All Forum Posts by: Amy Beth

You can delegate to an agent to do the showings and the background checks on the potential tenants. But that does not mean that the agent picks the tenant. Even if you use a property management company I would still make sure you have the final say in which tenant is selected because you care more for your property than an agent. We used an agent to find our current tenant but we selected the tenant after reading the applications and the background checks. I also googled the top two tenants before making the final selection. We paid a months rent in a fee to the agent but we have managed the tenant since the lease signing almost three years ago. She has renewed each year. This worked the best for us. We have not decided yet what we will do next time but when we found our tenant this was our best option at that time for us.

I would take care of the lawn care since there will be common areas and market the property to tenants as lawn care is included. This could be an incentive for tenants to select one of your units instead of the competition. I would be careful about allowing tenants to rent space in the same shed unless you have separate locked lockers or separate sheds. There could be allegations of theft against neighbors if anything goes missing. Since there are shared areas this could be toxic. If the units do not have washers and dryers then coin operated laundry machines could be a great option to make money. Also separate water meters would be a way to pass on the cost of water to the tenants.

In theory it sounds like a good idea. Make sure that whoever you hire to build the new steps gets a permit.

Also check your lease to see if there is a clause about how much notice is required. Our lease gives the tenant 48 hours notice unless it is an emergency.

Just call her back or email her if you have an email address and either ask her when is a good time to come over or tell her your available with a few time slots and ask her to pick from your available time slots. It would be best to go when she is there for the first time at least to develop a rapport with her and to find out if anything else is an issue.

This will be a disaster. If anything goes wrong with a refinance you will be stuck. Plus you do not have cash reserves for repairs or other problems that could come up with the property prior to the refinance. Wait to buy until you have more cash in the bank. Perhaps you can cut back one your expenses with a strict budget and/or pick up a second job or overtime at your current job to save up money faster. If you do this and anything goes wrong you will be out of real estate for years trying to recover. It is not worth the risk.

I would accept the tenant if they meet your other requirements to rent and they have purchased a renters insurance policy which includes the dog and provide you with proof that the dog is spayed or neutered.

Only having your name on one lease unless you were living with your parents is a little concerning. Because of your age it would not necessarily disqualify you depending on how you explain it. You can’t change the arrest but you do have the power to work on your debts. Having less debt would make you more appealing to a potential landlord.

I would never rent to someone with a past eviction. I would rather rent to someone with bad credit if it is a C area than someone with a past eviction. No matter what there excuse is I would not even entertain it.

I have not faced this situation before with a self employed person. I am thinking a year of tax returns would be more reasonable. Also some way to make sure he is the business owner. I am just responding to your follow up question btw and I would not accept this particular tenant.