All Forum Posts by: Brian C.

I have an applicant who's debt to income ratio is a little higher than I'm comfortable with. She is separated from her husband and he gives her money for the kids but it's just a verbal agreement so I can't count the money as income. Since they are technically still married would you count his income even if he is not on the lease? 

We have duplexes in Richardson and Irving and are looking for a property manager.  I found one on Angie's List but am looking for other options to compare.  Does anyone have a recommendation or a good source for reviews on managers written by landlords?

Hey guys, I'm looking to invest some money into improving my rental property so that I can charge a higher rental rate. What are some improvements that would pay for themselves in increased rent quickest?

I have read that renters are willing to pay more for stainless steel kitchen appliances and they can be relatively cheap, especially used ones. I am also considering upgrading kitchen counters from laminate to granite. Any better ideas?

I was in a very similar situation about 2 years ago. We requested that the unit be vacant X days before closing, with an inspection by us to confirm. The sellers didn't want to ask the tenant to leave but instead dropped the purchase price a bit to cover some of the cost of eviction if it would be necessary. We ended up sending him notice of non renewal of lease by certified mail the day that we closed and he left peacefully. We gave him 60 days but legally only needed 30 since he was month-to-month. Check your state laws.

If you're able to get the sellers to get him out that's definitely your best option. Let them deal with it. If he damages the unit the sellers should be responsible, they are usually required to maintain the property's condition throughout the sale process, check your contract.

I'm about to move out of my duplex and rent both units, so I'm switching from homeowners to landlord/dwelling insurance.  I've read about DP1 and DP3 policies, using an agreed cash value instead of new replacement, and the possibility of using a high deductible if you plan to use the insurance in case of a total loss only.  What do you use and why?

Wow thank you all for the great advice. I bought the property with the carpet installed and I would guess it's older than 5 years anyway. I guess I am SOL. I allow pets and have a pet deposit but the lease only mentions deodorizing or repairing damage done by the pets. 

This is sort of a 2 part question.  I have some ideas for solutions but I hope some more experienced landlords can tell me if I'm on the right track or not.

First, a tenant who just moved out of my property has left the carpet smelling like cat urine.  In my opinion the floor needs to be replaced but what if he argues that it doesn't?  I'm not sure how to prove it stinks.  I can't take pictures of stink.  Would you save a piece of the stinky carpet?

Second, I would prefer to replace the carpet with hard floor that will hold up better.  I'm sure it's not fair to deduct the "upgraded" flooring cost from the tenant's security deposit.  Would you get a quote for the carpet replacement and use that number in the itemization?

Ok, I think I got it now, thanks for helping out a newbie. So the ROI/CCR goes up slightly each year because you're paying less interest / putting in more principal. Initially my equation was showing a decreasing CCR because my denominator was getting larger (principal payments) while the numerator increased only slightly (decreased outflow of cash due to smaller interest payments).

So principal paid is considered earnings? I was considering it cash invested.

Aggregate = cumulative

Does it make sense to use an annual cash flow if you're using a cumulative equity number? Seems like both numbers need to be annual or cumulative, not a combination of both.

I'm probably the one who is wrong because the numbers seem too good to be true... I'm just trying to make sense of it all.