All Forum Posts by: Carrie Smukal

I agree, get the deposit up front with proper documentation. If he doesn't want to pay it then he isn't serious. Also do the background checks before you take his deposit. People aren't always as they appear. I have learned not to be in a hurry to rent your place out. Lose one months rent before you take someone without doing the background checks. It will cost you much much more if you have to evict someone down the line.

Hi Justin,
I have flipped a few houses and my advice is that you should keep it for at least one year. By my experiences here in Wisconsin is that the banks do not like to give a loan on a flipped house and i'm talking about giving the loan to the new buyer! The banks have made the buyer jump through hoops to get my houses, including 2 or more appraisals. The bank may also ask you for all of your receipts; they want justification of the new price you are asking, even though it is not their business!!! It can be a nightmare. Ask someone in your area about the downside of flipping. It can be lucrative don't get me wrong. Start with some local advise and make sure flipping is what you want to do. As of now i am not doing it any longer. I'm just buying and hold. I buy in depressed areas, cheap, cheap houses and get more money in rent than the house is worth. I fix them up of course, i'm not a slumlord. Also there are all sorts of requirements to commercial loans, i personally don't want to deal with it. Here, we have to provide our financial portfolio and have to refinance every 3 years i believe. Too much hassle. Hope this helps.

Personally I like to rent to S8 tenants. I've heard of a lot of people having problems with their units being ruined but I have not had that experience as of yet, knock on wood. I believe the advantages to the tenant are that your unit is inspected every year and must be in compliance. The landlord advantages are that damages are the tenants responsibility, rent is automatic deposit. I do not get less rent because of S8 tenants. S8 must get a move out condition report signed by the landlord; if they damage your unit, no signature until it is repaired at their expense. If they don't take care of the property you can report it. In Wisconsin I believe if you lose the benefit, you are not getting back on at least for quite some time. I screen S8 applicants just as I do any other applicant. I require my applicants to pay for their background and credit checks. If they don't want to pay it, they are not serious about the unit. So far so good, I give it a thumbs up.

The owner most likely knows what his property is worth as is. I would just ask him if he is interested in selling; what he paid for it doesn't even matter. If it was my house and I paid 8K as you stated, its worth more to me in rent. I certainly wouldn't even consider a lowball offer of 20K. Decide what the place is worth to you and offer it.

As far as the tenants are concerned, if the place is so horrible why don't they leave? I'm not sure about all states but typically as long as you live in the unit you are required to pay rent, regardless of the condition. Typically slum lords aren't pressured by threats. I am not a slum lord and I address repairs immediately; but if someone reported me for repairs I would probably evict them. I would just tell them that I cannot make the repairs right away and give them notice. I would personally take a loss to get them out. Be careful what you wish for.....

Good luck to you and the tenants.