All Forum Posts by: Elizabeth Nurnberger

Wow!  @Arissa Pedroza Thanks for the insight into the citation appeal process, great information.  @Trey Fischer I'm curious, as to how this process (?!) works. Do you happen to know what they used for the "recent online interior photos" - would that have been from the MLS listing? Thanks for the information.

@Ernes Sahic  Perhaps you can use your willingness to meet, evaluate & keep good tenants to your advantage?!  Offering to keep existing tenants helped our offer get accepted in a multiple offer situation.  The seller had rented to the family for 5 years with no lease and did not want to see the family have to move.  We did our due diligence on payment history, jobs, credit, etc and were able to keep them in the home.  They have been renting with us for 2 years and have been good renters.  

Hi @Jason L.  I'm assuming this is the first time this has happened and not a chronic problem?  

If so,  I agree with @Jaysen Medhurst and I think you would have a hard time charging either tenant.  

I recommend sending a reminder notice to both tenants not to put anything that shouldn't be there in the toilet.  I would cite the specific wording in your lease that refers to this.  

It doesn't sound like the management company is a good fit.  It is disappointing you have a lease and agreement but aren't clear on the terms.  I would look for a management company that can look out for your best interests and can help walk your through the process more.  I'd also recommend getting everything in writing (no verbal agreements for tenants or management company!) and be sure to understand the exact agreement terms.  In my mind your management company should be more like a partner.

If you are looking into a condo I suggest a lot of due diligence to learn about the management, financials, by-laws, and how special assessments work for that specific property.  

I used to live in a really neat historic condo.  It was originally a sugar mill plantation that was converted into 14 units.  The complex was self-managed with by-laws from the 1970's.  I loved the place, but it came with challenges including special assessments because of the historic nature of the building, re-writing the outdated bylaws and of course the drama of having your condo board be your neighbors!  Whew!   

I understand that's a unique situation, but I highly recommend the same amount of due diligence on the condo association as well as the numbers on the unit!  

Good luck!

@David Hagen  

     Congratulations and great job! 

     I especially like the white subway tile kitchen backsplash.   I am considering installing the same thing in our 6 rentals as we turn them.  I typically hire 90% of our work out to a contractor, but have heard installing backsplash is fairly straightforward.   

     My plan is to take a class at Home Depot on installing backsplash with my husband and 10 year old son .  I think it's an upgrade that is noticeable & appreciated.  Plus I like to provide our our 10 year old with paid work through the business and thought this might be a good fit!

     Any recommendations or tips? Is it fairly straightforward to install?   Favorite material?  Any idea on how much you saved vs having a contractor install?  

     Thanks for any insight.  Congrats again, your home looks great!

 Hi Ben, yes, we like to ask the realtor to call with a general offer and see if they are able to get any additional insight that would help us put in an offer that would add value to the seller.  

If we can't get much information, we sometimes put in multiple offers with different scenarios - higher price more beneficial terms for us (like a longer, close, repairs, etc) or lower price but more beneficial terms for seller (quick close, no repairs, we'll take care of XYZ, etc) 

Another way to look at it is, how can you make your offer stand out from the crowd, even if it is lower? When we make an offer on a MLS listing we try and find out what is important to the seller and see if we can add any value. We've had luck being able to offer cash & a super quick close / offering a lease back / putting large earnest $$ down / offering to haul away junk / etc . . .being able to help solve a seller's "problem" is sometimes more valuable than the purchase price and gets our lower offer noticed. Most of the time we get passed over, but we've also had luck & you never know what motivates people!

We have been using Sherwin Williams Kilim Beige and have been very pleased but at some point I would like to transition to gray walls.  I appreciate all the specific color suggestions and have made notes.

I also am debating using a higher gloss paint to cut down on the scuff marks.  We currently use egg shell.

Great suggestions.

It's funny what works and doesn't work for people.  We had a tenant who was consistently late (B+ property, great income, etc).  I asked her what I could do to help get the payment on time and she said a 5-day email reminder prior to the 1st would help.  So, I set up the invoice to email 5 days earlier and voila, she has paid on time the past 3 months?!  I also offered to look into ACH automatic transfer, paying 2x a month, etc.  I'm not sure why she didn't set this up on her own, but it was funny how a simple solution seems to be working . . . Not sure this ads much for your situation, but thought I would share just in case.    Also, I definitely agree with the great prior advice, especially the sticking to the terms of your lease & following through.