All Forum Posts by: Brandon Kamm

Lease, security deposit agreement, utility addendum, inspection forms, appliance addendum, information of tenant damages at move out, pet addendums. You want to make sure you cover ALL your bases.

Pay an attorney or have a reputable companies lease, make sure it is tailored to your state and not a generic form.

It amazes me sometimes when we take over property from an owner/landlord how many loopholes they have left due to lack of documentation.

IMO, you would be paid for bringing a performing buyer hence you would not be entitle to any of it. You would be compensated when a deal actually closes

Jeff, curious, a lot of time and money? Most systems give you a report right away for a few bucks. Who are you using?

If you have them bring paystubs etc. You are usually left with just verifying rental history.

Sure,

When the economy tanked the leasing market for the $500 Studio/1 Bed got very tight. Owners were more focused on "rent it so i have cash coming in" and less worried about "Get me high rent so i can refi". We saw rents drop due to competitive nature and incentives increase. $99 first month/Free first month etc were becoming more and more common.

The same screening measures were in place, but the tenant base was still the same. These were typically hourly workers most likely to always be hourly workers, often referred to in this area as the "Bar/Restaurant Crowd" In the Midtown area there are a number of areas that appeal to those who can walk to work, typically at a place where they make $8-$12 an hour.

Typical applicants had limited credit, often limited rental history, but employment verified. When the business stopped hiring and cutbacks were made this group had no work to find. Typically when one would lose a job or quit there was another job similar to the one they had open. Businesses cut back hiring and now these individuals had no where to look. The timing couldn't have been worse.

It was very odd how many individuals had that $99 move in and then paid second, maybe third months rent and then nothing. It was odd how we had did not have this problem with same demographic, same rents, and even similar buildings without the special, those tenant still paid ok.

We saw it as an incentive for an individual (once qualified of course) to save some cash and get in a new place, it didn't pan out near what we expected and we wont be working it again.

Yes, we have done many sixth month free, last month free, December free for Christmas deals over the years, this was more of trying to relate to current market conditions and demand.

Lesson we learned, the more you are willing to give, the more likely you will be burned.

Couple of good points to add in. Multiple showings at once always helps and confirmation calls. We call all showings that morning to confirm....this doesn't mean they will still show, but helps.

Sorry for the typos, iPad :(

Very, very slim. You almost have to spend to much has in nag tryingbto collect that amount from them. Odds arevthe only time you would is if they ever tried to clean up their credit, which is unlikely.

Know Michigan law, but fair to say most likely no shot on tax garnishment

Bryan is exactly right, we are set up to handle situations like these. When it happens our staff is not going to get upset and think of it as a blown day. They will use the extra half hour or so they now have to hang signs, flyers, call back leads, etc. They know its a part of the process.

An owner would be more inclined to see it as a waste of a day.

Look at local ads in paper, internet, etc for similar props in your area. Do you own comps per se. Call property managers about listings that are similar to yours, call for rent signs in the neighborhood. From that gather your data and there you go.

It depends on your market. Certain demographics and price ranges will be attracted to different things. We have done everything from cash, no app fee, free big screen, grocery gift card, tickets to sporting events, etc. etc.

The one thing i would advise against is dirt cheap rent for initial period. We had $99 first month rent and were burned more often than not, yes screening etc. was still done, but those specials led to more problems.

Know your market and cater a special to that.