All Forum Posts by: Debra R.

It sounds like the 2 couples have a good working relationship so far but this deal is more complex and therefore more prone to misunderstandings.  If it were just the 2 units the 2 couples could agree on a reasonable rent and then subtract that out of their share of the profit.  The 3rd unit that needs rehabbing really complicates things.  Who will do the work?  Just the couple living there?  How will they be compensated for the work?  If both couples are doing the work what if one couple thinks one of the other 2 is a slacker?  If you don't already have a general partnership agreement that should be a first move.  Nolo.com has materials to help write a comprehensive partnership agreement.  

On the plus side SF rents are very high.  On the down side SF has just cause for eviction.  Find out everything you can about SF's rent control and just cause for eviction.  Set high minimum qualifications for tenants and screen, screen, screen.  Any tenant you get may be there for a very, very long time since you can't just not re-new the lease.  If this is your first rental try to find someone local and very knowledgeable to help you thru the process.  In SF there is so much more on the line than in cities without rent control.  

I think many people when first learning  landlording are prone to be too trusting and too nice.  That includes me!  If you make a mistake in a rent controlled city you will pay heavily for it.  

@Joshua Ferrey 

try Chris Mason in Alameda.( @Chris Mason )  He may be able to help and if not he seems to be well connected and may know someone.  

If your lease doesn't already specify that guests are not allowed to stay more than x days in a 6 month period - it should. 

Why should you break a housing law in order to cause more wear and tear on your property and higher bills on any utilities you pay?  

Why do they need to be on the lease to get health insurance?  There is travelers health insurance they can get.  

Why do they need to stay more than 2 weeks?  If they have a need to stay longer than 2 weeks then they can pay for legal housing.  

In the future, anyone who asks to have family stay for extended periods should be told that more than X # of weeks is a violation of the lease and housing law and isn't permitted.  period.  

For the current long term guests - If your lease spells out how long they can stay then hold them to that.  If not, then get in writing when they are leaving, ask to see a copy of the plane ticket and hold them to that.  

I've been to India to visit family many times.  2 or 3 weeks is long enough.  It's likely the parents that are pushing for the longer stay and the kids would probably be happy to have an excuse not to host them for 6 months.  

@Terry Brennan

Here's a sample of the notice they send me on the first:

Hi Debra,

Here's the current status for all payments that are in progress from your tenants:

2111 BUENA VISTA AVE, 1
April 2016 - March 2017
Balance: $0.00

• (tenant name) , $2,400.00 payment for Monthly Rent has started. Estimated deposit date: Sep 08

and what they send me the day before the money is in my account:

Hi Debra,

Here's the current status for all payments that are in progress from your tenants:

2111 BUENA VISTA AVE, 4
August 2015 - Present
Balance: $0.00

• (tenant name), $2,800.00 payment for Monthly Rent is depositing. It will show on statements as "Cozy #xxxx69." Estimated deposit date: Sep 08

Does anyone have property in Alameda and a new lease that addresses the issue of the new rent control and just cause for eviction ordinance?  It's the just cause for eviction part that worries me most.  Since I won't be able to just not re-new a lease, getting a tenant out will be easiest if the cause is:

Failure to pay rent, Breach of lease, Nuisance or Failure to give access.  

With this in mind I want to have a lease that addresses every little thing possible.  Not that I expect to have to use it, I've never had a tenant even come close to me evicting them, but I want to be prepared in case I get someone that is very difficult but manages to not rise to the level of being evicted for just cause.  

Forgot to start with  @Michael Mullins, @Jamal L. ....

It costs zero (!) to collect rent.  The ACH transfer takes a few days.  The money gets drawn from the tenants account on the first and then transferred to my account.  If you want to shorten the time the ACH transfer takes you can pay $2.99 per month per unit.  I haven't run into any problems except not knowing exactly when the money will be in my account.  I have a bit of a hard time navigating the site but that may be because I never go to the site unless a tenant is moving in or out.  So, maybe 3 or 4 times a year tops.  

The previous owner of my 4 plex was dividing the water bill for the whole house by the number of people living in the house plus 1 for the house itself (washer, lawn...) I did that for awhile but it became a PIA.  How do you count the people living there?  It would seem to be easy but what if a baby is born - surely they don't count as much as an adult.  What if someone has custody of their child half time?  Does that count as a whole person or a half?  What if someone moves out in the middle of the water billing period?  

Even if the tenants are paying the water bill they won't necessarily conserve.  Apt 1 can hear Apt 2 running the shower for a half hour every day and so figures that Apt 2 isn't trying to conserve so why should they.   

And when you do divide up the bill and charge it back to the tenants it's slightly different each month so the tenants all have to write a separate check each month rather than having a fixed monthly payment that can easily be paid through a service such as Cozy.  

I took a few months worth of water bills and on average each person uses about $25 per month.  I started including the water in the rent. :)

We were recently in sort of the same position. We knew we wanted to buy an SFR just outside of Detroit but until we started looking and touring houses in earnest we didn't realize how different all the towns are. Even just narrowing it down to north and west of Detroit leaves a lot of towns and they're all different. So, my suggestion would be to choose an area that you can visit for a week or two, then narrow down the towns and neighborhoods. If you buy a duplex with 3 bedrooms each side, it's most likely a family will rent and so the school district is important. But if you buy a building of all studios and 1 bedroom apartments then your renters will more likely be young singles and couples who will want to be near work, restaurants, bars and other entertainment.