All Forum Posts by: Michele Fischer

You are getting good advice.  

I would fill out a notice to terminate and tell them that you will rescind it if application and lease are completed in 10 days, but you need to cover your bases.  Smile, say you are sure this won't be needed but need to keep things moving along.

You could also negotiate that some of it would be paid after move in.  We have sometimes allowed tenants to add $50 to rent for a few months to get to the total deposit.

Thanks for the recap, tend to agree that when it rains it pours, that things tend to stack up then go quiet again.  You never know when and how much, but it is good to be flexible and resilient and keep it all in perspective.

Agree they are both tenants and you can't keep it from the other tenant.

If she gives notice you can send them both their own move out letter which would give him a chance to react.

Agree the other one can stay if they want to and qualify.

We always designate one tenant as the primary, in the lease, and make it clear that they are the decision maker.  Both would still need to be informed, but it makes it clearer how to proceed if they are not on the same page.

Are you planning to say that no guests are allowed at all?  I would think that would turn off a lot of applicants, peopel want their own place to have some freedom.  

Any guest policy is very hard to enforce, with a camera or not.  No matter how long a guest stays compared to policy there will be an explanation or excuse or expectation that you will look the other way.

Hopefully people understand that with you living next door there will be more enforcement of the rules, but you need to figure out what you can tolerate becuase they are going to push you to the edge and trying to be ultra strict may backfire.  This was hard for me to comes to terms with, that I don't really have very much control over who is in the unit or for how long.  It can drive you crazy if you let it.

In their favor:

As homeowners and landlords they should be more reasonable and take better care of the place.

Steady income with SSI and willing to hustle when they need more.

They are motivated to make it work, offering more and reasonable concessions.

If there is no carpet there would be less impact by dog or bed bugs, if either go worst case scenario.

Not in their favor:

They may be renting as a temporary situation until they can find where they really want to live long term, so they may not be a long term tenant.

They are not familiar with the neighborhood, other than school district quality, so they may not be a long term tenant.

What I would look at more:

How long have they all lived at previous addresses?

Is there a reason they are willing to be so accommodating to get this property, is everyone turning them down.

Can the concession be a combo of pulling payments forward and paying higher rent, like pet rent.

I would say stick to your gut and your criteria, but consider the gray areas to see if any criteria or reactions need adjustment.

We don't turn anyone down until the unit is offered to someone, even if we know they won't make the cut.  We tell them they will get updates via e-mail, we send a mass e-mail out when it is rented "thank you for your interest, we wanted to let you know that the unit is now rented."  Don't go into detail.  If they reach out before, let them know you are still processing an application ahead of them and need a bit more time.  Don't answer/engage if they are repeately bothering you, which is another red flag and negative on our scoring system.  Remember that if you deny (or don't choose them) based on the credit report findings, you are obligated to fill out a form notifying them.  It's not difficult, just another step.

We would follow abandonment processes for getting possession back and storing belongings.

But we are less likely to encounter this because we have this clause in our rental agreement:

In the event of abandonment, arrest or death, the following person has the authority to decide when to terminate tenancy and how to store/distribute my belongings:

Name: ____________________________________________________

Address: ____________________________________________________

Phone #: ____________________________________________________

If we have an applicant who will be living alone we include this wording.

If they didn't have access to their kitchen and the hotel didn't have a kitchenette, they are impacted with higher costs to eat while they were displaced.  While it is not required, it seems like an easy gesture of goodwill.  If they had taken option 1 would they have received more money?  You may want to give them a per meal per diem or split the difference or what you feel you can live with.  This was a big disruption for them and in the grand scheme of things is likely not a big deal for you to cover the meal cost.  If this was us, I would hope that we would have thought to get some gift cards for some local restuarants and dropped them at the hotel for them.  Sorry for the inconvenience, we're glad you are our tenants, thanks for being flexible.

Hi Brandon.

I would rather own in WA than OR, although I am sure you will hear both sides.  I feel like Vancouver is a nice size - big enough to find quality property management and trades, but small enough to be a little less urban.

If this is an area you'd like to live in the future it may make a lot of sense.

I might suggest a three bedroom, but will be interesting to see what others think.  There is demand but I'm not sure you get the premium for the fourth bedroom.  I find the larger houses are more difficult to find good market rate comparable rents and they will likely attract applicants that bring more wear and tear.  But I am probably biased living in my teeny tiny downsized space and never wanting to go back to big.  Think about what features you really want.

Suggest you connect with @Dan Z. on this site for some insight.