All Forum Posts by: Brad Crosby

Yes you can have multiple HELOCs at a time as long as you can qualify for them. When applying for the new HELOC most banks will base the payment for your existing HELOC off the maximum loan amount regardless of whether you've pulled the money out or not so keep that in mind, it may throw off your DTI.

Thanks Deanna McCormick for you input! Let me explain a little better. The renters have been absolutely fantastic and have always paid ontime! She received an opportunity for a promotion in her career that would move her to Arizona. She was respectful and let me know as soon as possible that she intended to accept, and asked what we could do to work out the contract. They are giving up their deposit but I agreed to let them pay month-to-month on the contract until I got it sold or rented again, rather than calling the entire contract due, like the Rental Agreement states. They paid April on time, although they are almost entirely moved out already, and she agreed to pay to maintain the lawn as well. I do not feel like eating the cost when I have a cooperative renter that's given no reason to think she wouldn't respectfully pay the fee, especially when that was addressed specifically in the contract.

I currently have 2 renters that are moving out soon. The house they have been renting is under contract, and the sale should be finalizing on May 8. The situations is the lawn has grown incredibly wild with all the Spring rains we've been having, and I want to make sure it is still being maintained during the sale process in case the contract falls through, as well as a general courtesy to the new owners. 

Taking care of the lawn is addressed in my rental agreement, and the renters were aware when they signed in November that they would be responsible for this. They are still held to the agreement until the house sells (because they are defaulting on their contract which is what brought about the sale in the first place.) Therefore, I reached out to them to ask if they could mow, and they told me they had no means of doing it themselves. I asked if they would like me to find someone to mow it for a fee, and they agreed.

So this brings me to my question. I have cooperative renters, I have found someone that has agreed to mow on an every-other week basis until the home sells, and now I am just wondering what is the process for billing the tenants? 

I use Rentler.com to collect rent, and the only way to add additional fees on their website is by adding it onto the next month's rent. As it is April 10 now, I would have to charge for two mowings in April as well as 1-2 mowings in May, and add that onto May's rent. Then I could just refund them whatever amount they paid that did not get mowed in May (depending on when the house sells, which should be May 8.) I think if I explained this to them they'd be more than happy to go along with it, but I was wondering if there was a better way... Is there a special invoice or other form that I should be sending them to make it more official? Should I be requiring them to pay the servicer directly? Any ideas or advice is welcome, thanks!

Wow, great advice. Thanks for responding! So quick update, I have just let it be for the time being, and have not had any issues except that the other leesee has asked about his cousin moving in in the Spring, which I declined. They have really been good tenants so far. Your recent responses, however, have caused me to reconsider. Thanks @Wes Brand, I will look up my local laws and make sure I not going to be in trouble there first, then I think I will take @Max T. advice and meet with them and require him to be screened and added to the lease at the very least, however I may just decide to request they leave, since more people = more wear and tear and I do agree with @Jeff G. that it would be unwise to try and increase rent. I can foresee other problems coming from this now that I think about it. The other tenant may be upset if he has kept his part clean and organized but receives less of his security deposit back due to damage/wear from the other tenant's bf's kids. I also appreciate @Marian Smith for your comment. You're right, this is a business. At times I find myself in agreeance with Brandon Turner when he says he's not good at managing people because he's too nice. I should maybe consider taking his advice and delegating the management side of this out in the future.

OK so now for another question, if you'd all be so kind. How would I go about this the most tactful way? Official letter specifically requesting he and the kids vacate within X amount of days, general letter reminding them that live-in guest are not allowed and they will be found to be in breach of contract if this is not the case, etc., or do I just visit with them and ask them about what's going on? Is it wise to communicate this sort of thing over email so I have evidence of when it was sent, or is it better to mail it and just keep a log? Thanks! 

Thank you for the quick responses! I totally agree that it's not worth worrying over every little thing that could go wrong, but since I'm new I guess that's why I tend to worry more. I'm fine to let it go and address it when (if) it becomes an issue, but I guess another question would be if I have any legal complications with them in the future, am I somehow setting precedence or anything like that by allowing this to go on? Or am I taking on additional liability by having the kids living there (kids slipping and falling and tenant suing me, etc.?)

I began renting out my 3 bed 1 bath in November to two tenants that are roommates living in separate rooms. Less than a month later I stopped in for a scheduled maintenance request and found one tenant's boyfriend hanging out. I didn't think anything of it except that I saw they had put a mattress in the 3rd bedroom, which I thought was odd but not necessarily condemning since there is a built-in box in that room so there isn't much else to do with the space. When I returned to the house a couple weeks later to repair a door upstairs, the boyfriend was there again with the tenant, and he had his two kids there as well. As I was working on the door, I noticed the mattress in the 3rd bedroom had been removed, but the room was full of things as if it was being used for a bedroom (guitar on a stand, books up on shelves, etc.).  After everyone left and I was still working on the door, I checked the master bedroom and found the mattress had been thrown on the floor next to their bed. I'm not sure if they were trying to hide it from me? Also the roommate for whom I was repairing the door requested a lock on the door, so my curious mind says he wants it to keep the kids out of his room. I'm at a loss for what to do since they've been great tenants so far, in that they have kept the house immaculately clean and organized and the kids seem well behaved, but it might be too soon to tell. My suspicion is that the boyfriend is staying in the master bed with my tenant, and his two kids are sleeping in the 3rd bedroom. Adding fuel to my suspicion, after I finished the door for the one tenant, they requested I install a door for the 3rd bedroom so the cats won't get in. In my mind, they wouldn't care if the cats got in unless someone was sleeping in that bedroom every night. 

I read through my contract, and my understanding is that I can prohibit guests from living in the home, but unless I do that and they continue keeping him, then I don't see that they are in breach of contract. I am using the Rentler.com rental agreement in case anyone is familiar with that. I am curious if anyone has had experience with this and could share. How should I handle this? On the one hand, they have kept the house very clean and I feel they will be good tenants and I don't want to start off with a confrontation. On the other hand, I definitely would not have been open to renting my house out to 3 adults and 2 children in a home that only has 1 tiny bathroom! And I can't help but feel like they were planning this from the beginning and perhaps were attempting to avoid a background check for the boyfriend?? In any case, as this is my very first rental, your input is GREATLY appreciated! Thank you!

I was in a similar situation with my single family just a couple weeks ago! When I first listed, we had a set move-in for about a month out, since we were still living in it and closing on our new home. When we didn't get a renter for the 1st of Nov I was worried. However, I was surprised by how many people there are that are looking to move in as soon as possible. When I found tenants that fit our criteria, I couldn't get the remaining items out of the house fast enough! They ended up moving in Nov 28. I just asked for Dec rent ($1200) + Nov prorated portion ($120 for 3 days) up front along with security deposit. Contract termination date set for Nov 30, 2017. If you have someone that is ready to go, why would you wait and lose more money?

She hasn't even responded to my request for credit and background check yet, so I'm taking that as a sign she may be coming from financial difficulties, hence the selling of the house maybe? Anyways, good to know I can request taxes, I had no idea. Thanks for the advice! I really appreciate it!

I am looking to fill my first rental! I have a potential tenant that has been self-employed for the past few years. She claims $4,000 monthly income. How would I verify that? Am I allowed to ask for tax returns, bank statements, etc.? 

She just sold her home that she owned a few months ago, so any thoughts on verifying residential history on clients that are new to renting would be great as well!

Thanks!