All Forum Posts by: Brenna Wood

@Anthony Wick no way! We are living here currently and the home will be available January 1 2019 :) & thanks for these questions to ask!

Yall have been so much help with just the beginning process of people coming to see our property. We have turned down one person so far because she didn't qualify.

We bought the BiggerPockets package for lease, application, pet lease, etc. We gave out applications to potential tenants who came yesterday to see the house. There are four people who want to live here under the same lease - one sister, her 5yo son, her brother and her brothers finance. The couple will take the master, the son and mom each will have their separate bedrooms and share a hall bath. I gave them 3 applications for the adults and told them it would be $35 each. We told them what we need them to qualify as tenants - favorable credit history, no records, references from all previous landlords, gross income $4800+ combined (renting for $1600). They said no problem and will get us the applications back this weekend.

I was reading on here to use Smart Move by Trans Union for the credit/background check. Is this all we will need to do besides calling everyone on their references to verify their information?

Also, if they all pass the checks, can we sign the lease now for January 1 with the holding deposit agreement? And how much should it be? I thought it would be the security deposit in full,  but my husband said it should be a refundable amount that's less ~$500. We can't afford to lose a tenant last minute, and I'm going to do this right, but shouldn't we just get the deal done if everything checks out?

That leads to my next question. We pictured a single family living here, but are still okay with this dynamic. If there are going to be 3 adults living here, we will need 3 separate leases signed or one lease with all 3 of their signatures?

And do we have one of them sign the Guaranty agreement? The sister who scheduled the showing and reached out to us said that she would collect the rent in full from her brother and her brothers finance and pay me the full amount of rent $1600 every month. If we need this signed, I would ask her. We are thinking about using Cozy.co for payments.

If you made it this far, thank you :)

Total red flag! Thank yall so much. This is our response to her:

"I appreciate your honesty and sympathize with your current situation. Wish you the best on your hunt for a new place, but we are looking for someone who meets all of our criteria."

Thank yall again for this information and pointing out that we need to prescreen everyone.

We also sent the prequalifications to the lady coming on Sunday (who a few of yall said red flags because she wants to move in a month early), and this was her reply. She said her salary alone is $80k plus she receives child support. She can provide excellent references and works at a retirement community for 2 years..........

"I wouldn't want to use my current landlord because I won't want to give her notice of my intent to leave until I have a lease agreement signed and ready to go. And I planned to give her 60 day notice. My credit score is not high. There is a debt that my ex-husband is responsible for that is affecting that. I have the property settlement from the divorce that supports that. That debt will be satisfied in full by the beginning of 2019 and I will be able to repair my credit but for now, its an unfortunate situation."

Thanks everybody! We bought the BiggerPockets landlord package with Applications, Lease terms for LA, pet policy, addendum's, etc.

The potential tenants (first ones to see our property) came this evening and I gave them both an application and said it would be $35 each to do the background check. They are a sister and her son, brother and finance. The sister and fiance came and we said the brother could come on Sunday when another potential tenant views the property (the lady who I thought was coming tonight is actually coming Sunday).

We sent them a follow up text message saying the qualifications to lease before we do the background check - gross monthly income $4800+ ($1600/month rental), favorable credit history, employed and pay stubs required, good references concerning rental payment, housekeeping, and property maintenance from ALL previous landlords.

Her only question was if the income was combined (all 3 adults) or individually. We said combined, and she said she would get up the applications with the fee by the weekend.

Last thoughts: We pictured a single family moving in, but I guess the tenants don't have to be what we imagined. I don't see anything completely wrong with it. The couple will get the master, the mom and son will each get a separate bedroom and share the hall bathroom. One lady works at a plastic sugerons office and the other at the local hospital. Any thoughts on this dynamic?

@Steve B. We aren't sure. She is meeting us this evening to look at the house. We have also had several other people interested in the home but have not scheduled with them to see the house.

Thank all of yall for the advice, as we are first timers here and greatly appreciate the input!! We are going to purchase the BiggerPockets landlord package that includes all of our forms for Louisiana rentals.

@Brian Ellis spot on, thanks!

@Ray Harrell You can read the emotional attachment in my post, thanks for the reminder. I needed to hear this as we have some great memories in this "income property" (I'll have to get used to saying that!) Will also work on being too friendly, it's mostly my husband who is. I can be a stickler!

@Drew Y. We are moving from Louisiana to California! We really don't want to tell the tenant this or get into any personal info really! (1) My husband already pitched the idea to her about this, so I'll just have to tell her that he didn't discuss this with me and the answer is no (2) Definitely agree that we are emotionally attached to this "dwelling" and have to see it as a rental property and not our home (3) We will talk with her, but I don't know how to avoid the small talk about us, I don't want to give her very much information and want to deflect all of her questions about us.

@Ned J. The only reason we wanted to do a longer term is that we will be across the country next year living there. But now this is a good point and maybe since my family is here and we will be visiting, we can schedule a trip to screen new tenants when that time comes. Thanks for your input.

@Caleb Heimsoth Thanks she is coming today. Will update!

@David Cruice We aren't leasing until January, and this is the first potential tenant we are showing our property to. I listed it very early so we could screen everyone! Thank you for the input. I agree with Ray too!

@Bettina F. Great example of what I want to be - short and sweet during screening, and forward after! We are charging an ap fee of $35. I had a good laugh at her BF getting out of prison, but you are absoutely right. I am a weary one to begin with, so I will do my cyber homework on anyone we screen!

My husband and I are moving to San Diego, CA at the end of this year. We are renting out our home that we plan to rent forever, and thinking of buying in Temecula area. The prices are way better than the city, and although its a far commute, we can make it work for now. We will live there definitely for 2 years, with a possibility of an additional 3 years.

Is it worth buying out there or would it be better to just rent and "throw away" our money in CA? We thought we would do the exact same thing we are doing here - buy, rent but eventually sell it in 7-10 years and cash out in CA with their insane market. I really don't know how to run these numbers if it makes financial sense. We talked with a broker and he thinks we are financially stable to buy a home in CA and rent it after we move, but we are pretty scare of the risks involved in owning a home across the country when we move back home.

We also don't want to be the safe people who never take a risk, and get nothing in return. Any input will be appreciated!

We are about to endeavor in the landlord world. We just listed our property for rent on Monday and have a lady coming to look at our home tomorrow evening. Is there anything I need to do to prepare for her visit?

She talked about wanting to do an 18 month lease or longer. Do we charge a little less if she signs a 18 month or 2 year lease? I was thinking we would take $50 off our asking price of $1600/month if she signs a two year lease.

Also, she wants to rent our home a month before we listed it available (December instead of January). I don't want to say no, but we really wanted to spend the holidays in our home. This just comes down to what is best for our family, but we also want the right tenant. Pretty torn here, as we are moving across the country and will be our last holidays in our home.