All Forum Posts by: Jacob G.

Thanks for the replies everyone! @Greg M.

@Greg M. I would probably laugh if that happened once, but then it would get old. I decided to utilize Cozy to collect rent, so hopefully it wont happen at all. I'll ask for a larger deposit to mitigate some of the risk. @Eric Mayer

@Eric Mayer It is a legal profession and the actual job doesn't bother me, verifying the income is challenging because all you can see are a bunch of cash deposits for $100 - $600. She said the establishment was conservative on the employment verification letter in regards to her earnings.

@Lynnette E. Great idea on talking to her former landlords about the number of guests / others. She has been living in the townhome with her significant other for 2 years. She was granted a "Relief from Domestic Abuse" order against a different person 7 years ago according to the court records. Nothing filed against the current significant other. I'll definitely put a lease addendum on there that the abusive person is not allowed on the premises. She already knows anyone staying for more than 1 consecutive week, or 14 days in a calendar year, would need to fill out an application, pass the screening process, and be added to the lease.

@Bjorn Ahlblad Thanks for the input. I definitely want to avoid as many landlord adventures as possible.

I just finished renovating my first property and have had a few applicants. I am on the fence with this one and would like the community's input. 

The tenant needs to move ASAP due to fleeing an abusive relationship (needing to move ASAP is a huge red flag).

She earns $3000 / mo as a stripper and receives about $6,000 in education loans every 6 months (in year 1 of 4 for education). I have verified income with bank statements, she doesn't have paystubs because its a cash business. She also doesn't file taxes for some reason. Her employer wrote an employment verification letter too stating she makes on average $3500 / mo.

Credit Score: 731 - two 30 Days Late marks on her credit from a few years back

Debt: $63,476 - Revolving $139 / mo, Installment: $1,227 / mo - 2 car loans make up the bulk of this.

She has never been evicted or arrested. I'll be calling former landlords and prior employers tomorrow.

I'm on the fence because she needs to move ASAP and her earnings are all cash and hard to verify. Having a debt load of $1350 / mo and rent of $900 only leaves $750 - $1250 for everything else. She has a good credit score and legal history and has been a multiyear tenant at her other residents. Assuming her references check out, if she were applying to your property, would you accept or reject her based on the above information?

Hello all,

I have found a house built in 1885, that was converted into a 4-plex. Most of the house seems to be in good condition other than one section of the foundation and a probably leak in the radiator system. I would be purchasing the property and renting it out long-term.

The affected foundation area is located next to a crawl space. The rest of the basement's foundation looks intact and there aren't any missing bricks or noticeable shifting. My thoughts are this issue might have been caused by the gutter being lopsided, I postulate when it rains, the water pools in the gutter over this section, and then drops down along the foundation, which has caused the shifting.

Exterior of house:

Most noticeable interior ceiling. This room is right above the foundation issue. The second story also has a slope in the floor towards this side, however the second story ceiling is not nearly as cracked as the first story.

It also appears, to me, the hydronic heating system is probably leaking above one room:

I have tried to be conservative in my reno budget. I have budgeted $20,000 to fix both of these issues  (based on what I have read, and guestimates of what it might cost to fix). My question to you all is would these two issues be a deal breaker for you? What would you budget for a foundation issue like what is pictured (I am in the midwest)? My thoughts are I put an offer on the house, and if accepted, I then get a structural engineer out, and companies out to give me a quote on how much it would cost to fix both issues. If the quotes come back and its still a deal, I pull the trigger.

Thanks,
Jake