All Forum Posts by: Bob H.

Also consider an oscillating saw. It's much better than a reciprocating saw where access is restricted. In this case you might use a reciprocating saw to cut most of the way through the studs, but you don't want the tip of the blade banging against the bricks or other framing. An oscillating saw lets you cut straight into the material with almost no clearance and cleanly finish a larger cut made with another saw.

Kevin, I have rentals in both Cedar Park and Leander. I recommend Cedar Park because of the shorter commute to Austin and because much of Leander remains undeveloped or in a state of old development in disrepair. Watch out for neighborhoods, usually without homeowners associations, where neighbors don't take care of their yards and consequently make it harder to rent your property. Also watch out for exorbitant fees charged on home sales by homeowners associations and their management companies. 

Ouch! Rumen, I drive a 2007 Corolla, which got 42 mpg on a road trip last year. Your choice of vehicle is a good one, but for landlord work you need what I keep for that: a 1989 Ford Ranger with a slider window for that long lumber. It's great. So the roof or door leaks a little in the rain. There's no AC, and I keep track of the mileage because the gas gauge doesn't work. I don't drive it much, but it once made it from California to Texas, back to California and back to Texas. It has one of those old odometers that top out at 99,999, so I'm not sure how far it has gone.

In my experience you simply cannot charge enough of a security deposit to account for bad tenants. The market will not allow it. As others have said, you need to first add up the damages -- not painting unless it's necessary because of damages by tenants -- and bill for that. If that uses up the security deposit, it's probably not worth pursuing more. When you say tenants would not allow a lock box or showings, I don't fully understand that. It seems that you could put a lock box there without the tenants' cooperation. You can announce, with required notice, that you will show the property at a specific time, and you can go ahead and do that. (They can't always be home and ready to block your entrance.)

What you cannot do is make the tenants clean up their home and make it presentable for prospects who are coming to see it. I have learned the hard way that you can lose a month or more of rent because the tenants are slobs and you can't make a good impression with anyone until the tenants leave.

I don't know how to guard against this other than careful tenant screening, but even tenants who have good reputations and pay on time may be careless and sloppy housekeepers. I have the impression that they often don't even realize how bad their home looks. Some people suggest showing up unannounced at a prospect's current home before leasing, just to see how they keep the place. I find that overly intrusive and often impractical, as in the case of prospective tenants moving from out of town.

I would like to hear suggestions from other BPers on how to screen for tenants who keep a house clean and uncluttered or how to get them to clean up the house before you are showing it to new tenants. Maybe pay them for each showing if the house is clean enough? That strategy could backfire if it turns into a debate over how clean the home is.

I can't argue with counting on appreciation in Walnut Creek, but a warning if you sell with a 1031: Two years ago my wife and I sold a modest rental in Pleasanton, not far from Walnut Creek, and bought three homes in the Austin suburbs, where property taxes are high but, compared to California, rents are much higher relative to property prices. It's very hectic! You have only 45 days to identify what you'll buy, and as a practical matter you have to actually buy before someone else does. Pulling off three purchases in a hurry after one perhaps leisurely sale is not for the faint of heart.