All Forum Posts by: Jeff Duford

Asking for some assistance for a newbie landlord here.  We recently had some ice dam damage which resulted in a leak to the master bedroom ceiling/dry wall.  i'm going to have to have a company come rip up the drywall, dry everything out and re-drywall/paint....I imagine that whole process will take at least a week.

The home is a 3br/2ba...their 2 children's rooms are unaffected and the couple in the master could move their bed/clothes to a "play" room downstairs or live in one of the two living rooms in the home.  

Am I obligated though to put them up in a hotel since the master will be un-usable for about a week?  

@Lynn McGeein or @Bryan O. i know this post was from 3 years ago but relevant to what i'm looking for so was wondering if either of you could help explain to a relative newbie....why do you require the insurance list you as an "additional interest"?  how does this further protect you as the LL?  Thanks so much...

In a couple of months my first two SFH's will be ending their first lease term. I'm curious to hear from more veteran LL's....how do you like to structure your lease agreements? Month to Month? 1 year at 3% increase? 2 year at 5% increase? Etc... Why do you structure that way?

If your goal is to buy, hold and cash flow SFH's are there effective ways to use private lenders to fund your acquisitions?

@JD Martin that makes sense and these folks had owned a home previously and from what i've seen have taken pretty immaculate care of my home.  basically i trust this guy to do a good job.  what about asking for extra sec deposit?  that way if they do mess up floors, paint an awful color, etc i'm covered to fix their mistake?  is extra deposit half way through a lease unheard of?

@Jason D. you're so far the only "yes" in a sea of "no"!  but i was initially inclined to say yes as well.  they've been good tenants, have owned a home before so know what they're doing (probably more than me at this stage) and if this makes them happier/want to stay longer....all the better.  

but sounds like some folks have some horror stories...

If you've had good tenants, when they ask to paint (promising "neutral colors, not pink & purple"), do you generally let them?

@Michael Dang thanks.  do you pay for the filters or do the tenants?

@Caleb Heimsoth thanks and same question...so the tenants do it themselves but who paid for the filters?

I rent out a couple of SFR's where tenants are largely responsible for the property....yard maintenance, snow removal, utilities (gas, electric, water, tv, etc). one awkward scenario I've recently run into though...who should pay when the refrigerator water filter needs replacing (it's $50 so not nothing)? Who should pay when the HVAC air filter needs replacing?

Curious what some seasoned landlords do for these items.  Do tenants pay on their own or do you supply?