First investment. Duplex. Looking for tips

[Tyler Mata]

I recently bought a duplex in MN. This is my first house/investment. I plan on living in one side and renting the other out. The current tenants that live in the opposite side I’m moving in have lived there for 5 years and to my knowledge have been great. I’m looking forward to starting my investment journey. I’m hoping to get some tips on things that will be helpful to me as I move forward. I close of 7/20 One thing that I’m also wondering about is they have a dog and a cat. How do I go about dealing with the dog so I’m NOT liable if the dog were to bite a neighbor or pedestrian? Like I said before these tenants have lived there for 5 years and have been good tenants. It’s a married couple with a younger child, a cat, and a dog. I’m also wondering about the rent. Do I raise the rent for the pets? Do I have for a one time non refundable deposit for the pets? Tyler

[Christen G.]

Congrats on your new place! Are they on a month-to-month lease or do they have an existing lease? I'd advise you to buy Brandon's book on managing rental properties and dig in. It's a quick read and super informative. It also comes with a lot of forms you can incorporate into your new business! You'll want to re-screen the renters and issue them a lease w/ an appropriate rent for your region. You can 100% charge "Pet Rent" - cats in particular can be super destructive to homes if they start peeing outside the box and on the floor, you'll have to replace subflooring when they go. Best of luck!