All Forum Posts by: Jennifer Rysdam

I communicate through text as my primary way of communicating with my tenants and they seem to like it. That way every conversation is documented and I don't have to remember who said what and when. I always keep it professional with a nice personality. It has helped a lot with my more difficult tenants. Then I have the option of waiting a few minutes or hours to respond and do it thoughtfully instead of getting into it with them on the phone. I have a Google Voice number and they all go through there. It's also nice because I can do the texting from my computer instead of my phone if I want. To me it's like a faster version of email.
Another thing I do is put my Google Voice number on silent most of the time unless I'm trying to fill a vacancy. Tenants can call me but they'll have to leave a voicemail. I immediately will get the voicemail and get back to them right away if it's urgent, or later if it's not. It has been great this month because I gave my difficult tenant his 30 day notice and he has been harassing me ever since. This way I have it all on texts and don't have to take his repeated phone calls and then hang ups when he doesn't get his way.

I say to do whatever you want. You own the building. If people question it just tell them that you are responsible for your dog and you don't want to be responsible for other people's pets. If I were to move into your rental I certainly wouldn't question what you do. You own the property.
I've been very wishy-washy about my pet policies. I used to allow them, but then had a crazy cat lady whose apartment smelled like a litter box. Then I had a lady with a really nice dog whose boyfriend moved in. He passed all of the checks and had a "really well trained" German Sheppard. Well, they locked each of the dogs in bedrooms during the day and that German Sheppard tore the door to shreds, along with the carpet under it. It also peed and pooped all over the apartment. Apparently it was really upset about the move. They were there 3 months and then moved out (month-to-month lease). Their deposit and pet deposit covered the damage, but I had to put in a new bedroom door and carpet, along with lots of other carpet cleaning. After that I outlawed dogs and cats.
Now I'm starting to think I should reconsider and accept small dogs under 20 lbs. I think they might come with residents that will stay longer. I will charge a $25 pet rent and $300 pet deposit, as well as be very clear that all rules must be followed. When I had bought the building 2 years ago it was winter time and the entire back yard was dog crap from someone's emotional support animal. He told me he'd clean it up in the spring when the snow melted. I think not!

I think it just depends on what your plan is. Are there renters currently in it, and are you willing/able to kick them out to remodel? Does it need to be done to increase rents? How long are the current leases for? There can be a lot of variables that will make many decisions for you. If there are renters there and they've been there for a long time, you might just be able to wait on the updates for now, as long as they aren't safety issues.

Definitely do any safety repairs. Other than that it just depends on what your market calls for. If the other units in the area are high end then you'll have to keep up to get the same rents. If they aren't, then maybe do just a little better so that you can get the renters in faster. I did many updates on my 8-plex when I bought it and have reaped the benefits of having some of the nicer units in the area. I do my own work for the most part, so it didn't cost me a lot. I get lots of comments about not having white paint. I use a light gray. People who have lived in apartments their whole lives get sick of all the white. Good luck!

Do they have leases in place from the last owner? What do they say? You might have to talk to an attorney to see what you can do.

It depends on what they did. I have tenants on month-to-month leases and prefer to just give them notice and end their lease.

I use QuickBooks to manage my property financials. I use SmartMove for the background/credit checks. I have a website where they can find info, and an application to print or just fill out and email to me. Tenants pay rent either through the auto invoice they get every month from my QuickBooks (using ACH), or they can deposit it in the bank themselves. I also have a drop slot in the building that they can put rent or any other paperwork/communications they need to get to me. I pick that all up on the 5th each month.

I'm from northern MN. I don't know how well a high dollar place would do unless it's on a really big, high end lake. The Brainerd area does pretty well, as would Lake of the Woods. Pokegama Lake in Grand Rapids is beautiful (that's where I grew up) and does pretty well also. It wouldn't be as much of a drive for you from the cities. The biggest issue would be winter time when you'd have to heat or winterize it. Winterizing is SO hard on the foundations. I know a lot of resorts in northern MN really struggle to make it. The season is just so short and unpredictable. I would avoid the Indian reservations because they occasionally put restrictions on fishing and that really affects the rentals on Mille Lacs and Red Lake especially. I'm sure you are aware of that already though. Just something to keep in mind.
I would not at all recommend buying in Big Lake. We lived there for 12 years and the sand flies (gnats) are unreal. Eagle Lake isn't very large either. Not what I would consider a lake that would be popular for vacation rentals.
Check online and find out where the VRBO management businesses are up there. That will tell you where the hot rental areas are. Or look on the sites and see who is booked up and for what prices. I know we tried to rent a place in Grand Rapids last year and the prices were pretty high, while the places weren't very nice. Another thing to take into consideration is vandalism. If you are remote your chances of getting broken into are high, especially in the winter when the driveway might not be plowed and people can tell that there is nobody there. It happens quite a bit up there. I'd put in a SimpliSafe system or a trailcam. Good luck! :)

My tenants get a QuickBooks invoice automatically sent to them every month that they can click and pay from. It's just an ACH transaction though. If I allowed credit/debit cards then I'm charged a fee and percentage. I think Cozy has a way to do it and have the tenant pay the fee. I also have a drop slot in my building for checks, and allow tenants to drop the payment off at the bank if they want. That way they can pay cash if they want to as well.

I would make sure the appliances match. Find stainless steel tables/carts/shelves to fill the empty spaces, and add a stainless backsplash panel thingy where the hole in the wall is. Just mount it right below where the lower outlet is and you won't know there's a hole there. I like to add fancy track type light fixtures on my ceilings. Maybe something that matches the handles on the cabinets would look nice.
Having said all of that, you have to do what works in your market. Do what gets you a tenant the fastest.