All Forum Posts by: Charles Campbell

@Susan Maneck Hi Susan, I’m dealing with the same issue and I’m wondering what you ended up doing?

Thanks Michael Seeker ...I'm going to look into getting more exact measurements and dimensions.

We currently live in a 3300 sq ft, 2 level, single family home with an unfinished attic. I want to get the attic finished and turned into a media/home theatre room. I'm curious how to calculate how much more value that would add to the house? The attic is a pretty big space, runs the whole length of the house, and if it were finished it would turn our house into 3 levels. Does that mean if I finish the attic and turn it into a media room, I can simply add that additional floor into the total square footage calculation of the house? For example, lets say, currently, each floor is approx 1650 sq ft, thus a total of 3300 sq ft for the 2 floors. And if I have the attic finished, that would be another 1650 in sq ft...is it as easy as looking up other homes in the area that have approx 4950 sq ft to figure out how much value the extra room would give our house? Thanks in advance. Hopefully this is the right place to post this question.

@Kurt Hines Correct about a student market.  The townhouse we are renting is very close to the university, our current tenant is doing a fellowship program at the Med School.  We've learned that most grad students start making arrangements for summer/fall about this time of year.

I may consider the one day a week showing strategy to simplify the coordination effort.

@Kimberly H. Oh and you mentioned listing in MLS...how do I go about getting listed in MLS? Up until now we've been relying on Zillow and Craigslist and have been successful.

I'm guessing there is a fee involved with listing in the MLS. Do I have to work with a real estate agent to do that?

Thanks in advance!

@Kimberly H.  Such a good point!  I've been doing rudimentary prescreening, mainly letting them know our no pets policy when I see they list pets on their prospect form.  But not as extensive as you listed.  Yeah, I was assuming folks are reading the description which clearly states that move in would be at the end of August but I need to do a better job prescreening.

So, I went ahead and asked my tenant if it was okay on occasion to enter without them being home in order to give tours and as I suspected, he hesitated and said he'd have to speak with his wife.

Thanks John...yeah my lease states "...the Tenant, after reasonable telephone notice, will permit the Landlord or the landlord's agent to show the premises to prospective tenants or purchasers"

...but nothing specific about entering when they are not home.  Gonna look into adding something more specific, and just ask my tenant if they are okay with it, on occasions when its more convenient.

My wife and I are self managing a townhouse and we are currently in the process of looking for new tenants because our current tenant's lease ends in August. So far I've been coordinating tours for prospective tenants around the schedule of my current tenants to make sure I'm not entering the property without the current tenants being home.  But coordinating my current tenant's schedule with my schedule (I work full time) and my prospect's schedule gets tiring and inconvenient for me and my prospects at times.

Do I need to make sure my current tenant is present while trying to find new renters and giving tours? Am I over stepping my bounds by telling the tenant I'd prefer, on occasions when its more convenient, to enter the property to show prospects, even if they are not home?