All Forum Posts by: Kristine Eickman

I already own 2 vacation homes that I rent out, very successfully. So I know very well the work that goes into it. In fact, running a STR is extremely demanding and requires several hours of work per day. But the way we get rentals is very different than the way you would for a LTR. We don't go through the same process you would a LTR.

What I was asking was what is the best order to screen tenants. I am confused about that piece of it so I wanted to ask advice. I assume you don't have every single person go as far as running the background and credit checks, right? How do you weed out which ones get that far?

Thanks for the lecture though.

We are closing on our first property on May 6th. We are going to start advertising shortly and would love it if someone could walk me through finding a tenant. I know to put my qualifications in my ad, but what happens after that? I know I have to give an application to anyone that asks, but what do you do after that? Do you start with calling landlords and employers? Then if they pass that phase do you have them pay for the background check?

I am just confused as to the order of what should happen when. Can anyone help?

We are closing on a home April 21st and it is an investment home. The owners are aware that we are planning on renting it out and we have in the signed contract that the seller will allow us to show the home with reasonable lead time.

My question is - is it legal to advertise a home that you actually do not own yet? It would be great to get someone in there right away after closing, but I don't want to break any laws either.

I just signed on a contract last night on my first rental. In the signed agreement I stated I wanted to be able to show the home with proper notice to the owners. They don't want to close until April 21st so it would be great to have a renter lined up for May 1st.

If they signed the agreement are the allowed to tell me "no" or not make the home available to me? I guess I figured they would have to honor the contract but other people have me wondering if they will conveniently "not be available" to leave to home so I can show it.

What is your experience with this?

Thanks so much!

We just bought our first rental property and are looking for someone that might be willing to share their lease agreement with us. I thought it would be best to start in the Minneapolis forum since they are state specific.

Thanks!

That does help a lot Chris - thanks!

I would buy more vacation rentals but man, they are a TON of work and I put a couples hour a day dealing with just inquiries and follow up. Then paperwork and issues with guests or questions from people on top of that. I would totally do it if I did not have 2 young kids and a full-time job. But I do and my 2 give me enough headaches for now. Yes, they are successful and we love visiting them, but more work that I can take on at the moment.

We are a couple in our early 40's and we currently own 2 very successful vacation homes in Florida. We are looking to get into our local market but vacation homes and LTR's are a completely different beast.

We want to be in a decent area of town and it seems like there are no affordable homes out there. In fact, it seems like prices are skyrocketing suddenly. We want something newer because we don't have time to deal with renovations. It is really frustrating to have money to invest - but nothing to invest it in! I guess we would not mind a crappy part of town, if we had a management company take care of everything, but that really eats into profits.

Is it possibly to buy in nicer areas and still make a profit?

Nevermind! Got the link in my email  - can't wait to dig into the book tonight!

I bought the book and went to the link to download all the PDF's, the link accidentally got closed before I could finish my printing. Is there a way to get that link back?