All Forum Posts by: David S.

Improvements made by the tenant may seem great, but in the end of the day you need to realize that your tenant is by default making a poor investment himself and stepping on your toes to boot. There's a mentality problem here that may seem minor on the surface but this is a big red flag in my opinion. 

I had a similar type tenant who acted like none of the improvements he had done to the place were a big deal (I inherited this tenant with the property and should have kicked him out in hindsight) until it came down to eviction and a lawsuit. In the end, his game plan was to try and take the property out from under me! In his mind he literally deserved to be the owner. 

That to say, give a man an inch and they'll take a yard if they can. Your renter's mindset should concern you and isn't natural for the most part. Watch out!

@Will G. Would you be so kind as to link to that article? I don't see it anywhere. Thanks! 

Thanks Mike. I'm starting to stress market growth in my potential markets more than I did before, knowing that's one of the biggest keys to a stable rental market. It's far from easy to find market growth AND cash flow at the same time, but where I was looking at markets where cash flow is king before, I'm now starting to think I should emphasize growth a bit more so long I still have a decent cash flow cushion. 

"idle cash is expensive" EXACTLY! I'm about to sell my only rental in CO that's on acreage in favor of more traditional units in a more lucrative market. My other option is to own my primary free and clear, but 4% savings in a 3% inflationary environment is idle cash indeed. 

Thanks for the input sir. 

Indeed, where I'm seeing the biggest discounts and the trouble filling vacancies seems to be the higher end of the market, $2k and up. Thanks for the feedback! 

I've been watching my local rental and housing market closely over the last 6 months (btwn Den and CS) and can't help but get the impression that there may just be a temporary investor/rental glut at this time. I'm seeing difficulty in finding qualified renters for some landlords (who I've spoken to) and have seen an uptick in the number of units where prices are being cut, sometimes even 10-15% at a time. 

As somebody who wants to step into the rental market myself (though likely not in CO), I plan to ease in with just one unit at first, cash, and add more at a rate no faster than 1 additional unit every six months, knowing full well we're likely to be in the later innings of what's been a lengthy economic expansion. 

In a dubious market, I know it pays to have the nicest unit on the street. Having plenty of headroom in your numbers is paramount, hence my going in cash on the first unit. But what other techniques are you utilizing to ensure that you can weather a vacancy storm in your market, especially if you don't have a large portfolio to carry a few vacancies? The quickest way out of this industry is to have a bad start, so I'm looking for any tips that can hedge me if the market were to turn as I step in. 

Thanks all! 

You bought both sides and had two great contractors? And then you found two nice unicorn families and they moved in!? Haha, that's amazing and congrats!