All Forum Posts by: Beth L.

Same as @Will Yee, I also use Cozy for rent payments. I love it! You can even collect the initial security deposit with it, as well as any utility bills that need to be reimbursed. You just add it in as a one-time bill for them to pay.

Unfortunately, you will have to take their word with a grain of salt and do your own research. You can ask for copies of the current leases to prove the income and current vacancy, and ask for a balance sheet or receipts. You can determine on your own other costs like insurance, utilities (leases will specify which utilities the tenant is responsible for), lawn care, etc. An inspection will reveal any CapEx costs on the horizon so you can plan that into the price accordingly.

Congrats on finding a deal off market!

Check out Rent-o-Meter and Zillow Rent Zestimates in addition to rental ad pricing. And remember, just because it is listed for a certain amount, doesn't mean that it rented for that amount. Also take into consideration the type of property and compare: apt to apt, duplex to duplex, house to house (houses will get more rent than an apt).

In our county, rental rates can vary so much depending on which street you are on, condition of the property, and amenities or utilities included in the rent. This makes it difficult to really get good comparisons.

If the unit is in great condition and in a good area, you could always list a little higher than you had estimated and see what kind of response you get. You can then always offer an incentive, like half off 1st month's rent or lower rental rate for a two year lease instead of one.

You could do an open house and conduct a survey of what they think the rental rate should be.

OR you could price to rent immediately, and most likely get a larger pool of potential renters to choose from.

Here is the Rent-o-meter for your place:

https://www.rentometer.com/results/6iSXEfQqfaw

You'll notice that the average is $1,929, with rents in that area ranging from $847-$3,011

Welcome to BP @Randy Dickerhoff, and congrats on beginning your path into real estate investing! 

Have you researched current rental rates for your area to see what you could get for your place? Try Craigslist, Zillow and Rent-O-Meter. Make up a spread sheet to compare all expenses with the proposed income so see if it makes sense to do this. Make sure you find out all your areas local rental laws, regarding registration, inspection, etc. 

Could your family move in with friends or family for a short time while you save for your next place?

Or perhaps you could refinance and draw the equity out to make a down payment on a 2 unit place. You could live in one side and rent the other, so the other tenants are paying your mortgage, allowing you to save what you would normally pay for the mortgage for another down payment.

So many options! I'm excited to see what you come up with.

You said it specially was due to a certain percentage of investors in those condos. Just wondering who sets those guidelines. The HOA? Or is it because it's like a condo-tel and you can't get a 4% loan, like someone mentioned earlier?

Has that something to do with the HOA, @Rhonda Crockett?

In your ad you can't say that this property is close to "The So-and-So Church", or "Perfect for couples" or anything else that would show that you are targeting a certain type of people.

I specify that income must be at least 3x that of the rent, and since my rent is on the higher end, I usually get better people wanting to apply. 

@Joe Splitrock I use Cozy, too! I only have used it for receiving rent/security deposits and utility payments. It has been great so far! Haven't tried their background check services yet. I'll have to look into that. I have been using tenantbackgroundsearch.com.

I use MileIQ to keep track of mileage for business use. It is an app that runs on your phone in the background. It is great, as you can set it and forget it. You can categorize your miles and it will give you a report at the end of the year. You can even set certain destinations to automatically categorize for you. It is best to spend some time each week, categorizing everything, so it makes tax time much easier!

Hi @Joe Splitrock! Yes I am still using Register Signs. It is actually free to use; you don't need to buy a sign, so you can try it out. You can just write the info on a regular For Rent sign or it lets you print a free one, which I assume you can put in the window or something. I used to print and put out flyers in a box at the For Rent sign. I don't do that anymore. They can text to a certain code, get a link directly to the listing with all the pictures and everything. I am sure that it works fine for those that have smartphones and are tech savvy.

But for those that aren't, I also list a phone number on the sign. This is a Google Voice number that I have tied to my cell number. But I leave it set at Do Not Disturb at all times. The VM message is a description of the property for rent and then they can leave their info if they are interested. It really saves me from answering so many calls on my personal cell number, and saying the same things over and over.

Between these two, any responses I get have mostly been weeded out to the ones that are truly interested.

In addition to the sign and Google Voice number, I also list it on CraigsList, and Register Sign will also let me list it for free to all the listing sites like Zillow, Trulia, Hotpads, etc.

We keep two separate bank accounts for rents received and security deposits, for each rental. We also have Visa debit cards for the main checking account so we can pay bills or order things online. I use Quicken Rental for my accounting software. The use of categories and tags really helps to keep things linked to the right property. The physical receipts can be scanned and added to that transaction in Quicken for easy access later, then they are kept in folders according to property until tax time.