All Forum Posts by: Jordan Hamm

First time landlord here... would love your guys' input. I've got a couple decent candidates I'm considering, both with pros and cons...

1st OPTION:

Doctor + retired woman, both mid-60s, no kids, no pets

~ 9x monthly rent in income

2-year lease... potentially longer term

Great credit score

-- However --

Tax liens, bankruptcy, both have "messy" divorces in past couple years

Only been dating for about a year

DUI, expired plates, and another charge I'm looking into

--

2nd OPTION:

Young couple, Dad + stay-at-home mom, baby, small dog

Relocating from Texas

~ 4x monthly rent in income

1-year lease... almost guaranteed not longer than that

Already had higher house payment in Texas, so rent would be cheaper

Excellent credit score

Perfect background check

Perfect credit report

So the question is, do you go with the older couple without the pet who's already interested in signing a 2-year lease and could potentially stay longer? Or are the red flags too worrisome and you go with the young couple for a year knowing they're almost 100% just renting to get an idea where they want to live and eventually buy?

Thanks guys! I'm really interested to see what you guys think!

Great info @Ed W., something to keep in mind for sure. How often do you guys meet? I might be able to catch the next one.

And I appreciate you sharing your strategies as well @Elizabeth Colegrove. I think I'm going to list it today and we'll see what happens!

Wish me luck! This is my first foray into land lording... I feel like I've done a decent amount of research and should have all my ducks in a row. Now I just have to pull the trigger.

Fingers crossed :)

Just saw your profile @Dustin Heiner... Where do you invest in OH?

Wow! Congrats @Dustin Heiner... 18 days sounds great.

That type of real world experience was exactly what I was looking for. Similar to your experience, I'd still CF at $1600 but just didn't want to sell myself short. I was thinking of starting at $1950 with hopes of getting $1850-1900. Hope there's a good tenant out there for me!

Thanks again!

Im turning my existing home into a rental (closing on another home in Feb). I have a pretty good handle on what I should charge for rent, but some extra feedback would be great.

My neighborhood seems to be in fairly high demand for buyers and renters but there's currently only 1 house for rent. The one for rent happens to be my exact model and they're asking $1800/mo. Their house is fairly basic—carpet throughout, laminate floors/countertops, standard appliances. My house has hardwood floors, granite, stainless steel appliances, an upgraded master bath and some custom carpentry/wainscoting in the entry way hall and up the stairs.

There have been a couple recent comps at 1700/mo and 1850/mo (the latter being another model like mine with only upgraded floors). However, just this summer there were a few rentals that went for 1550 and others in the 1600 range. There's nothing for rent in the 1900-2400 range in my area as I'm just outside a very affluent city/school district.

So my question is, what do you think fair rent would be for my house compared to the other comps? I'd be fine with $1800/mo but would I be selling myself short? Should I start a little higher than the other property to see if I get any bites?

If it were you, what would you do? I'm a first time landlord with a lot of questions. Any helpful insights would be GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks!

Haven't really heard of that yet @Robert M.... Looking into it now. Thanks for the tip!

Interesting points about lease to own @Robert Herrera, I'll look into it some more.

Thanks for the other insights everyone. I think I'm leaning more towards managing the property myself and I'll see if the wife will let me show it sooner than later! Can't wait to jump into the world of REI and land lording!

Thanks for the feedback @Jim Adrian!

Hey guys!

I just agreed to buy a spec home from a builder but now I need to turn my existing house into a rental. I'm meeting with my financial advisor, realtor, and lawyer today to review everything, but I'd like to hear from some experience REIs on what you would do!

I'll be closing on the new house in mid-late February, so best case scenario I'd be able to rent my current house March starting 1st. (Maybe April 1st is better since it'll be a better rental season?) I've already determined the targeted rent and have included all expenses from maintenance, cap ex, and vacancies, etc. I'm debating whether or not to use a PM company since this is my first foray into land lording, but I'm fairly handy and have a father-in-law who is a general contractor. My property is only 7 years old and I'd be less than 1 mile away also.

I know I still need to contact my insurance company about land lording rates. But what else would you guys do to start getting the property ready to be rented? Any insights would be great!

Thanks!

Thanks for the insights @Ali Boone... Love learning about all this.