All Forum Posts by: John Matarazzo

Hi, newbie landlord here. 

I have been using Avail for the last 8 months with my current tenants and I like the system. I am trying their listing syndication feature for the first time however, for Zillow companies I need to individually contact them if I want it listed there.

Can I just list on Zillow without needing to use the other features like rent collection, lease creation etc.?

Those who have used it, what is the cost of listing on Zillow? This is not written up front and I am not seeing it on their website.

Thanks,

John

Quote from @Michele Fischer:

I don't ask the balance of accounts, but I do ask where they bank.  One, I want to know whehter they use a bank, since many of our applicants and tenants do not, and if we ever pursued a judgement it is easier the more information you know about their employment and accounts.

If the unit is empty, we do not prescreen to show it, we prefer to get as many people viewing the unit as possible.  If it is occupied, we would want some assurance that they might qualify before we disrupt the current tenant.

We also phone all listed prior landlords.  We normally can't really reach many.  We also, right away, look up the owner of previous addresses listed on applications and credit reports (through local on-line property records) and send a note that says "If you would not rent to this person again or have anything you'd like to share, please contact us at..."  It does not get a lot of follow-up, but it is very easy to do and might pay off big at some point.  The owners are not always the property managers, or maybe they weren't an authorized occupant, or maybe the provided contact info is all fake and you are talking to their friends and relatives.

Any idea if its legal to not rent to someone based on them not having a bank account? I live out of state and am not in a position to accept cash (don't want checks either). I prefer to use Avail which has the ACH debit feature which is free to the tenant.

Hi all,

I've owned my property for 8 months now but now having my first tenant turnover. A few questions,

- Brandon Turner's property management book mentions on the rental application asking for the prospective tenant's checking and savings account balance. This seems a bit nosy to me but the logic makes sense. Is anyone else doing this?

- In the book, he also mentions sending a reference form to the prospective tenant's previous landlords to get information. Does anyone do this? If so how do you go about it? Sending a form seems impractical, I can't see myself taking the time to prioritize filling out a form I get from some random landlord.

- What do you require before showing the property to prospective tenants? Filling a pre-screening form, actual application or anything else? Obviously want to balance not wasting my time along with not being perceived as discriminating against anyone.

- I've been using the avail software and so far enjoying it. Has anyone used the rental listing and application feature yet? Any feedback or tips appreciated.

Thanks

Newbie landlord here,

I've owned by duplex for about 7 months now and one of my inherited tenants is leaving. The whole places needs to be painted and there is quite a bit of space to paint, around 2800 sq ft of walls (Its a 3 bedroom townhouse type of place, main level, upstairs and then semi-finished lower level).

I am out of state so its difficult for me to get there and paint it myself. I have a faithful handyman who has been doing things for me but he is quoting me $1.25 per sq foot for his labor to do the painting (paint cost not included). My first time hiring someone to paint, so I am wondering does this price sound reasonable?

If its a little bit high I will probably still hire him as he charges less then other handymen I've used and has been super reliable in the past 7 months of hiring for different jobs. Just looking to get a sense if this is a normal price or not, any input welcome.

Thanks

John

@Harvey Cardwell, I believe it does offer rent reporting, I assume you mean for credit purposes. I believe the tenant needs to turn that setting on if they want it.

I've been using avail for about three months, so far so good. I like the simple layout and organization of things. Have run into things a few times while creating leases with their lease builder feature, but their customer service is pretty responsive so it got fixed quickly.

@Zach Woods, it is cool to have marketing on there too and it has a pre-built website for you to use. However, I had existing tenants so I can't comment more on the marketing features.

@Charles Clark, thanks for the feedback. I am actually in MKE, so I'll send you a message.

@Nathan Gesner thanks for the feedback and advice, I agree. Correct, nice guy, bad tenant.

I've inspected the place, he hasn't damaged anything but he does not keep things well. Is there any place to get data on how a market is renting? I make my assumption to wait until Spring to terminate the lease based on it being a slow time of year for winter. But if I could rent it out sooner I will. So I guess I am taking a gamble if I kick him out in the next 1-2 months. 

Looking for some input,

I just purchased my first duplex a couple of months ago, inherited tenants. One pays rent early every month (they really are rockstars), the other pays late every month.

The guy who pays late is overall a nice guy and has included the late fee. At the same time, he is hard to communicate with and causes headaches because of it, besides the late rent it is really difficult to coordinate repairs with him. I have him on a month-to-month lease, so I could notify him that I won't be renewing. However, I am hesitant because its December, if we were in April I'd do it in a heartbeat. Should I keep him on until then? I rather have a late paying tenant than no tenant.

Another question, since its month to month can I end his lease mid month? For example, he owes me December rent (was due on 1st, grace period until the 5th). Our lease says, both sides need to give 30 days notice in case of ending the lease. In that case, say he finally pays his rent on Dec 10th, can I then inform him that his lease his being cancelled effective Jan 10th? I assume yes, but just confirming. I am hesitant to inform him before he pays rent.

If you've faced a similar situation pls let me know what you've done, thanks.

Hi, just wondering if someone can help me out who fits a similar tax scenario.

- US Citizen residing outside of the USA, paying taxes in another country on global assets and owning a rental property in the USA

This is the situation I am currently in and wondering if anyone could help me out or at least hear your experience. Do you still file a form E if you are taking advantage of the FEIE and/or foreign tax credit? Does your host country use the form E as any basis for real estate tax liability? How do you report it? I know this differs country to country but I am curious about others' experience.

Thank you

@Albert Wright that is pretty crazy. Makes me want to stay away from using Latchel then. Is there a way you can set it to only use your list of contractors and not go outside of that?