All Forum Posts by: Ann Downer

We have a duplex and the tile around the tub faucet got pushed sideways - upshot is the wallboard is missing behind so we need to tear down existing and either replace wallboard and retile or have a 3 piece smooth surround installed instead.  Which is better for a decent but definitely not high end rental?

Thank you so much.

We have our first duplex in Bradenton, FL and the cabinets in one unit look home made and bad at that. Some are falling apart. They need to be replaced. First, for a rental, should we just go with very basic cabinetry, perhaps from IKEA or is there anything particular we should watch out for or look to get? Is it worth going with drawers in place of regular cabinets on the bottom in a rental?

Thank you so much Nathan!

Does purchasing a single family home that we would live in with a separate rental on the property count as house hacking for getting a low down payment and having the rental income pay at least some of our mortgage expense etc.?

@Ricardo R.

Thank you. You made good points.  I had not thought about the unfair enforcement between tenants and the Fair Housing act. 

Thank you for all the great advice. Just to clarify the new tenants will not be moving in till the 1st of December so we will not be collecting from 2 at the same time.

Thank you. That's exactly what my husband just suggested.

We are brand new landlords with a class c duplex and had month to month tenants (4 young guys) who left the place in decent clean condition, gave notice on the 1st and moved by the 6th, paying through the end of the month.  Plus, as they were moving out, they brought friends looking for a place and who ended up signing a lease with us. So we are feeling so blessed right not that everything went as well or better than we hoped.  Some people are telling me we should refund part of their rent since they paid through the end of the month, to say thank you...  We want to run it like a business and also do right by our tenants. How should we handle that?

Thank you so much for all of these answers.  I never would have thought of the dog whistle.