All Forum Posts by: Kimberly T.

@Aly W. I can't remember now, we probably joked that they planned on subletting the living room or something.

I'd say somewhere around 5% to 15% ask about negotiating the rent, deposit, or both. I haven't tried to keep track, but that might be an interesting statistic to track next time. :)

@Aly W. wow, you just have to laugh, I guess.

I remembered one applicant we had, my husband took their application from them. Total gross income listed was something like $950/month. We were asking $1,275 for the rent. Umm, denied...

Oh my, you're limited to $15 or 5%? I would have thought NC would be a pretty landlord-friendly state, is that not the case? Or is NC an otherwise landlord-friendly state, and that is just some funky law they happen to have?

@Mark Graffagnino I personally would not set up anything special for the tenant. I'm not their mother, and it's not my job to turn them into a responsible, productive member of society. But that's just me. There's nothing wrong with you setting up something for the tenant to encourage timely payment.

Our 2 bedroom units in Scottsdale AZ rent for around $600. Most of the tenants make closer to 4x or more in income. We do have one tenant, single mom with 3 kids, who made a little over 3x, but she may be getting additional support from the dad, I'm not sure. For some of the tenants, I don't know their income, since we inherited them.

Our CA rents are much higher than $600.

@Rob K. wow, classic! Some people, huh?

Btw, love your account photo!

@Aly W. I don't think I have ever had a call like that, but I have heard other landlords say they have.

I was amazed (read: jealous) of the comments here about rejecting prospectives based on being unemployed, even though they're getting unemployment checks. In CA, you can't discriminate based on source of income, so if their total income meets your minimum requirement, you can't deny them for that. At least that is what I have read in articles in the apartment magazines like AOA.

We don't plan on buying any more rentals in CA, btw. We've already bought a couple in AZ.

This thread is priceless!

We've had a fair amount of the typical ones, can't think of any stand-outs off the top of my head.

My parents (who have been landlords since before I was born) got so tired of hearing "Is the rent negotiable?" that my father now always answers with "Well, you can pay more if you want."

I don't mind telling people how many we own (4: our house plus 3 multi-families). Of course, we are buy and hold investors, so I can understand people who flip being a little more hesitant about giving out a number since they're in a different ball game and probably have more (I'm assuming...?). Others here are right, it's really not a good gauge of how wealthy you are anyway.

We're very proud of how well we've done for being so young (husband is 31, I'm 29) and while I am actually a very modest person (would never bring it up myself), if the topic comes up and someone asks me, I have no problem answering.

Are you talking about the form that informs them of their right to a pre-move out inspection? Yes, they need to sign that, but you shouldn't be noting any deficiencies on that form at that time. You have to offer them a pre-move out inspection within the last 14 days of their tenancy, at which time you will note any deficiencies. Can't remember off hand if they have to sign that or not. Once they vacate, then you do your final move out inspection, note any remaining deficiencies, use security deposit to repair them, then mail them their remainder of their deposit along with receipts and an accounting of what you kept money for. They would not sign this move out inspection form since they would have already moved out.

I use the CAR rental forms, so perhaps there is a difference between these forms with Nolo. The CAR forms are available to the public (pretty cheap to buy a set) at some CA Assoc of Realtors offices.

I've always used my states' standard purchase agreements, which I think include a line about transferring security deposits and prorating rents at close of escrow. Regardless, the title company always seems to do it on the HUD-1 (the form where they account for all the money from the buyer and to the seller). I'm not a lawyer or an agent, but I've never personally had a problem with getting this done.

Estoppels are a simple form where the tenant fills out the basic rental agreement info (i.e., month to month versus lease, rent amount, security deposit amount, who owns each appliance, amenities included in the unit, etc.). These are particularly important if the tenants don't have a written rental agreement with the current owner, or if the rental agreement is very old.

Your buyer's agent should know all about this stuff and how to get it included in your purchase. If not, tell her to talk to her boss and get it handled for you.