All Forum Posts by: Michele Fischer

We have had tenants moving out ask if their friends can move in.  We treat it like any normal appicant, but if they qualify they would move in.  We have had two back to back great long term tenants this way.

We have had tenants approach us about some moving out and others moving in but one staying.  If the remaining tenant qualifies on their own we just do a background check on the new person and let them choose whether they come on as an authorized occupant or a new tenant with new paperwork.  There are pros and cons for us.  If the remaining tenant does not solo qualify we look at the application of the new applicant and evaluate it with the existing tenant.  We had one tenant move in and out about 10 people over the 15 years she lived there.  We had her deal with any deposit disbursement and worked with her.  Red flag with mental health issues so we eventually parted ways, but it was a good long run that saved us turnover costs and vacancy.

You should be able to get a listing of owners where properties are not owner occupied.  Similar to yellow letters sent to owners to see if they want to sell, you could send letters to see if they are wanting to add or change PM.  Some are probably on the fence and may reach out, especially if you can articulate what sets you apart from the competition.

It stinks, but I doubt you will get more from the insurance company, I would work to do the best you can with what you have and prioritize getting the unit rent ready rather than fighting with insurance.

Insurance is not meant to make us 100% whole and they have big incentives to minimize payouts.

It's bad timing that the unit was not yet rented, becuase if it had been occupied they would have paid to get them in a hotel or different living arrangement and probably would have prioritized getting them back in their home, and the tenant would still be paying rent, and their renters insurance might offset some costs, but with no tenant it is a little different.

These expensive things come up, but luckily not too often.  Carry on!

You could ask for proof of income to verify they are a government worker.  It may not be a scam, it may be some who is ESL or who is "just the facts"/abrupt.  I imagine he is having a difficult time finding a mid term rental with that sales pitch.

There are three hassle factors here - one that you have no idea when they will leave and won't have much warning and two the very specific invoicing requirements.  I would really understand what is needed and what it would take for you to provide it.  And third, he has a ceiling on what he can pay per his reimbursement allowance.

Given these hassles, there should be a premium, and I don't know how that rate compares to market rent.  For the right price I might keep the conversation going, but if it is low I would move on.

Honestly, even with a longer contract we have no idea how long our tenants will actually stay, so that alone wouldn't scare me off.

It's obvious that you are burned out right now, this might not be the best time to make an important decision.  I would look for small ways that you can lighten your load and be in better head space to evaluate where you want to go next.

We never made the jump to scaling up, but we did get burned out and had to do similar soul searching.

You have lots of options... read up on Brandon Turner or others path to scaling up, outsurce all or part to property managers, sell and be done with properties, or 1031 into a different property class.

Good luck!

I agree with the advice you are getting.

I would tell them they are responsible for rent until you can get it rerented and I would work hard to get it rerented quickly.  If they leave it in good condition you could wait to refund that until it is rerented then prorate a discount.  Follow the local laws on documenting the security deposit timely though.

You are in a better position than them to take the financial loss and the good karma will come back to you.

Personally, I would not keep a rental at an expected deficit, and I would not want a rental without a safety net to be able to cover six months of disasters.  With only one rental, you never know what costs or vacancy will come up.  With more rentals it becomes less likely that a loss will wipe you out.

She may be better off selling the house and getting rental assistance on an apartment or rental house that they can continue to co-habitate in.  In our areas we have a lot of new low income construction that comes with a section 8 housing voucher.  Agree $800 seems overrpriced for a room, especially since it seems like he is acting as a live in nanny, the lawyer seems out of touch.  Disruption for the kids to move, but If they can't make ends meet, they should get to a cheaper situation as soon as they can.

What do you mean by problematic?  Fussy?  Moves often? Criminal history? inconsistent or less idea income sources? Moving from outside the area and clueless? Facebook feed is full of drama? Bad landlord reference?

I use a point system for screening; applicants get positive points for positive aspects, lose points for negative aspects, and I have a point threshold for each property.  They either have the points or dont and I move forward or not.  The more you can make your screening objective than subjective the easier and more successful everything will be.

Congrats on that cash flow.  I try to manage mine at $100/month/door.  I know that the west coast has lower cash flow with the higher prices, but seems like you are in a good spot if you can maintain that average.

My state doesn't have state income taxes, what a blessing! 

Keep receipts for all your expenses for federal taxes, keep the deposits in a seperate bank account.  We like to keep all the rentals income in another account set aside to cover the big maintenance or expensive turnovers.