Now that the CDC Eviction ban is over, what does that mean for real estate investors? What should you be doing? Here are 3 ways you can get your investments on track again:
1. Landlords, Go Get Your Money!
After 18 months a lot of landlords need money. The latest statistics are that less than 10% of all the money available to landlords during this time has been dispersed. There are plenty of resources on how to get the stimulus money that is earmarked for landlords. So, it’s simple: if you’re a landlord owed money, and money is available to you, figure it out and go get it! That’s what productive people do.
2. Act Quickly with Cash for Keys
In the rulings, the Supreme Court stated that Congress, not the CDC had authority through legislation to enact eviction moratoriums. Congress could act, so the subject of eviction moratoriums may not be over. So, if you are a landlord with a tenant who won’t move out, you need to act quickly.
If you are a house flipper, you should move quickly too. Many house flippers have deals with sellers that have a tenant in the property that they can’t get out. Until the deadbeat tenant is gone, they can’t close on the deal. I don’t recommend taking this to your local eviction court if you want a fast ruling, since these courts are backed up with cases right now. But there is another option.
Cash for Keys:
The fast option is what I call cash for keys. Simply put, you offer the deadbeat tenant cash to move out of the property. When the CDC eviction ban was in effect this method had no teeth, but now we can negotiate. Offering cash for keys doesn’t feel good as a landlord, but it works.
Tenants don’t want to be evicted. Eviction is bad situation and can be intense for the tenant. It’s not something they want to go through. And cash will motivate them to leave when they know the moratorium protection is gone. Tenants would rather have a little cash in their pocket and time to move than face eviction. So, the cash for keys approach is highly effective, but only when an eviction moratorium is gone.
3. Market to Non-Owner Occupied Properties
Now is a great time to market to non-owner occupied properties. I’m not suggesting you lowball landlords that are struggling because of the CDC eviction ban. However, you will reach some landlords who have been really hit hard by all of this and for some of them you could be offering a life raft. This isn’t taking advantage of their situation; it simply presents an option that might help them decide one way or another. Just getting a letter from you might be what they need to move in a direction that is best for them right now.
I have a great video about a software called PropStream that can help with this. It’s the best tool that I’ve found in our industry for developing and targeting lists.
The Time is NOW:
It’s time to act now. The window for using the cash for keys method is now, as is the time to market to non-owner occupied, and if stimulus money is available to you, then you should move fast and get it.
Leave a Reply