All Forum Posts by: Jeff T.

I would agree with JD Martin that is pretty cheap, especially the walls which usually involves drilling 2 holes every 16" between the studs. In a cold area it might be worth it depending on the property and the area

@Daniel Mai It's been quite a while since Culver city wasn't a good neighborhood.  Well at least the middle sections, the "Park" neighborhoods.  The fringes were somewhat sketchy in the 80s and 90s, but they fixed up the downtown in the 90s, but nothing much happened until the movie theater went in downtown in the early 2000's, then people started coming downtown and more restaurants opened and it got trendier.

Even at the most recent bottom in 2012 it seemed expensive, but it's doubled since... it's been pretty crazy lately, teardowns everywhere, we just counted 8 in our neighborhood.

Sorry, I just reread and realized it's a flip. If it was me I would reglazing the tile if it's in good condition. It looks nice if you get a good company to do it. I had 2 tubs reglazed recently and company did a poor job and the other one was beautiful.

When I said it will last forever I meant the existing tile, not the refinished tile. I meant that you could just leave the existing tile even though it's dated , depending on your market. I just sold a house with the same floor and maroon tile. It's looked decent cleaned up.

You can refinish the tile. It's not exactly paint, but a tile refinisher will etch it and refinish it. I've done it in white. Similar to reglazing a tub. Depending on your market and rents, you could leave it. It will last forever. I assume you are renting.

I have used US liability for multiple states. Although it has gone up recently and I'll be shopping around next time. The IRA is a separate entity so I believe it wouldn't be covered. Feel free to contact me if you want details.

@Frank Adams, that's a good point I hadn't thought of. I've had people say "my last landlord just let me use the deposit for the last months rent". I've also kind of let that happen in special circumstances, but I won't be doing that again. People rarely do what they say they will or have a reason they can't and I'm stuck with the bill.

I'm just trying to work out a better system to get a better first applicant. The higher deposit seems to have helped. Also I've been fixing up the places and removing eyesore things (I had an avocado color stove!) eesh.

@Christopher Finn, @Patrick M. @Kathryn Daniel

Well, I think part of the issue has been the PM takes the first applicant and then I have to decide based on that one applicant without seeing anyone else. 

I think the higher deposit has been weeding out some borderline tenants with limited funds. Plus, one months rent is never enough to cover costs after a tenant leaves (well, the places are often trashed).

From the comments it seems like 1.5x rent is not unusual.

I'm just curious, because I have rentals and have been getting poor applicants for a long time. I recently decided to charge 1.3-1.5x rent instead of typical 1x rent and I've been getting better tenant applications.

Maybe I'm weeding out some borderline applicants with the higher deposit?

I'm curious what others are doing.

Any thoughts?

@Andrew G.  You mentioned that you would like to keep this as a 20 year investment. If that is what you would like, I think this is as good an area as any. Many internet  companies are moving into the venice area (silicon Beach) and Playa Vista has a number of internet companies, and Apple is moving in. I would be careful getting advice from people who don't know the area. If you just want the money , take it, but if you want a long term investment that has a good chance of appreciating, then Culver city is a good are with great schools as well. We know people who have left for cheaper areas and then got priced out.

I've been here 20 years. Just think it through and think about what you want long term before you make a decision.

Jeff