All Forum Posts by: Jessica G.

We are going to sell a a house we own that we have been renting out for the last three years. The tenants' lease was up Wednesday; they have lived there for one year. The property manager told us they would conduct the final walkthrough and handle the return of the deposit.

On Thursday morning, I went by the house to take a look. The carpet has been ripped down to the pad in four places by a dog. The walls are filthy and filled with screws and nails. The bathtub is stained and very dirty. The grout is stained in the bathtub and shower. There is a room that has been painted (poorly) without permission.

We had painters come around 11 to start working. (We want to get the property on the market quickly.) We called the property manager about another matter and they informed us they hadn't performed the final walkthrough yet because the tenant hadn't returned the keys yet. We told them to get over to the property quickly because the painters were about to start working. They didn't make it over until 3 or 4 p.m.

Today we got an email from the property manager telling us they couldn't perform the final inspection because we had painters working already (they were just filling cracks and nail holes at that time) and we would have to handle it.

We emailed back and said we would need the initial walkthrough checklist and photos of the condition of the property at move-in. We have heard nothing back yet. This PM sucks so I wouldn't be surprised if neither existed.

I don't have any photos from before this set of tenants moved in a year ago. I have just a few photos taken Thursday before the painters came (I didn't take more because I thought the PM was handling it.)

The carpet was installed in 2006, but was in clean, whole condition when these tenants moved in in 2013. Now it is filthy and torn up. The walls were freshly painted and repaired in 2011, and now they are filthy and filled with screws and holes. The bathtub and shower are truly gross and they clearly didn't make any effort to clean them before they left.

What is our responsibility as far as the return of the deposit? Can we charge them for flooring, painting, and cleaning? We are in Texas.

This is what the property looked like before we started leasing it in 2011, and the approximate condition of the property last year (but as I said, I have no photos from right before these tenants moved in).

Here is what these rooms looked like Thursday morning. You can't really see in this photo, but the carpet in the first photo is ripped in several places and unfixable.

Thanks for any input.

Edit: They also kicked in a door that we installed and painted in 2011. Here are photos of the door and tub.

Hi Lane! Half my extended family is in Arkansas. Welcome to DFW. A

@Account Closed I don't understand what you are getting at. Can you explain why a seller shouldn't list/sell for what the market will bear? Do you consider the appraisal process to be flawless and the sole guide by which we should conduct our transactions? Thanks!

@Jeff Richardson That would be awesome! But we just got an appraisal on our personal home for a refi and the appraiser primarily used an 8-month-old comp and said the market in our neighborhood was "stable." So I officially don't trust appraisers.

Recent comps support the sales price I plan on for this investment house, however, there aren't many comps, because inventory is nonexistent.

We are thinking about putting a house on the market in DFW (updated starter homes are going in hours under multiple offers) and I am pretty sure financing bank's appraisal is going to come in at less than what a buyer is willing to pay for it.

We're not going to lower the price to accommodate bank financing when it's such a hot seller's market (unless we have to, and I don't think we do), so do you think I need to communicate that in the listing, or just let agents know?

@Laurie Williamson , are we the same person? I'm a 37-year-old mom of two boys in Richardson. We're super-close, so we should have lunch or a playdate sometime!

My husband and I are aspiring buy-and-hold investors. We have one SFR, one in the pipeline, and are looking for another right now.

EDIT: I'd also recommend NOT joining one of those paid groups/courses right now. Everything you need is right here on BP without paying thousands before you even have a chance to get started.

Hi Kyle! I'm from Dallas too. I love Rockwall, but don't think I could commute across that I-30 bridge twice a day. Welcome to BP!

@Account Closed

@Kevin Brown There where should I look? Is the only way to turn up deals to send yellow letters?

This isn't a specific deal, exactly. We're just trying to figure out where to go next. Condos, houses, rehabs, etc.

Thanks for the great input everyone. I'm just discouraged because finding SFR deals that cashflow well on the MLS is hard, and I don't have anywhere else to look at the moment.

@Rick Reed We're still working the Allen sub2. It should close this month or next. Our fingers are crossed. I'll be sure to post if/when the documents are all safely filed!

I am so new at this. Please tell me, If you have $15,000 to invest...

Is it better to buy (with cash) a Section 8 1-bedroom condo that will cashflow at least $350 per month (after all expenses, including HOA)?

Or to put 20 percent down on a $75,000 house (let's assume minimal rehab, possibly also Section 8) that will cashflow about $100 per month, but the renters are paying down the mortgage for you?