Back On Track, Indiana!
The Indiana response to re-opening the state is a five stage program labeled "Back on Track Indiana". As the week has progressed more clarity has come to each stage. As it relates to evictions though, there is still very murky waters.
We consulted with our attorney this week to get updated. After her review of the orders currently in place and consulting with various legal experts we are taking the following actions on delinquencies.
1. We are still working with people who have reached out for assistance to receive payments. We are identifying when they can pay and to waive all penalty fees. We are aiming to have them all current in June or to determine a new course of action. 2. People who were delinquent before the pandemic are all still delinquent and most still living in your homes. All cases since mid-March have been continued and the soonest the courts will be open to start accepting new cases is June 1. At that time we are preparing to update all outstanding cases and have new packages for those who have been non-communicative during the pandemic.
3. We have been given the green light to once again post Pay Rent or Quit notices. Starting this week we have posted for all delinquencies not in an approved hardship restructure.
Unfortunately, the existing cases (filed but not heard pre-COVID) have had multiple continuations. These are now dating into August and our attorney is working on some new strategies to possibly move these cases into an earlier priority.
We have also found in some cases the home vacated. We are checking every property that has a delinquency to determine if they have been vacated and possession hearings can be cancelled.
It is a long and difficult struggle right now. We hope to once again get back on track ourselves to provide you an occupied, rent paying tenant, as quickly as we possibly can!
Evictions and the CARES Act
Re-running the below from last week- please let us know if your property has these restrictions.
As for new evictions, the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act which was signed into law on March 27 has some very specific provisions in it that we need to follow with regards to new eviction filings. These provisions apply to rental properties that participate in programs under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the rural housing voucher program, or that have a federally backed mortgage loan. If a property falls under any of those categories, you cannot file any new eviction for 120 days after the CARES Act was implemented plus you have to send a 30-day Pay or Quit notice first. So, essentially you cannot send the Pay or Quit until July 27, then you can file 30 days afterwards.
Obviously this is a huge delay and our attorney is insisting we confirm status on any properties we forward for eviction filings. Since we actually have to follow this before posting a Pay or Quit notice, we are requesting all owners to let us know if they have a federally backed mortgage loan (or any of the other exclusions) on the property we manage. There is nothing we can do though but make certain we do not violate the federal law.
This almost certainly means we need to increase negotiations with any non-paying tenant to receive any funds possible if the property is protected by the CARES Act.
Oceanpoint and Morris Invest
If you don't know what I am talking about be thankful. I would suggest learning more before you purchase your next investment property. This is not the only one of these situations that exist. This one was just much larger and involved a celebrity. So it has gotten a lot more attention.
Caveat Emptor is an important warning to those who choose to buy investment properties from long distance.
Air Conditioning
Did you know that Indianapolis is uncomfortably hot and humid from mid-May until mid-September?
Did you know in the WILMOTH Standards that are part of our management agreement we strongly recommend providing air conditioning for your rentals?
There is a very good reason we do this. It becomes almost impossible to rent a home without air conditioning from now to fall. The home is unbearably hot and every bad smell that could exist is magnified.
Unfortunately, many tenants who rent in the other months of the year ignore worrying about it until May when they decide they need to turn the AC on. And then they find out...despite that we clearly identified it as missing in our leasing process.
My point in writing this is that we have a number of tenants complaining about assuming they had AC but don't. And we have a few rentals on the market without it right now and it is the biggest piece of feedback why people are not interested.
Just want to share this if your home does not contain AC. You might also be surprised that adding a compressor and central air pays for itself over window units in just a few years! It also will pay for itself in a multiple of cost in the value of your property!
Ask us about the cost and lets keep happy tenants and avoid vacancies!
Your WILMOTH Team believes an occupied rental is the best situation and will find creative ways to collect your rent on any schedule possible.
Be kind to one another, stay safe, be healthy! | 
