All Forum Posts by: Brandon Turner

Aly really nailed the core question I asked - How do you enforce payment on the first when you can't charge a late fee yet. And Steve - great answer! My lease currently says "due on the first but not considered late until after the fifth" but that can easily be changed to "Due on the first, but a late fee will not be charged until the 5th". I like that idea.

Aly asked the core question there - if a late fee cannot be charged until day three (or five or whatever) then what is the penalty for not paying on the first? It just seems to muddy up the due date.

Some of the responses here sound like "Tenants MUST pay on the first ... but considered late on the third". Not really a "must" then? So do you yell at your tenants when they pay on the 2nd, even though there is nothing you can do?

Human nature seems to want to see how close to the line they can get, so if no late fee is charged until the 3rd, then they generally won't pay until the last moment, and there is nothing we can do about it, right?

We've done alright enforcing the late fees, but still - much of our bills come out around the 1st, but most of the income comes in around the 5th. I'd like to change that.

We have one family in particular who call early every month and ask to pay on the 7th. Its really not that big of a deal - but I'd like to go pick up my rent once. (they deposit it in a mailbox onsite at the apartment).

Anyways, thanks for the response.

Anyone else?

Do you allow grace periods? Like, "rent is due on the first of the month but considered late after the 5th".

We have a 5 day grace period in our lease - but because of it, no one pays till the 5th of the month. Everyone just sees the 5th as the due date. So maybe I should get rid of it.

Also, what do you guys do about when tenants call about extensions? People seem to call every month and ask for 2 or 3 days extra to pay (due to pay days, etc). I'm thinking about allowing it, but telling people there is going to be a $20 charge for it. That way I can make some extra money being flexible.

Thoughts?

Hey folks,

Just wondering if other landlords can share their experiences in filling vacancies. Any creative ideas?

Hey Stephen,

I'm just wondering how this all turned out? Did you get the property filled up?

Thanks,

Brandon

I agree with what almost everyone above said. Refinish the floors.

You can rent a "U Sand" machine from Home Depot and you really can't mess it up (unlike a belt sander, this is lighter grade and uses 4 orbiting sanding disks). Sand it for a few hours (or get a high school kid for $10 bucks an hour) and put on a dark stain. The bad parts of the floor will look like awesome character.

I think whether selling or renting, this is the way to go. If you rent it, and the renter is stupid and scrapes a huge dent in it, or spills some red wine and doesn't clean it - just take some sandpaper, some stain, and varnish and in 10 minutes you fix it. If you use Laminate- your tenants WILL scrape their Grandma's antique china cabinet across it and ruin it. Your laminate will last 2 years. Your hardwoods will last until you sell.

Good luck!

Oh and if this is a lower class rental - by all means, paint the floors. It will take one hour, cost $40 bucks, and you'll be done.

I know this is an old post, but I'm curious -

The IRS says (I thought) you are suppose to use the same amount for depreciation year after year. But property values are always changing, sometimes huge. So if my property is worth 30% less this year, shouldn't my depreciation amount be less as well? (or vice versa if property values go up)

Any ideas?

"Investing in duplexes, triplexes, and quads" by Larry Loftis. Thats what got me started. Good hands on and simple approach to real estate investing for beginners.

"The unofficial guide to Real Estate Investing" by Martin Stone and Spencer Strauss. This book helped me understand the numbers and how to actually grow wealth. I loved this book.

Rich Dad Advisors guide to Real Estate Investing. This is hands down the best book I've read on "big-picture" apartment buying. And since thats the direction I'm moving toward, its indispensable in my arsenal of books.

Good luck. If you have any questions about books, let me know. I've read way too many :)

I'd buy a 700,000 24-unit nice but slightly mismanaged apartment complex using a bit of seller-carryback 2nd mortgage and a commercial loan, live off $4000 of cashflow each month, and sell it in two years for 1.2 million.

Yep, that deal came across my "desk" yesterday. I called today and 2 offers came in today, and they accepted one. The only thing stopping me from calling yesterday - I didn't have the $125,000 for a down payment. I had my financing lined up today too.

So thats what I would do if I had 125,000 yesterday. :) Today? I'm with James - Going to Vegas.