All Forum Posts by: Chad Lundquist

Quote from @Chad Lundquist:

Hey BP family, we've decided to add a basement apartment to our house and we're trying to decide if we should go with a long-term renter or if we should try short-term (think traveling nurses / doctors, not Air BNB) and fully furnish the apartment. If anyone has done this and has any suggestions / comments I would love to hear them.

Also, if anyone has added an apartment in the basement as an Income Property and dealt with their electrical box in the apartment how did you handle this. It's the only hang-up we're having is that the electrical box would be in the walk-in-closet of the apartment. Please advise if you've come across this and how you handled it or if you have any suggestions.

Thanks in advance for any input.

There's no easy answer. you'll need to investigate both and choose. Long-term renters settle in and stay settled, have less turnover/vacancy, cheaper because you don't have to furnish. Short-term means you're not stuck with a bad renter for a long period of time, but then you also lose a good renter quicker. There's higher turnover and vacancy, which increases costs, but you may be able to charge a higher rate to offset the risk.

The electrical panel in the basement could be a problem but you just have to disclose it to the tenant and think of a way to minimize impact. If it's a newer electrical system, you shouldn't have problems very often and they should be limited, giving you time to contact the tenant and coordinate resetting the breaker.

Insurance Broker here: I would love to offer both a list of dogs that insurance companies do not like/raise risk as well as an easy way to explain to applicants without offending anyone; (Akita, Alaskan Malamute, American Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Mastiffs, Chow Chow, Doberman Pinscher, Pit Bull, Presa Canario, Rottweiler, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Wolf Hybrid) These are the dogs that you should always steer clear of. 

The best way to explain to applicants is "It is not that these particular breeds are inherently more aggressive, it is more that when considering laibility, every dog has the potential to show aggression and these particular breeds do the most damage when they do." 

Quote from @Chad Lundquist:

Quote from @Matt M.:

Absolutely do not allow this dog. 

 Matt, is there a reason you would not allow the dog? I don't know anything about American Bulldogs so maybe there's something I'm missing regarding the breed of the dog. Let me know your thoughts....

I don’t allow pets in my rentals and I have no problem renting my units to great people that appreciate a home that doesn’t have a lingering pet odor. 
besides what @Nathan Gesner posted above, it’s 110lbs.  That’s huge. yeah no way. Not for $5000 deposit. 

Our policy is $300 upfront and non-refundable, and $30 per pet per month.  If someone has 2 pets, we may reduce the $30 monthly fee, but you know you're going to replace the carpet after they leave.

Quote from @Chad Lundquist:

Hey BP family, I was wondering if anyone had any advice on allowing pets (specifically large dogs) into their rentals. We have a policy that we only allow dogs up to 50 pounds, but one of our tenants is moving out and the new person potentially taking their place has a 110# American Bulldog that's 1 1/2 years old. We've never come across this before and the current tenant is great and is willing to put up more than the usual pet deposit that we require ($350 non-refundable currently). I just wanted to get some advice on 1) should we allow this large of a dog, 2) should we increase the pet deposit (if so how much?) and 3) should we increase the monthly fee (currently $25 / month per pet).

Any suggestions / comments are welcome and I appreciate the feedback.

We love doing pet rent. We do a one time nonrefundable fee and then a $30 monthly fee. We ensure that the animals are all up-to-date on their shots for protection as well as we require our tenants to get insurance for the animal. I think it’s the best added income. On some of my properties I will purposely put a fence to try and get the extra pet rent. I have had no issues with large dogs. 

@Chad Lundquist

I never charge a pet deposit because you can only use it for pet damage. I charge a 1 time nonrefundable pet fee $450 per pet. I also meet the pets inorder to make sure they are trained. The size of the dog is not the real issue, training may be. A small untrained dog can do a lot of damage, while a well trained large dog may do no damage.

You can read about their disposition here: American Bulldog

You'll notice they are not good in apartments, they don't do well alone, they are aggressive with strangers, etc. Also remember that these are the default characteristics; they could be even worse if not handled properly.

Your policy is 50 pounds. I would stick with that, rather than break policy and accept a larger, potentially dangerous animal.

Absolutely do not allow this dog. 

So, are your list of new tenants small? If so, yea raise the pet deposit plus you have the regular deposit some big dogs leave a smelly oil smell like in carpets make them have a rental insurance covering dog bites. The problem is everyone in the US has dogs we must adapt to this.

I have a terrier mix that moved in made them give me $300 more in deposit, plus rental insurance.