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Old 07-14-2017, 08:37 AM
 
2,033 posts, read 3,193,659 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pidge1114 View Post
I find it funny that the system allows something so official as a lawful eviction staying on your record for renting an unlawful apartment.
It's also funny how so many people move into these unlawful apartments knowingly (we all know the rental market on LI these days) then wait to use that unlawful apt against the landlord when it suits them. Funny system we have here. LI stinks for housing. Owning or renting. Seems everyone loses. Most people know by now the apt they FINALLY found after sometimes months....even years for some people are illegal apts. But they take it. As the only other options they have are either too expensive. Or homelessness.

We even have people actually hang up on us when we say apt is LEGAL. Tells me a lot honestly. Means there are actually people searching ONLY for illegal apts. Thinking they can just play their landlords & the system for fools. The judge in Small Claims court even called some of these people "professional deadbeat tenants". Lots of people laughed when he said that. Saying they knew what they were doing & planned it. Many we were told were even repeat tenants that have done this many times. These are the ones that hope they can find a LL that will not do any checks.

Lots of people even walk away when they see we will do complete screenings. Many even are crazy enough to ask if they can give "extra" security if we don't do credit checks. Or background checks. I mean really?? That right there says you are hiding something.
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Old 07-14-2017, 10:43 PM
 
11,025 posts, read 7,784,837 times
Reputation: 23702
Quote:
Originally Posted by loribell38 View Post
Oh no....did not mean it in that way! They just know people that help them push things through as they have been doing this type of investment properties things for over 30 years. They do it all legally though. They just have tons of experience so know how to do it right. Legally.

But as for requiring FB accts. That is not 100% true all the time. Lots of older people do not have them. Can't rule everyone out. Just basically use that method to weed out many people.Especially with younger people. They say they don't do anything wrong. Many times their FB page says very different. You would be surprised how that helps prevent disaster & taking the worst possible tenant.

For instance. One prospective tenant was saying on FB how he screwed over his CURRENT landlord & was interested what will happen with his next apt. And this person said he told his LL since your apt is illegal I am not paying. So we spoke up to that person & said to them (over the phone of course) so do you plan on screwing us over as well? Dead silence & they hung up! Was fun though. And they were probably quite shocked we easily located that post he made on FB. Why should Landlords not use every tool they have to protect themselves from a tenant that might cause them trouble? They have to do their due diligence. As one wrong tenant can really destroy their lives.

One person that was on a program & did not work. Apparently had too much time on her hands. Called & complained about every little problem/detail. Instead of being happy they finally found someone willing to take their program after searching for along time & give them a second chance in life. They called their program administrator about every little thing. You know what happens (even in the case of a simple leaky faucet going drip...drip...drip) when they make that call to the program that pays their rent? They STOP paying the rent to landlord until they are notified that repair was made! This is why those landlords no longer are willing to take anyone on a program. This one guy is still willing to for a few of his. But thinking not to again. Unless he knew the person or the tenant was referred to him by someone that they knew. Hence word of mouth pretty much.

So much for being grateful for her free housing. Now we hear that person is stuck renting a little room as she can't find another landlord to take her program. And she has been trying for a least 2 years.

But no one was paid off. And all their apts (except for 1 or 2 here & there) are legal.
So if everything about the prospective tenant is on the up and up (except for 1 or 2 here & there) they get the lease, right?
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Old 07-15-2017, 01:33 AM
 
2,033 posts, read 3,193,659 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kokonutty View Post
So if everything about the prospective tenant is on the up and up (except for 1 or 2 here & there) they get the lease, right?
Pretty much. Still trying to rent out 4 more this week as they finish the rehab. Then hopefully they will all stay long term & be decent tenants. The hardest part now is understanding most of the people that call. This tells me a lot. Many speak hardly any English at all. So I have to ask them 1 huge question first before even proceeding. Any guess as to what that question is? And just about 10 out of 10 answer wrong or don't answer & hang up. Many have been trying to convince us to rent to them by throwing extra cash at the landlord. Most do not seem to realize it is not just about the money when choosing the right tenant. It is SO much more. Like the drama they might cause. Even taking a tenant with lots of money & a great job can end up being the biggest disaster in the end. We look way beyond the $$ signs.

The problem we are having with their 2 lower priced rentals is they include utilities. When it includes utilities they only want people that they know will not be home often & use them.Makes sense to me. Seems people that do not work or do those MLM type of jobs or off the books types don't seem to understand why Landlords deny them for these rentals. They want to know their utility bills will be controlled. They want people that work outside the home. Instead of being home all the time. So many tenants just don't get it. They get nasty too sometimes.

Had one girl today that said it would just be her living there. So asked her is your income 40x the rent & can you prove it on paper? She said she works extra off the books type jobs on the side to help pay rent. Told her sorry & no. Likely she did have a 2nd person she did not want to disclose moving in with her. Then there was a single mom (get tons of those) who wanted landlord to take her DSS program. So asked her questions about job & stuff & who would live there. She said she is a SAHM & it was just her & her baby. In a majority of these cases usually the baby daddy moves in. Or her many other flavors of the month. Sadly had to decline due to it including all utilities we could not do it. Very depressing. But those usually wind up running up bills & really causing lots more wear & tear on a home. Then the tenant that pays good money on rent to live in the home will be furious with temper tantrums from the baby in apt above her (happens often).

Last tenant they had to evict was suppose to be just 1 guy living there. His wacko GF moved in with him. She was so much trouble. Complaining about everything & anything. Finally for this one she was forced to move & was told not to come back (the guy had to get a restraining order to keep her away) after she was deemed something they call "mentally deranged". Seems she had some sort of problem & an ambulance came one night & they concluded this girl was off her medication. She refused to go to the hospital. She was told she had to leave the premises & not return or risk getting arrested. Was really sad though. But shows you it is not about the money only when it comes to approving a tenant.

Angers me when certain types of people call inquiring about the single family home for rent. I just simply say this. Sorry we are not interested in people that want to turn the nice home into a rooming house with all their illegal buddies. I do say it in a nice manner. But boy do I really want to tell them off!! Probably can as they likely will not understand my clear English anyway.

Last edited by loribell38; 07-15-2017 at 02:57 AM..
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Old 07-15-2017, 06:44 AM
 
Location: under the beautiful Carolina blue
22,646 posts, read 36,619,551 times
Reputation: 19847
Quote:
Originally Posted by loribell38 View Post
So far we are finding about 8 out of 10 profiles. The other ones we figure they are using fake names. FB will eventually die out. But doubt that will happen anytime soon. Not for many more years. Unless something new & better comes along. Anyone can be "googled" these days. And as for people keeping their FB pages private. It would be near impossible for them to keep EVERYTHING private or from being seen by anyone. FB has lots of tools to find anything.

If someone is in a FB group EVERYTHING they post in those groups can be seen by anyone if it is a Public group. If it is a Closed group only members in that group can see all the posts in it. A group that is set to Secret status. No one can find that group. Only the members in it can even find it. So if your kids are in any FB groups (even post on pages) everything they post there is 100% for the public to see. All you need is their name they use on FB & you can find everything pretty easily.
You totally missed the point of my post. Yes, you can find anything on Facebook. In another 10 years you won't be able to use it as a tool to see what people are doing in their private lives (I have no problem with you using it, by the way). I have two high schoolers and 4 nieces and nephews in college. None of them use FB - all instagram and snapchat. Also, people use "fake names" on FB for privacy, doesn't mean they are doing anything wrong.

Google searches....eh, you have to be careful there. There's A LOT of incorrect information on sites that pop up under a google search. I see it all the time in my job. Hell, I've seen it googling myself. You're not licensed to do PI work so you're not privy to some of the better sites. Not that it matters....I'm sure there's plenty of fodder to deny most of these people anyway.
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Old 07-15-2017, 06:47 AM
 
Location: under the beautiful Carolina blue
22,646 posts, read 36,619,551 times
Reputation: 19847
Quote:
Originally Posted by pidge1114 View Post
I find it funny that the system allows something so official as a lawful eviction staying on your record for renting an unlawful apartment.
Two different issues
1- the apartment is illegal - that's an issue between the LL and the town/village
2- the lease is between the LL and the tenant, and if you don't pay you are going to be evicted. You can't move in and then say "I found out this apartment was illegal so now I'm not going to pay" when you could have found that out before signing the lease.
Judges ain't stupid.
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Old 07-15-2017, 08:25 AM
 
2,033 posts, read 3,193,659 times
Reputation: 1457
Quote:
Originally Posted by twingles View Post
You totally missed the point of my post. Yes, you can find anything on Facebook. In another 10 years you won't be able to use it as a tool to see what people are doing in their private lives (I have no problem with you using it, by the way). I have two high schoolers and 4 nieces and nephews in college. None of them use FB - all instagram and snapchat. Also, people use "fake names" on FB for privacy, doesn't mean they are doing anything wrong.

Google searches....eh, you have to be careful there. There's A LOT of incorrect information on sites that pop up under a google search. I see it all the time in my job. Hell, I've seen it googling myself. You're not licensed to do PI work so you're not privy to some of the better sites. Not that it matters....I'm sure there's plenty of fodder to deny most of these people anyway.
That is where you are wrong. I do have access to most of the sites. And yes I was a licensed PI for many years & it has been mentioned before. As I did work in the media for a major news network as an Investigative reporter. So I do still have that access still thanks to a family member. We do verify everything we find.

Most people doing all the Buy/Sell things in groups on FB that use a "fake" name are doing that because they know they are up to no good. Some crazy names too. People have to be crazy to even deal with people like that. They steal stuff & put them up for sale on a FB group within a few minutes & sell it for cold hard fast cash cheap.

But yeah we get so many people interested in each rental. Supply vs. demand rules for that. Plenty of rentals in places like Brentwood or Hempstead that no one really wants & lots of supply there & many just sit there on the market. But for towns we deal with for rentals very few become available. And the ones that do get anywhere from 5 to 20 people competing for them in just a matter of hours. So we do get to be picky. The rental market is some areas are extremely competitive.

I put one of his other ones up last night. By this morning at 9AM we had 18 inquiries. His daughter is going to take care contacting them. Sad that many end up not even getting a reply back when there are that many.
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Old 07-15-2017, 08:31 AM
 
2,033 posts, read 3,193,659 times
Reputation: 1457
Quote:
Originally Posted by twingles View Post
Two different issues
1- the apartment is illegal - that's an issue between the LL and the town/village
2- the lease is between the LL and the tenant, and if you don't pay you are going to be evicted. You can't move in and then say "I found out this apartment was illegal so now I'm not going to pay" when you could have found that out before signing the lease.
Judges ain't stupid.
So true! The judge even said to many people "What do you think we judges are? Fools?" Was hilarious! Problem is these tenants also use that illegal apt as leverage against their landlord. Telling them if you don't leave us alone & do as we say basically. You will be in big trouble for renting out an illegal apt & tell them there is nothing they can do. And since it is an illegal apt they say our agreement is invalid & they can't evict them in court. Then they think they can just live for free. Those tenants. Need to just live on the street if they are going to act like that. And they know the apt they are taking on LI is illegal.
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Old 07-15-2017, 09:22 AM
 
730 posts, read 1,649,843 times
Reputation: 1648
Quote:
Originally Posted by loribell38 View Post
I mostly do it as a "favor" to a long time friend. He just returns the favor. There is nothing wrong with doing what I do. There is no real income involved. He appreciates what we do. And we appreciate what he does in return. I feel we get more out of it as what I do for him does not really qualify as "work". And only do it as his needs arise. Works out to maybe 40 hours of work per YEAR. It's not like I work a regular job at all. And all from bed too pretty much. Sometimes he has great tenants long term & I do nothing for months or even a few years at a time.

Right now is the most research I ever did for him with prospective tenants. As I said he recently purchased many properties suddenly. The other stuff I mentioned that I do the gov't knows about it. Strictly volunteer & they are fully aware of it. It is with the County/ToH too & all we really do is observe for that. No one pays me for that at all. And it is not really work per se.

I do not just do it because I am on SSD at all really. He just calls me as needed & I help just like any friend would help another friend. Especially since he has gone out of his way for us many times over the years.

Just because he wants to "compensate" us by reducing our rent that does not make it income. Have you ever done a job or favor for a friend or family member in your life & they gave you a thank you gift in return? Because everyone does. Does not make me/us any different with what we do. My SSD attorney is now an ALJ & decides SS cases. He is also 100% fully aware of everything I do as I make sure what I am doing is legal. And inform him.

But thanks for your concern. It's not like I work off the books jobs like all these other people committing fraud & taking in hundreds...even thousands of dollars a month in CASH income jobs. Like house cleaning & nanny/babysitting & dog sitting/walking crap that all these people do. And I am entitled to my benefits as I worked for years & put into the system via income taxes. I was talking about the people on SSI & Medicaid. As well as Free Housing. Food Stamps and anything else they can get. The people that do not put into the system and not eligible for SSDI. They are 2 different things & worlds.I do not go searching for "clients" like these people do with spamming every FB group with their "services" for CASH only so I can keep all my freebies.

And he just calls me as he needs me. Not the other way around. And my husband that does our taxes does put it down somewhere every year. Forget where he puts it. But sort of a gift or something. Our accountant has been doing that for us for years. Perfectly legal. Unearned income the IRS said it can go down as.




Find yourself a new accountant.

Your reduction in rent as payment for your working is a W-2 event and could jeopardize your SSDI payments.




Social Security Handbook




2136.What is “unearned income”?

“Unearned income” is all income that is not earned. Some common types of unearned income are:
  1. In-kind support and maintenance (food or shelter) given to an individual or received by an individual because someone else paid for it (see §§2140-2142);
  2. Private pensions and annuities;
  3. Periodic public payments such as Social Security benefits, Railroad Retirement benefits, Department of Veterans Affairs pension and compensation payments, civil service annuities, workers' compensation, unemployment compensation, and payments based on need involving Federal funds;
  4. Life insurance proceeds and other death benefits, to the extent that the total amount is more than the expenses of the deceased person's last illness and burial paid by the individual;
  5. Gifts and inheritances;
  6. Support and alimony payments in cash or in-kind;
  7. Prizes and awards;
  8. Dividends and interest;
  9. Rents and royalties (except those royalties defined as earned income); and
  10. Certain payments not considered wages for Social Security purposes:
    1. In-kind payments to certain agricultural workers;
    2. Tips under $20 per month;
    3. Jury fees;
    4. Money paid to individuals who are residents, but not employees, of institutions.
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Old 07-15-2017, 12:25 PM
 
11,025 posts, read 7,784,837 times
Reputation: 23702
Quote:
Originally Posted by loribell38 View Post
Pretty much. Still trying to rent out 4 more this week as they finish the rehab. Then hopefully they will all stay long term & be decent tenants. The hardest part now is understanding most of the people that call. This tells me a lot. Many speak hardly any English at all. So I have to ask them 1 huge question first before even proceeding. Any guess as to what that question is? And just about 10 out of 10 answer wrong or don't answer & hang up. Many have been trying to convince us to rent to them by throwing extra cash at the landlord. Most do not seem to realize it is not just about the money when choosing the right tenant. It is SO much more. Like the drama they might cause. Even taking a tenant with lots of money & a great job can end up being the biggest disaster in the end. We look way beyond the $$ signs.

The problem we are having with their 2 lower priced rentals is they include utilities. When it includes utilities they only want people that they know will not be home often & use them.Makes sense to me. Seems people that do not work or do those MLM type of jobs or off the books types don't seem to understand why Landlords deny them for these rentals. They want to know their utility bills will be controlled. They want people that work outside the home. Instead of being home all the time. So many tenants just don't get it. They get nasty too sometimes.

Had one girl today that said it would just be her living there. So asked her is your income 40x the rent & can you prove it on paper? She said she works extra off the books type jobs on the side to help pay rent. Told her sorry & no. Likely she did have a 2nd person she did not want to disclose moving in with her. Then there was a single mom (get tons of those) who wanted landlord to take her DSS program. So asked her questions about job & stuff & who would live there. She said she is a SAHM & it was just her & her baby. In a majority of these cases usually the baby daddy moves in. Or her many other flavors of the month. Sadly had to decline due to it including all utilities we could not do it. Very depressing. But those usually wind up running up bills & really causing lots more wear & tear on a home. Then the tenant that pays good money on rent to live in the home will be furious with temper tantrums from the baby in apt above her (happens often).

Last tenant they had to evict was suppose to be just 1 guy living there. His wacko GF moved in with him. She was so much trouble. Complaining about everything & anything. Finally for this one she was forced to move & was told not to come back (the guy had to get a restraining order to keep her away) after she was deemed something they call "mentally deranged". Seems she had some sort of problem & an ambulance came one night & they concluded this girl was off her medication. She refused to go to the hospital. She was told she had to leave the premises & not return or risk getting arrested. Was really sad though. But shows you it is not about the money only when it comes to approving a tenant.

Angers me when certain types of people call inquiring about the single family home for rent. I just simply say this. Sorry we are not interested in people that want to turn the nice home into a rooming house with all their illegal buddies. I do say it in a nice manner. But boy do I really want to tell them off!! Probably can as they likely will not understand my clear English anyway.
You do understand that your reliance on the language spoken by the prospective tenants even as a partial determinant in whether they get a lease or not is discrimination and is illegal in the United States, right? That is in addition to the income tax evasion you are practicing and possibly acting as an investigator without a license.
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Old 07-15-2017, 03:14 PM
 
2,033 posts, read 3,193,659 times
Reputation: 1457
Quote:
Originally Posted by peabodyn View Post
[/b][/i][/u]



Find yourself a new accountant.

Your reduction in rent as payment for your working is a W-2 event and could jeopardize your SSDI payments.




Social Security Handbook




2136.What is “unearned income”?

“Unearned income” is all income that is not earned. Some common types of unearned income are:
  1. In-kind support and maintenance (food or shelter) given to an individual or received by an individual because someone else paid for it (see §§2140-2142);
  2. Private pensions and annuities;
  3. Periodic public payments such as Social Security benefits, Railroad Retirement benefits, Department of Veterans Affairs pension and compensation payments, civil service annuities, workers' compensation, unemployment compensation, and payments based on need involving Federal funds;
  4. Life insurance proceeds and other death benefits, to the extent that the total amount is more than the expenses of the deceased person's last illness and burial paid by the individual;
  5. Gifts and inheritances;
  6. Support and alimony payments in cash or in-kind;
  7. Prizes and awards;
  8. Dividends and interest;
  9. Rents and royalties (except those royalties defined as earned income); and
  10. Certain payments not considered wages for Social Security purposes:
    1. In-kind payments to certain agricultural workers;
    2. Tips under $20 per month;
    3. Jury fees;
    4. Money paid to individuals who are residents, but not employees, of institutions.

We know the rules quite well. But thanks. We know what we are doing. Our LL does not take off nearly enough on the months when he does tell us to pay him less rent for it to matter to SSDI. I am allowed so much per month as per their guidelines. Like the work I am doing right now. Once that is done in the next few weeks. I will probably have no work until maybe next year if a tenant vacates something. It is HIS choice as to when he takes the $$ of our rent. Maybe a few hundred every month for the next 12 months is the way he will do it. So it is not much per month when you look at it. It is spread out. Instead of just like giving us one free month. He will take off a few hundred for 10 months basically. Been through this with SS already they do NOT consider it wages. And our lawyer was sure to get that in writing from SS. But the whole SS system sucks with so much red tape anyway. They throw people off SSDI for being able to walk sometimes.

As someone that did Disability Advocacy & helped people win their fight for benefits since 1999 I know way more about the SSDI system than you think. I did start a non-profit with a few friends while we lived in Florida in 1999. We did LOTS with Advocacy for the disabled. And have connections to top people in DC. Physicians as well as those Politicians we all love to hate. Did many rallies over the years from 200-2006. Until I had to become less active due to my Disability. Just got to be too much for me. And even my friend that dreamed the idea up. She turned it over to someone a few years back that is keeping it going strong. So happy to know our work was not for nothing.

Last edited by loribell38; 07-15-2017 at 03:50 PM..
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