’t know!

Just drive by quietly, please.

There are renters on the forums lately who are asking how they can find out if their landlord is losing the property. Too often these days, tenants find out after the sale or after the bank takes over the property. Imagine how inconvenient it is for many renters to even find the real estate forums, much less go through the registration hassle and find out where to pose their question. They are very concerned.

Are landlords always evil?

Or are they just misunderstood?

It’s a sad situation when owners & tenants can’t communicate honestly but it’s happening a lot lately. I know two Lemon Grove businesses leasing from a new owner. We were surprised to discover that the new owner is notorious and stands accused of buying rental properties, making no payments at all while collecting rents as long as he can get away with it. Then he walks away from the property leaving the tenants in financial limbo.

It’s harder for typical renters to adjust to a sudden eviction order. It takes time to accumulate the deposit, rent, and fees associated with moving to a new place plus a huge investment of search time and physical labor. OTOH, if the landlord informs them in a timely manner, will they stop paying rent immediately? For all the moralizing we hear from some segments of society, it seems real morals are harder to find these days.

Let’s see if we can find some 2 on 1 listings today. You can become a landlord and help to upgrade the image.

3243 San Carlos Drive, Spring Valley, CA 91978
Multi-family Home, two floors, 5 bedrooms, 3 baths
3000 square feet, 11,000 square foot lot, MLS# 076033818, price $699k
A two story house with beds, baths, kitchens & fireplaces on both levels and separate entrances.

8924-8926 Lamar Street, Spring Valley, CA, 91977
- a generic 2 story duplex with garages below built in 1979, MLS# 088014996, offered for $332k
Bank owned, as-is, ready to rent.

8923-8925 Lamar Street, Spring Valley CA 91977
5 br 2 ½ ba 2,240 sqft Multi-family home built in 1959, MLS# 076081377, $400k
Foreclosure, as-is, fixer.

8857/59 Lamar Street, Spring Valley, CA 91977
5 br, 2 bath divided between two units. The larger is renting for $1700. MLS# 78075018, $400k
“Unknown Permits On 3rd Bedroom”. Short sale.

2722 Central Avenue, Spring Valley CA 91977
7 br 5 ba 1,435 sq.ft., built in 1927, MLS# 086006467, $400k
Short Sale. That’s a lot of rooms squeezed into a few square feet!

Are good tenants hard to find?

There is help for new landlords.

You’ll note that all these listings are close to each other in Spring Valley. For the price of an average house, you can get a humble home and help with your mortgage payments. I’m sorry that you won’t currently find these listings with a Redfin search, but Trulia.com and others may be helpful.

Caution: Rental ownership can be dangerous. Many start out with one unit and can’t stop. Use caution if you have an addictive personality. More than 30 units and you are seriously hooked.

You can follow my East County blog or here, and Carol’s Hillcrest, North Park and Ocean Beach blog. You’re at Redfin, the unbiased source for local real estate information.

[data from generally reliable sources, please comment on any errors!]