All Forum Posts by: Brad M.

Good job @Omi C.! Congrats and good luck.

I use erentpayment.com and offer it as an option for tenants...or as a way to avoid their first late fee. I offer to waive the late fee if they sign up for electronic payments. So far I've been very pleased with it. 

It is flexible in setting up recurring automatic payments, or one-time payments, and you can specify who pays the $3 fee, you or the tenant.

That is a good point @Lynn McGeein

I have collected a non-refundable pet fee and pet rent. I prefer the additional pet rent approach ($25/month per pet) only because it keeps adding up if they stay more than one year. With a non-refundable deposit, it seems awkward to ask for another deposit at renewal time.

To Lynn's point, I can definitely see how a tenant could take the mindset that they have "pre-paid" for the right to cause pet damage.

I do exactly what @Max T. does. My leases require 60 day notice of intent to renew, otherwise it automatically renews for another year. I don't want to send them a reminder and get them thinking that maybe they should look around. They have the lease, know (or should know) the terms, and if they intend to move they'll let me know. Of course, as Max said, if i intend to raise the rent, or make any other changes, I let them know in advance of the 60 days as well. 

As far as 6 mos or 1 year leases, it depends on your market. I also do 12 months. I also rent in a fairly dense student area, so I try to align all of my leases to expire in May or June, as that is the most active time for students to move around.

@Brandon Turner

Let me know if you want to make a stop in Richmond on your way to Atlanta. I'd be happy to show you an up and coming area in Manchester (just across the river from the Richmond CBD) where I have a quad. Lots of great multi-family and investor activity. Two minutes off I-95.

Brad

I drive a 2001 Dodge Ram pickup, but mainly because if I'm at the property I'm hauling tools or ladders or something. My daily driver is nothing special, an 8 year old Volvo S80, but I don't worry about what the tenants think about what I drive. 

My philosophy is that if you have good tenants with good values, they'll pay their rent and take care of your place. What you drive won't change their value system and make them want to take advantage of you. By the same token, if you have tenants with bad value systems, they'll try to take advantage of you regardless of what you drive or how you dress. 

Hi @Lourdemir Aime - A little more info would be needed. What is your goal? To buy and hold and rent? That's what I'm guessing based on the price to tax value ratio. What kind of rents can you get? What are your expenses? Taxes, insurance, etc. Respond back with more detail and I'm sure someone can offer some advice. Good luck.

I like to think I would have done the same thing in your situation @Ashton Astillero . It would be tough to cut corners on a job knowing that you are leaving the property in a potentially dangerous situation.

@Ashton Astillero - I have zero to very little experience with construction contracts, but it seems you would want to have something in there that if issues are found that are not up to code, you are required (?) to fix them, and a change order will be issued. You did the right thing by not cutting corners - but you shouldn't have to eat the cost.

That's a good point @Jamal Okon . Thanks for bringing it up.