Sunday, January 10, 2016

The Reluctant Landlord - Part 8

Still in England for a couple of days before I would need to return home, the problem of my second delinquent tenant in Garage # 5 was now at the top of the list. Having already hack-sawed off the lock to discover a nice little rally car inside, my approach was going to be a little different.  The registration was current so this was a road-worthy vehicle with an owner.

Back to the police station with a photo of the license plate on my IPhone should do the trick. But no! "I am terribly sorry....." Aagh!! Is there anything the police can assist with?

Next stop was to the last known address I had for this tenant.  I had mailed notices here over the past couple of years but had never received a response.  It turned out that this was his place of business - a motor cycle dealership. Bikes were still displayed inside but the notice on the door was daunting.


Not even the correct name!  Time to get a good night's sleep and make a new plan.
Now that the padlock had been changed and I was the only one with the combination maybe I should wait for him to come to me.  Aha! Make a sign for the door inviting him to contact me. Next morning I carefully taped on the notice asking him to email me if he would like the combination to the lock.

Time to head back to the States and await word of success or failure of my various dealings.  

It took several weeks to hear from Garage #5 and it was the son of the tenant who finally made the contact.  It seems that the father had moved on and had told his son to go ahead and use the garage, failing to mention that he was not paying the rent.  I agreed to accept one year in back rent plus the next year in advance in return for the combo.  Mom stepped up and mailed the check immediately and all was well.

By mid summer that year all the tenants in the 8 garages were current with their rent and I could now get serious about selling them.  I approached two of the tenants who lived close by and offered them a good price for a block of three and a block of five with payments split over a 6 month period.  Both of them agreed and although another 12 months had passed before the deals were final, I was free of 8 more tenants.  


6 more garages, the worst of the worst, on a tiny triangle of land with asbestos, leaky roofs and broken doors were still to find a new owner.  With the help of a real estate agent, a buyer was found who was willing to deal with all the problems to get a barely build-able lot at a reasonable price. The deal almost fell through at the last moment due to a Right of Way in favor of the neighbor but I refused to negotiate as it was an 'as is' agreement.  Luckily, I prevailed and we closed the deal late in 2015.

 

In case you have lost track following this ridiculous saga,  I began with 32 different rental properties and now after 10 years have just 2 flats remaining.  Here they are - one up and one down.

 

The eviction process is extremely challenging in England but I have begun by serving notices to the the downstairs tenant.  He has given up paying any rent and lives in squalor refusing to answer phone calls, emails and will not open the door.  He is not young nor is he healthy so it's anyone guess as to how long this might go on.  The feet first option may come sooner.  Stayed tuned!