All Forum Posts by: Chris B.

Same thing happened to me but with rent.  I never have any utilities under my name here in AZ.  I was too nice multiple times and the tenant began to take it for granted and just played me assuming no consequences.  In my situation, I was in a month to month.  I sent a certified letter stating the lease will not be renewed and the 30 day notice was in effect.  I stated to continue living in the home, they needed to sign a new lease which had specific text added to deal with this.  If they didn't sign or move out, they would be overstaying the lease and that would be grounds for eviction.  They dragged their feet but ultimately they signed the lease and transitioned to an online payment system that automatically calculates late fees and adds it in.  It only accepts payment in full for everything also. The tenants seem to have shaped up.

The other half of this play was my 100% willingness to use a local attorney to evict them.   Prior, I had paid them for a 1 hour consultation and learned a lot.  I suggest you consult an attorney from your state who specializes in evictions and learn the correct process.

Absolutely require it.  I just cleaned up after a rough family.  There was a lot of damage to the property caused by the tenants.  I have a claim in right now with their renters insurance to get back $2700 owed.

My weakness is I'm too nice and that has cost me $$$ over the years.  In particular I was too soft on late rent and property damage repair fees and it snowballed from there.  Solution: an automatic online rent and fee collection system.  I manage everything else myself for my small number of properties.  I send certified letters as necessary and let the online system collect payments.  I investigated about 5 different systems and Innago was the first I came across that fit my need.  The other four only allowed for a one time late fee.  Some didn't even add the late fee to the current amount due but to the next month.  In my opinion with a system such as this, once the tenant is late, there  is no further motivation for a tenant to pay other than threat of eviction.  I recently started using Innago as it allows for a daily compounding late fee.  I have configured it to start on the day I choose and it ends after X number of days.  It costs me $2 per property per month.  In fact, it can have multiple layers of fees if that's what you want.  The problematic tenant has started to shape up.  Before the system, always 1 to 2 weeks late.  Once implemented, 10 days late the 1st month, 7 days late the second month, and 1 day late last month.  All late fees were automatically billed and collected online.   Yes, I realize I should have not it get like this in the 1st place and if this effort doesn't pan out, then they are gone. 

Innago also has a feature to only accept payment in full including all fees and expenses. No more partial payments. Another win.

I previously allowed Zelle, but with an untrustworthy tenant, there is no partial payment protection.  A tenant can send me $5 and as Zillow automatically accepts it, here in AZ, it would count as me collecting partial rent and I would not be allowed to peruse eviction until the next month assuming I didn't disable Zelle and allow this to happen again and again.  Also Zelle doesn't allow for the ability to individually enable/disable a tenant in the system.

Money orders require driving over to pick up, or the tenant sending them late and then the late fee issue is still there.  Same with checks and cash.

I checked out some of the above mentioned apps and they definitely did not fit my need or were expensive compared to the competition.  If you want them to handle applications and contracts also, check out their capabilities and what you as a landlord will need should there every be a problem and a day in court.  Zillow applications are one example of a poor implementation.  Data the applicant enters seems to frequently not be verified and it allows for complete omissions in fields and hides important information such as social security numbers from landlords.  Its unusable.   I love Zillow for advertising the property though.

Thanks for the advice.  I've replaced them before and changed out a large house.  Probably 100+ outlets and switches along with 7 ceiling fans.  I was hoping there was an easy alternative which I hadn't thought of.  I was looking for a shortcut I guess.  I appreciate the insight and will approach this in pieces.  Downstairs first.

I have a 15 year old SFH with beige / almond outlets, switches, and face plates. The home has been painted inside with relatively updated colors; walls are SW Accessible Beige and trim / doors are SW Alabaster white. The switches are all decora and the outlets are all the older style. I'm seeking advice and tips on how I might be able to improve the aesthetics of this. Replacing face plates is trivial but replacing switches and outlets is time consuming.

Is almond OK or coming back and I should just leave it?

I can see why it's completely rented out. A 10 x 10 around here is $100 to $165 a month.  A camper is usually over $100 a month also.  I'm not sure what the going rate in your area is but I can imagine it is a lot more than what you have now.  You don't need to explain anything to the tenants about why they are getting an increase.  They know it is under market and inflation hits everyone.  At the end of the day, they don't care what the reason is, just the price.  Be fair, give them sufficient notice, and raise raites.  You can do it all at once or just bump it up 25% (or an appropriate large hike) a year until you get to market rate.  In either case, expect attrition and having some empty units.  It may be a safer bet starting with a 25% increase and seeing how many leave.  You don't want to loose too many at once.  I would fix up the place and raise rates prior to building any more units.  That way you can judge actual demand at market rates before you commit.

Ya, there is virtually zero small multifamily property in the far SE valley. Apache Junction, Mesa and a little in Chandler are probably your closest options. The far SE valley continues to grow so not a bad investment. I'm kicking myself in the butt for not jumping on some SFH properties in San Tan Valley that were going for a hair over $200k about 4 years ago.

Those mother in law units have some good potential but make sure there are no HOA restrictions and that the location of the property is in a convenient area for a renter. Getting a great, affordable property out in farmland isn't going to draw in a lot of tenants unless its cheap. Remember location!

There is a continuously growing tech sector in the area so you will be well off if you can land a programming job also.

Keep up the good work!

I definitely can see separating the utilities out of the rent from the marketing perspective.  The "effective" rent can have it included.  I've seen several homes put up for rent with solar and the rent they fetch isn't much more than a similar unit without solar.  I suspect a better approach for a unit with a solar is to advertise rent and then a separate item for solar costs, but as I don't have this type, its just a guess.

I was against pets in my rental units for years.  Seeing just about every applicant has dogs, I have changed my ways and embrace them and charge extra for them.  I have done quite a bit of flooring transformation to accommodate this.  In hindsight, I have discovered poorly behaving families tend to create a lot more property destruction than their pets.

Fantastic!  Thank you.