All Forum Posts by: Isla Arshad

I am also going through the eviction process in Winston-Salem called a bunch of attorneys and yeah they want crazy retainers however I was referred to one where there was a $300.00 hour phone consultation. I paid it and it was well worth it. The eviction process is really not that difficult as long as they don’t appeal it I’ll give you the attorneys name if you would like.  She will do as much or as little as you prefer

She can set up payments to be paid on the 1st of the month and no one is driving 24/7.  Check your local laws to see when rent is actually late.  In some places there are a few days grace period to allow for rent that is sent via mail (which I don't get because if it is due on the 1st, plan ahead).  In those cases rent is often only late if it arrives after the 5th.  She can also do postdated cheques, so you can deposit them on the 1st of each month.  There is no excuse.

Is she on a lease or month to month?  If the latter, simply give her the notice required (eg 30 or 60 days) that she needs to move.  If the former, give her options to make sure rent is paid on time and, assuming she starts to pay on time, when it comes time to renew the lease, do not renew it.

An example would be $300 non-refundable fee up front and $50 per month. That's an extra $900 a month that you keep. If the carpet is damaged beyond ordinary wear-and-tear, then you deduct from the deposit and charge anything remaining. You do not use the $900 in fees you collected. The longer the tenant stays, the more you collect.

I manage 400 rentals and I have only had one animal damage a home more than the deposit would cover. It was a tenant with a couple unauthorized cats that sprayed everywhere and we spent $9,000 on cleaning, flooring, and paint. 

Little kids or bad adults are more likely to cause problems. Good renters are good pet owners. They will pay more and stay longer.

Do yourself a favor: buy "Every Landlord's Legal Guide" by NOLO. Written by attorney investors, it's full of practical advice pertaining to management of investment property, has sample forms that can be edited, and - most importantly - they tell you what your primary state laws are and where you can read them. It's updated every year and is the best $40 you'll spend as a Landlord. There is one book for 49 states and a separate book for California.

@Isla Arshad

You could charge a non-refundable pet fee upfront and then charge an additional monthly fee. If you charge $250 and $25 per month; that is now just over $500 for additional wear and tear. Maybe add into your lease that the carpet needs to be steam cleaned when they move out (they need to provide a receipt for the rental of the machine or from the cleaning service). 

I always avoid protection plans and warranties. When a tenant moves out, I want to fix the unit ASAP and rent it again; not wait for a 3rd party to review it and then tell me what they will and will not cover. The same goes for when something breaks. I don't expect a tenant to wait weeks for appliances to be repaired or replaced.

Typically I do not put much into a credit score and way more into landlord and employer references. They are renting and not buying for a reason. If they had great credit there is a good chance they would buy. As for your posting. I think the place looks great! Only critique I would have is make sure all the items are out of the pictures. They could be distracting to possible renters 

@Isla Arshad - 

Pets are a risk, but when there are more dogs living in houses than children under the age of 18, you will be isolating yourself from a large pool of potential renters if you say no to pets. 

Here are few ways to manage risk, should you consider allowing pets: 

- Take and hold an additional pet deposit 

- Do a pet screening as a part of the application 

- Make sure your lease has terms in it that talk about pet damage and a tenant's responsibility if that damage exceeds the deposit. 

- Increase the number of inspections you during the year 

- Charge a monthly pet rent to offset any added costs of managing a property with a pet 

- Use a pet addendum in your lease to ensure that only the pet you approved ever sets paw in your home 

- Require your renter to have renters insurance that covers both damage by pets and attacks by pets 

Overall the listing looked good. It looks like you have a great apartment in a nice area. Turbo Tenant has a free version of their listing tool. If you plan to self manage I would use that tool. You create the listing in Turbo Tenant and it pushes it out to dozens of sites getting you much more exposure than you do on Zillow ... Turbo Tenant doesn't charge you if you lease the property. Zillow is a good platform. There is nothing wrong with continuing to use it, but I would put some other horses in the race. 

Make sure you are evaluating much more than just the credit score for a tenant. 

- Get employment references and call them 

- verify income 

- Set a ration you refuse to compromise of income to rent (typical is 3 to 1). 

- Get landlord references and call them 

- do a criminal background check 

- run reports on eviction history 

- ....then look at the credit score. If someone checks all the other boxes on the list, and they have a credit score below 600, then I will look at the reasons why their score is low, and sometimes go below my credit score standard. If someone has a low credit score and didn't check every box perfectly, then I will not approve the application. The main thing I look for is why the score is low. Student loan debt and medical debt is different than financing an entire house full of furniture then never paying for it. 

Best of luck leasing your rental. If there is anything I can do to help, just give me a shout. 

@Isla Arshad - 

Pets are a risk, but when there are more dogs living in houses than children under the age of 18, you will be isolating yourself from a large pool of potential renters if you say no to pets. 

Here are few ways to manage risk, should you consider allowing pets: 

- Take and hold an additional pet deposit 

- Do a pet screening as a part of the application 

- Make sure your lease has terms in it that talk about pet damage and a tenant's responsibility if that damage exceeds the deposit. 

- Increase the number of inspections you during the year 

- Charge a monthly pet rent to offset any added costs of managing a property with a pet 

- Use a pet addendum in your lease to ensure that only the pet you approved ever sets paw in your home 

- Require your renter to have renters insurance that covers both damage by pets and attacks by pets 

Overall the listing looked good. It looks like you have a great apartment in a nice area. Turbo Tenant has a free version of their listing tool. If you plan to self manage I would use that tool. You create the listing in Turbo Tenant and it pushes it out to dozens of sites getting you much more exposure than you do on Zillow ... Turbo Tenant doesn't charge you if you lease the property. Zillow is a good platform. There is nothing wrong with continuing to use it, but I would put some other horses in the race. 

Make sure you are evaluating much more than just the credit score for a tenant. 

- Get employment references and call them 

- verify income 

- Set a ration you refuse to compromise of income to rent (typical is 3 to 1). 

- Get landlord references and call them 

- do a criminal background check 

- run reports on eviction history 

- ....then look at the credit score. If someone checks all the other boxes on the list, and they have a credit score below 600, then I will look at the reasons why their score is low, and sometimes go below my credit score standard. If someone has a low credit score and didn't check every box perfectly, then I will not approve the application. The main thing I look for is why the score is low. Student loan debt and medical debt is different than financing an entire house full of furniture then never paying for it. 

Best of luck leasing your rental. If there is anything I can do to help, just give me a shout.