All Forum Posts by: Barrett Johnson

@Kris L.

I use similar criteria the banks use.  

Income 3 times the rent

Credit score 600 and better (in my area tenants typically have lower scores)

DTI not greater than 45%

No evictions in last 5 years

Successful 3rd party screening

2 years of taxes, recent W-2

You need to evaluate all of the criteria.  I apply a scoring system so I treat everyone equal and it’s not arbitrary.

@Barrett Johnson

Here are some technical suggestions. I own multiple top/bottom duplexes.

1. In the renovation, put in a shower stall upstairs and a tub downstairs. Families with small children need a tub to bathe them. If that tub's not there, it's less suitable to a family with small children that run around all the time.

2. Spring for rugs upstairs.

3. If you're taking down some of the ceilings (and we're probably talking plastered ceilings), yes, this is a great opportunity to stuff the cavities with rockwool and do two layers of drywall. You can also do stick-up acoustic ceiling tiles, and you can also do dropped acoustic ceilings on a grid.

4. Establish quiet hours for the upstairs unit when you rent it. A lot of people like to exercise at home either early in the morning or late at night. Have them move that kind of exercise to the basement, if you have one. Another problem you often run into is people who don't realize when they vacuum upstairs that it makes a lot of noise downstairs, and who end up cleaning up late at night on certain days. Make sure you explain that up front with the top tenant.

5. If they're going to have a party upstairs, make sure they understand they have to OK it with the people downstairs. Another thing you have to watch for these days is virtual meetings and interviews at home. Upstairs and downstairs need to work together to avoid noise during the times the meetings or interviews take place.

@Barrett Johnson  one point is that if the staircase passes the windows of the lower unit you want to do what you can to lessen that impact on reno. It is one thing to have someone walking outside the kitchen at night. Another thing if its a bedroom. 

Sound insullation is a good idea as you are taking ceilings down anyway. 

If you have washer dryer hookups you might want to consider the noise the units make in setting quiet hours.  Also if you put in hard surface floors you can require that the tenant have a % coverage with area rugs like condos do.  You can put the basics in a rental agreement but I usually have a clause along the lines that the tenant must adhere to posted/listed property rules which may from time to time change. In case you have to spell something specific out for a tenant. 

@Barrett Johnson Congrats on the new purchase.  Have you had previous complaints as far as sound goes?  I only ask as ripping out the ceiling to replace the insulation is pretty time consuming and expensive and I am not sure that it would completely eliminate the sound.  Just something to think about in regards to the insulation.   

In regards to other suggestions to eliminate friction, how is the parking situation? If they share parking maybe see if there is a way to separate the parking either with designated spots or separate driveways. Good luck with the Duplex!