All Forum Posts by: Jennifer Rysdam

When I bought my building I had dishes everywhere. 90% of them were people who no longer lived there. I asked the seller to have them removed before closing. They allowed them and they needed to remove them. My lease has a clause in it that they aren't allowed on the building.
I wonder if some of the cables are people stealing services??? Running cables to other apartments. You may want to tell the tenants that they need to remove them from the hallways too. You could also call the companies and explain what is going on and see if someone can come and look at it. Maybe they will notice if it's fraud or if their people need to come out and do it right. They'd hate to have you cut them all! They'd also hate for you to outlaw their services from your building.

Make the offer. All they can do is say no or counter back. Let them know why you are making the lower offer because they might just agree with you and take it. I recently bought a 100 year old house that needed some work. They were asking $69,900 and I offered $45,000. It needed a new furnace, central air installed, and the rest of the electrical updated. The hardwood floors were covered with carpet and I couldn't even see them. The hubby had been remodeling it 10 years ago and then passed away, so there were open walls and half completed projects. They weren't going to find anyone who wasn't handy to buy it. We settled at $53,500. Now I'm fixing it up like new with about $25,000 and going to list it for about $125,000.
I wouldn't care if someone called me a lowballer. When my remodeled houses are listed, they SEE what I put into them. Good luck!

You have gotten lots of great advice. One other thing to consider is what your plans are for the building. When you resell you will have to notify them of the termites in the disclosures. Depending on your area, that might affect value or ability to sell fast.
Definitely get a thorough inspection and see what you are looking at. This size of building are sometimes hard to come by. Don't pass it up if it's doable. Good luck! 

Hey everyone. What is your rent increase process? Do you do a certain percentage every year? If so, is it a percentage or just an increase by a certain dollar amount across the board? Or do you just do it when you feel like you are way under market? I can't decide what to do. I'm in such a small town area that there really aren't good rent numbers to go by, but there is also a shortage of rental properties.

Thanks!

Cozy.co has all of it in one. I have a website for my building and have a link on there for my application in a Word format. They click, fill out, and then email/mail/text it to me. Then I'll go though SmartMove and send them the email to do the credit/background check. They pay for that right on the SmartMove website so I don't have to deal with it. After checking out the credit/background check on the SmartMove website I can accept or decline and they will send them the email. So far it works well for me and gives me the process control that I want. 

We live in a 100 year old house with no closets. They took them out because it used to be a bed and breakfast. One closet was turned into a toilet/shower bathroom with a sink in the bedroom outside the closet/bathroom door. My teenager LOVES it by the way! What we did was get those wire closet organizers that hang on the wall and just put one in each bedroom on the wall. They hang their shirts and stack their pants on top. They have a dresser for the rest.

Like this:

I look forward to reading everyone else's responses as I've only been doing this for a couple of years myself.
Here are my tips. 

Don't make friends! Be friendly and respectful, but don't make friends. 

Don't be lenient on rent. People will have all kinds of sob stories, true or untrue, and you can really get taken advantage of. They wouldn't ask their friend to pay their rent, why should they be asking their landlord to do it! 

Screen your people well. Don't be so anxious to get someone in there that you get the wrong person. Go with your gut. Mine has never been wrong and every time I haven't followed it I've gotten bit in the butt.

Good luck! :)

I have my application linked on my website. They can click on it, print or fill it out online, and then email, mail, or text to me. Then I call their employer myself to verify, along with past rentals. I do some of my own background checking as well to make sure the employer and prior landlords are real people and not just friends' numbers. If all that checks out I will email them through SmartMove like you do.
Another option out there is Cozy.co. They have the application and background/credit check all on their website.

 They are just pine trim boards. You can also use MDF trim boards. That's what I'll use next time. Cheaper and easier to cut smooth. I brought the doors home and did the boards so I wouldn't make noise and a mess in the apartment. Glued and then trim nailed. You can caulk around the sides to cover up any gaps. I'm going to do my own next summer since these have held up so well.

Thanks @Tim Swierczek and @Brad Schaeppi I appreciate the info. It is a month to month, so I did give them the 14 day notice the other day and am waiting that out. If they don't pay or get out I'll get an attorney involved and file the eviction.
Thanks everyone!