All Forum Posts by: John Lindemann

@Bret Weigel

I am in Tulsa and had a tenant ask me to do this last year.  The house was roughly 1,000 sq ft and it cost me less than $200 to do it (I just looked at my old receipt).  I did it myself...with my tenants help.  He is a handyman by trade so that helped :).  It literally took us about 15 minutes to do the whole house and was really easy.  I bought the blown-in AttiCat brand from Lowes and I bought 10 bags so I could get the blower rental for free...then I took back several bags because I didn't need that much.

I also had to tell my tenant to stop turning the A/C OFF during the day when he wasn't home!  That is bad for the house (humidity) and bad for the A/C unit to run that hard.

Was it worth it from a cost standpoint...no.  But, my renter was happy and to echo others...I may have saved some wear & tear on the HVAC units.  I do believe I probably will recover some or all of that investment when I sell the property.  I don't think it will help me get more for rent but, I do think that if I have a prospective tenant that is interested then this is a value-add that may help me beat out other properties.  It also shows future tenants that you take good care of your property.

I would definitely not do the foam wall insulation.  We don't need that in OK and IMO it is risky...look up foam insulation nightmares online.  It. Is. Scary.

I am surprised that I didn't see anybody suggest that the tenant just go get themselves a window unit to supplement the central A/C.  It will cost them but it will help cool the house and they can take it with them when they leave.

If you feel you need to "charge" them you could always ask for something in return.  Maybe you need them to do some other work around the house like clean the windows, shampoo the carpet, declutter, trim tree branches, etc.  I have a clause in my lease that says that if the tenant asks for more than $200 in aggregate improvements then I have the right to renegotiate rent.  I have not used this clause yet though.

@Joe Villeneuve - thanks for the response.  Do you mind me asking what software and hardware you used to create the tour/rendering?

We have been looking for properties to purchase for a while now and I've started to notice a new trend of taking "pictures" for listings.  More and more listings are showing 3D tours where you can click your way through a house and pivot from each point to look around.  I watched a cool video this morning on CNET: Using VR to Find a New Apartment and it made me wonder if this is a tool I could utilize for my rental listings.  Has anybody done this?

I have gotten good feedback from my current renters because I post an accurate floor plan for each house when I list it online along with many photos that are labeled corresponding to the floor plan.  That makes it easy for a prospective tenant to "walk-through" the house online without wasting my time to come look at it and then not liking the layout.

Our homes are in the $1,000/mo rent range so while a loft in NYC may warrant hiring a professional photographer our properties generally won't.  Does anybody know of a tool (software or hardware) that could utilize photo/video from a normal camera or iPhone/android?

I searched the forums and the only mention I could find is from @Kevin Loh's business.  (Can't figure out how to tag him...)

I think this could help set my properties apart from others in the area and potentially save me headache of showing people that would not be interested.

Thanks in advance!

@Rich O'Neill - thanks for the note about OREC calling that a commission, I'll look into that...

I haven't tried it yet but I plan to soon.

Has anybody worked with Pawn Shops to advertise your "we buy houses" business?  Any luck?  Any advice?

Thanks!

@Andrew Ware - I haven't heard of this before...when you do a "loan backed by title" does that require that the homeowner fully own the property or can they still have a mortgage?  If they have a mortgage then are you loaning against their equity?  Is this legal in the US?  Most people have mortgages so would it work like this?

Home value as-is: $100,000
Mortgage: $75,000
Equity: $25,000

"Loan backed by title": for $10,000 for 3 years at 7% interest

If they don't pay can you foreclose?  Do you then assume the loan or pay it off and refi?

The most knowledgeable and fair I've ever used is Joe Ramey.  I have one that I specifically will not use or trust under any cirumstances and I'd be happy to share his name on PM.

+1 @Curtis Yoder

@Steven Moore - I live in Tulsa and it is hard to find out!  Tulsa has a lot of pockets which I have found that are appealing.  I have lived here my whole life and I have some built-in assumptions about certain areas but then I drive them and find that there are some real gems.  I may say that 21st & Sheridan is generally pretty rough but there are some smaller neighborhoods that are actually surprisingly nice.  I'm not sure if they always have been or if they've been revitalized.

I think it's just going to take a scouting trip and some miles on a rental car to find out for sure!

Man, I wish all you rich Californians would quit poaching all the good rentals!  Haha, just kidding :)

My dad paid 1 month's rent for renter placement.  He is managing it going forward though so I can't speak to that...