All Forum Posts by: Amit M.

Thanks John, Sandy !

I already filled the forms for water leak with my water company and received their maximum waiver of $500. I do need to cover the remaining $9,000 out of pocket (I am in a similar spot, billed monthly and the leak started soon after the last reading)

The company does offer a payment plan, but, since the bill in in the tenant's name he would have to go on the plan and I would need to figure a way to pay him monthly.  Accepting a reduced rent in lieu of making monthly payments to the water company would be one way as that would reduce my net rental income. Don't know other implications of doing this though.

Recently my tenant received a very huge water bill due to a busted pipe under the slab. There were no visible signs of  leak above the ground. I got the whole house re-piped and  intend to cover the excess usage due to the leak. The problem is that the water bill is in my tenants name. If I pay  his water bill how do I expense that in my tax returns. Instead, if I ask him to take off a certain amount from the rent check every month and pay that towards the water bill, would that be a good idea ? Should this arrangement be done in some kind of an agreement ?

I do intend to consult a CPA but wanted to have some understanding of possible options before I interview a CPA

Thanks

AM
 

Thanks All for your inputs. 

I haven't accepted them (verbally or in writing) and there is no lease involved. Just that I insisted that all adults fill the application. They meet the rental criteria, but, are not very strong prospects. I have concerns about their ability to keep the place in good condition (just a hunch based on the meeting with them). I also feel they may not understand their jump up in rent + utilities very well. May lead to unhappiness once they realize. I can absolutely wait 2-3 weeks for a strong applicant.

I guess my question should have been: Given I am not very excited after meeting them, can I decline them? What are the grounds ? 

I have listed my property as available for immediate move-in
One of the applicants toured and liked the property and sent in their application on our request. Their indicated move-in date is 2 weeks out. They are unable to pull it in. They meet all the other criteria. Can I decline them if I find someone else in the interim  who moves in immediately?  

Do I tell them of my intent to continue looking ? Am I obligated to refund their application fee (paid to Zillow) ? 

Jim,

I did try to call the applicants to get their side. They did not seem very honest to me. I moved on as there were other applicants in the pipeline. 

I am using Zillow to receive applications and screen prospective tenants. I have received some inquiries for viewing and 1 application. The applicant has been very persistent on wanting to check out the property. He says he wants to move to the area because of the schools. He even offered to pay a few months rent in advance. That was definitely a red flag. There are other comparable listings which are still available in very close proximity (same schools). 

Zillow background checks returned clean (no criminal background). The credit score is stellar (750-800). The income (business) is a little tough to project, but, the last couple of years of income has been well above the requirement (3x). However, a search on google returned a lawsuit (small claims court) against one of the landlords in the past. The lawsuit is for having deducted a very big amount from the security deposit for cleaning. This may or may not be a big deal since I have have been in a tenants shoes before and I can understand if the tenant feels (rightly so or not) they have been unreasonably charged for cleaning a house they felt was left in immaculate condition. I do intend to call the landlord to find out more. I suspect this is the reason he is having a tough time finding a rental despite all other checks being good.

I am a little on the fence on this applicant. On one hand he may be a very stable tenant since his options outside are limited. On the other hand I am wondering what do I not know about this applicant. 

I am also questioning the  use of Zillow for screening, it's not clear to me why this lawsuit is not reported in the Zillow background reports. Thinking of switching to mysmartmove.com (SmartCheck Premium plan) for screening. 

Wow, this forum is very active :) 

Appreciate all of your detailed pointers covering the various nuances of the process as well as other words of advice. Very valuable indeed ! 

The recurring theme is to focus on the screening process and a thoroughly protective lease agreement. I will look into a membership in the California Apartment Association as well as the other resources pointed out.

If I go with property management, what kind of overhead am I looking at in San Jose, CA ?    

Thanks again !

I will be renting out for the very first time this summer. I had a few questions on how to go about it:

1. How to determine what's a fair rent to charge?

I use listings in Zillow as a reference, but, they are inconsistent. Also, I had made several improvements to the property as it was my primary residence. I am not sure how to value those improvements. Is there a good reliable source or service that can help me determine a fair value ? Zillow seems to have this service. Has anyone used it ? Does it estimate well ?

2.  How to find good tenants?

Any recommendations on a good place to list the rental ? Does Zillow work well? Any advice on services available to screen the applicants?

3. How to draw up the lease agreement?

Any recommended services for this ? I looked at Rocket Lawyer. Does that work well ?   How I do I ensure that the general upkeep of the property is enforceable in the lease ? For example, I have a beautiful backyard. I can add in a free gardner service at my expense to preserve the value. However, since the tenant pays for water they may choose to turn off the sprinklers. Can I somehow enforce that the lawns and the yard need to be maintained ?

4. How much security deposit ?

What's a reasonable security deposit ? Typical seems to be 1 or 2 months rent. I feel a lower deposit will attract more applicants upfront. 

Any other pitfalls to avoid ?

Thanks

AM