All Forum Posts by: Prashant P.

You also have to check your states landlord laws to see what it says about charging additional rent and pet fees. In some states you are only allowed to hold two months rent at a time.

In some states you are not allowed to charge additional for pets.

Have you talked with your landlord about getting out of the lease. Maybe you can work out a deal with him to get out of the lease if you advertise the property and find a tenant for him.

Also if you have roommates and you buy a single family house, take them with you. Charge them to rent a room in your house. That will help you to pay your mortgage.

I own a couple properties in some shady areas. I don't think that i would want to live there but I don't mind keeping them as rentals. A few keys that I have found to managing these properties are:

1. Try to keep the unit in better than average condition and charge 10% more for rent. They may go aganist all the rules but it works. In my expierence you still have a large tenant pool to chose from but you also get tenants who have more stable jobs and will maintain the house.

2. Be ready for some unusal maintenance and special requests. They will have you scratching your head.

3. Most people in these areas are friendly but you should keep to yourself.

4. Budget for pest control.

5. Make sure you have a good insurance policy.

The one thing that gets me about your situation is that you say that you get cracks and have to regrout every few years.

If your foundation is secure then you shouldn't really be getting cracks like that. Espically if you used cement board correctly. If the house has been there for a hundred years your, it should have settled by now.

I would ask another foundation expert to come take a look. If your floor is settling now, there is a chance that whatever is above your room will also settle in the future.

If Redfin is available in your area that is a good tool as well. On the bottom of the MLS listing it will show you similar properties that are for sale and those that have been sold within a .5 mile radius. Good way to ballpark.

I usually take those numbers and then ask my realtor to pull comps.

Depending on the area of your home, older windows can add value to the house, if the house in a historic or preservation district.

I would evaluate your property to see what your needs are. If you have the money and will be holding the property for a while, it might be a worth choice. Espically since you have the time right now to shop around and get qoutes.

We sign the lease and give the keys the same day. They are not allowed to move in before the lease starts. If they want to move in early, then we adjust the lease to the day they want to move in and charge them.

You leave your self open to liablity and problems if someone gets hurt or if the property is damaged during this time.

Sanding, will help remove any imperfections and also give you the best conditions to apply a new stain.

I think you have set yourself up for gray areas and potential trouble.

Like Kyle said, how do you know they caused the problem? Maybe it was installed wrong?

Also if you let a tenant fix something, how do you know it will get fixed correctly? They could do a poor job and maybe even casue bigger problems.

I would send fix the problem myself or send someone to fix it at my cost. If they continue to break the item, I either remove it or start charging.

There is going to be wear and tear on the house. Unless its habitual you should pay for repairs.

Adam, since you found a lawyer you have to figure out what you want him to do.

Do you have a lease you want him to review or do you want him to draft a lease up for you?

Do you want an entity to run your real estate business through, he could set that up.

After that, a lawyer will only be needed if you have a tenant issue that leads to eviction or lawsuit.

You don't need to have a lawyer right away but you can if you want.

First figure out if there is anything him you need from him.