“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” — Benjamin Franklin

Have you ever done a walkthrough and found something you never expected from your most reliable tenant?

WHAT IS HOARDING? Here’s how the American Psychiatric Association defines it: people with hoarding disorder have persistent difficulty parting with possessions due to a perceived need to save them, and the resulting clutter disrupts their ability to use their own living space.

IT IS A RECOGNIZED DISEASE. Under the Fair Housing Act, hoarding is considered a disability. That means when you come across a tenant who appears to be a hoarder, the right first move is to reach out and help manage the situation — not jump straight to eviction.

THIS HAPPENED TO ME. I once had a tenant like this in a 12-unit building I owned in Long Beach. He was cordial, always paid rent on time, and rarely home — on paper, a perfect tenant. The surprise came when we finally got inside his unit for a repair and found it packed with newspapers and furniture, barely leaving room to walk — a real fire hazard. He cleaned it up without argument the moment we asked. What we learned was that he needed a gentle reminder every few months to keep it in check. Once we knew his tendency, we simply checked on that unit more often than the others, and he stayed with us for years.

PROTECT YOURSELF WITH YOUR LEASE. It’s worth including a cleanliness clause in your standard lease agreement — it gives you a real defense if a tenant isn’t cooperative. Document everything with photos and notes along the way, in case you ever need it. If code violations are severe enough, you can also involve the city, county, or health department.”

IF IT DOESN’T RESOLVE. If a tenant isn’t cooperative and the situation poses a real danger to other tenants or the property, that’s when it’s time to call your attorney about next steps — even with moratoriums in place in some cities, safety concerns can still move things forward. Your local Apartment Owners Association can also point you to the right lease forms.

” People who avoid failure also avoid success.” Robert Kiyosaki

WHAT WE AT PRS PROPERTIES CAN DO. We can give you a good idea of the current value of your building. We can suggest changes you might want to make before sale to give you an idea what type of building you would be able to exchange into. You may decide to stay in the rental business or you may want to move into a more passive real estate investment, such as a triple net or a DSL.. We are always available to chat. We can give you referrals for professionals, such as lenders, contractors, and engineers, so that you can decide who you feel best with. We can supply you with rent and sale comparable in the area of your properties, so that you know what rental values are in your area. It is important that you know the true value of your rental units, so that you can get them rented right away at market value, or at least as much as possible with rent control restrictions. We can look at potential purchases that you may be interested in to make the property more desirable, and maybe look at potential issues that an insurer might require you to repair.

If you should decide to sell your building, we can help you exchange into a larger or smaller properties. We can even help you move into something with less management responsibilities. We can also help with getting the paperwork together for a refinance if that is your desire. We can also recommend experienced licensed contractors who can perform any repairs or installations you may need prior to selling. We can also look at your building for other easy and inexpensive changes that might allow you to get a higher value. We can help you to get the maximum value for your property, should you decide to sell, or the maximum return if you are planning to keep your building.

We are currently looking for “as-is” properties and are willing to purchase with low rents, deferred maintenance or even with a problem tenant in place. We can offer a 7 day escrow and all cash at closing. Give us a call. We have also put together numerous transactions over the years which involve properties that are not listed for sale. Many investors are currently in 1031 exchanges and need to identify a replacement property before their 45 day identification period runs out.

Should you decide to put your property on the market, we will put together an aggressive, targeted and professional campaign to get your property sold fast. We have been doing this for over 45 years, and we will use all the tools available to bring you the most dollars at closing. If you are thinking of selling or are just curious about the value of your property, don’t hesitate to give us a call.