All Forum Posts by: Damon Duperre

Brandon,

That is what I do. Besides the tenants not being able to lock their keys inside you also never have to change the doorknobs. This is not legal in some states but in Texas it is. 

In Texas it is required that you have one sided deadbolts though. I think it is the only state or one of the only states that does because they even call them "Texas deadbolts". They are like a regular deadbolt on the inside but nothing on the outside. No key. If it is locked from the inside you can'e get in without kicking the door in.

By far the best and cheapest way to handle locks that I have found is landlordlocks.com. They are great. You get a master key that will work on all your rentals but the tenants keys only work on theirs. Also you don't have to replace the entire deadbolt when they move out. You just replace the cylinder which is much cheaper.

I don't know about SC but I can tell you that in Texas those are all good ideas BUT if they take you to court it could go either way unless you can't prove they violated the lease (and they will lie for sure) in which case you will loose for sure. The only sure eviction is for non-payment of rent.

Keep in mind that the very worst "professional tenants" usually seem pretty solid when you meet them. 

People who make great tenants probably don't put much effort into "appearing" to be great tenants so they may not see as good as the bad tenants.

David S.  

Davis S. I like the way you called it 240 instead of 220 volts because that is what it is. People say 110 volts 115 volts or 220 volts but if you stick a meter in the socket it will always say 120 volts or 240 volts (unless something is seriously wrong). 

A wall socket is limited to 15 amps of current, It only takes 100 miliamps (a thousandth of an amp) passing through your heart to kill you. Therefore any time you mess around near any live electricity keep one hand behind your back. If you grab a hold of a wire with one hand it will shock the crap out of you but not near as much current will pass through your heart as it would it you grabbed it with both hands.

I would find out whether or not many of the other houses are section 8 (I know many will disagree with this). If they are it isn't going to come back.

Ask for 2 years of tax returns.

I used to get 1st and last months rent from anybody without good credit but my lawyer told me it's better to charge a double deposit because the last months rent can only be used to cover the last months rent but the deposit can be used for anything they owe you.

@Greg H.

I have it in my lease but haven't been to court over it so I really don't know how enforceable it is. In Tarrant County they changed the rules in August 2013 so now they go less by the letter of the law and more by who they feel is in the right. I haven't been to court since then but I feel like it is probably a bad thing for landlords.

But in Tarrant county it is definitely true that the only for sure way to win an eviction is if it is for non-payment of rent. Anything else might go either way. It is hard to predict.

BTW Personally, and now this is just me, I hate craigs list too. The very best tenants I have ever found I got from a sign in the yard only. I realize this doesn't always work. I put up the sign and wait about a week before I advertise. The people who drive by and see the sign are locals. They already have ties to the neighborhood. They care more about the neighborhood then somebody who reads an ad from across town.

When I advertise I use RentalHouses.com. The price isn't too bad and they list your house everywhere including craigs list (unfortunately). It is tax deductible too.

@

Steve Babiak

Ditto

Ditto

Ditto

In Texas they charge a half months rent. Look at it like this. They make 3% on a sale. On a $100,000 house (which is low end really) they make 3 grand. In reality they might make more like 6 grand. Plus rental houses lower the property value of the neighborhood (in my personal opinion I have no proof of this). To me the incentive seems to be to not put much effort into rentals for a realtor.