All Forum Posts by: Kimberly T.

Thanks for all the perspectives!

Yes Michele, I agree that communication is vital!

No! As others stated, you want it in cash, cashier's check, or money order only. Big red flag - they haven't saved up the money needed to move when they were planning to move. What are they going to do when they have an unexpected expense while they're a tenant? Short answer: screw you.

Is the rental in Wisconsin? I thought all the tenants from Wisconsin were great. Two of the best tenants we've ever had were from Wisconsin, we were starting to wonder if they were all that good. :)

@Robert Curls I'm confused, at one point you state that "they are shortselling their home" and at another point you ask about renting to someone "who recently shortsaled their home." I don't know that much about short sales, but don't they make your credit score worse after the short sale is completed? If so, then someone who is in the shortsale process is about to have their score go down, versus someone who just completed a shortsale and therefore has already taken the hit to their credit.

I don't automatically reject someone who had a semi-recent issue related to credit (foreclosure, shortsale, bankruptcy, etc.), as long as their credit score still meets my minimum and they don't appear to have other upcoming credit issues (like lots of current but recent collections that are likely to make their credit get worse as they continue to ignore those issues). To me, being in the process of a shortsale means their score is going to get worse, so I would not take them. If they already completed their shortsale and their credit (and income, etc.) meets my requirements, I wouldn't hold the shortsale against them.

I personally will never buy anything on leased land. The value of the building drops precipitously as the end of the land lease nears, then the land lease has to get renegotiated and you have to pay more for the lease once that's negotiated. I hate not having complete control over my property, which is why I won't even buy anything with HOA.

I remember when we were looking for multifamily rentals here in OC a few years back and came across a fourplex in Anaheim that looked like a good deal (as far as GRM, etc.), then I found out it was on leased land, so we passed on it. As I recall, it sat on the market quite a while.

Sorry, wasn't able to do the @mention on my phone last night.

@Andy Collins @Michele Fischer see my questions above.

Thanks again for the replies!

I agree, painting and numbering is a must. We have our parking spaces labeled at our triplex here in CA, and the tow company whose sign we put up will tow any car that we or our tenants report as being parked in an assigned space. The tow company gave us a stack of forms to use, and we gave one to each of our tenants to fill out and give to the tow truck when they have a car towed. We do not even need to be there, the tenant can handle getting a car towed if it is parked in their spot. The key is that the spot has to be labeled so the tenant can show the tow company that they are authorized to park there and have other cars towed. I do not know if that would be the same in other states.

Hey Ming, excellent thread. I am also looking into making the jump into 5+ units, so this is some great info. Thanks to those who responded. I love BP!

Good luck!

Thanks Andy and Michele, both good options! Have you had any issues with these methods in the past?

Andy, could the "occupant" try to stay if the tenant leaves, and pose a problem, be difficult to evict? Would there be any legal issues you know of with trying to evict someone listed as an occupant if the tenant moves out?

Michele, I agree about being able to go after more people financially, definitely the "pro" of listing everyone as a tenant. With that wording you listed, could you have the secondary attempt to stay if the primary moves out? Would you have legal recourse to make the secondary move out?

Can't believe I didn't mention the galvanized plumbing lines for water. I said galvanized for sewer, but meant cast iron. Got all mixed up as I was thinking and typing.

Anyway, check if it has galvanized plumbing, or if it's been replaced with copper or some other replacement pipes. Galvanized pipes from the 1960s don't have that much time left in their lives.

Also, don't know if it's raised foundation, or slab on grade, or has a basement, but you'll want to get that looked at too. Especially if water is an issue for basements out there (I'm from SoCal, I know very little about water issues or basements!). I assume you're hiring an inspector?

Curious what other landlords do in this situation. Someone applies for a unit you have for rent, and meets all your qualifications (income, credit, rental history, etc.), but wants their friend/significant other to live with them. How do you handle that extra person, typically? Just make sure they're not a felon, then list them as an "occupant" and you don't have them sign the lease? Or do you run the same credit/income checks on them even though you don't need to count their income, then only accept them if they meet all the same standards (credit score, etc.) and list them as a "tenant" and you have them sign the lease?

If the friend doesn't meet, say, your credit cut-off, would you be ok listing them as an occupant only, and they don't sign the lease?

The reason I ask is that I've been told that if they're listed as an occupant and the "tenant" (the one you approved via income, credit, etc.) wants to move out, then the occupant doesn't have any tenancy rights to the unit and must also move out.

I've heard of all of the above options from different landlords, curious what the BP community has to say!