All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Welcome to the forum! I visited Dublin and the Doolin/Cliffs of Moher area this summer. It's an absolutely beautiful area with some of the friendliest people I've ever met. I hope you can find help here for your first investment property, despite it being outside of the US!

Hi there! I lived in Germany for about a year and a half, in Freiburg im Breisgau and, later, just outside of Heidelberg. It's a beautiful area and I would love to get back there sometime, even if just to own a small Ferienwohnung (vacation house). I'd love any opinions on this, and in the meantime, I can give you some tips on just general differences between living in the US and Germany! (For example, if you're looking for a place with A/C, the search will be much, much harder!)

Do you have anywhere else your tenants may park? Since your tenants are parking there, I think it's fair that he asks for compensation; however, 50% may be too much. If you can find other places for your tenants to park, I don't see why you should have to pay since it's not your property. However, if you are using the property, it makes sense he's asking for compensation...but perhaps you can just explain your financial situation and offer to pay less than the 50%, and just pay what you can.

I agree with @Paul Bowers. Just do the math and show him the financials. If it costs way more to be sitting on the rental for months, waiting for him to finish the work, he really can't disagree with you. If it costs more to hire the work, even if it's done in half the time, let him do it. My boyfriend and my father are both the type of people who will grumble and say they'd rather do it themselves (as a matter of pride? because they like doing the work? because they believe it saves money? who knows), but if they have the numbers staring them in the face, it's hard to disagree. If it comes out about even, however, if it makes him happy and keeps him from grumbling about stuff, I say let him do it!

Follow up on the service dog thing: After some digging, I believe you can only ask two questions if it's a service animal. 

The first is: if it is a service animal required because of a disability and the second is: what tasks the animal performs. 

You can't ask for documentation or certification, because from what I've found is that there's not a state or national certification available for service animals. Therefore, you aren't allowed to ask  if it's licensed, certified or whether the animal has papers/identification.

You can still ask for a doctor's note if it's an ESA, and the note should specify that the person has a disability (it does not need to disclose what the disability is), and that the doctor has prescribed the said animal to support the tenant emotionally. Like I said before, just beware of all of the internet scams where people can buy notes for upwards of 75 dollars just to pass them off.

Hope the info helps!

Definitely clarify if it is a service dog or not. You CAN charge for a therapy dog, and refuse to house them. You CANNOT charge for a service animal, or an ESA (emotional support animal), and cannot refuse housing them. This is not allowed under the Fair Housing Act. You CAN require a doctor's note for ESA's, and I would do some research on online sites that 'sell' doctor's notes for a fee, because these aren't real ones. A lot of people are buying these notes online and passing them off, without even truly seeing a doctor. But yes, ESA's don't need to be trained for any specific purpose. However, if they cause disruption (such as receiving complaints from neighbors for their barking etc), regardless of the doctor's note, that can be grounds to get rid of them once they're already there. 

But I agree, tread lightly if they say it is a service animal. Even if your insurance doesn't allow 'dangerous' breeds, there may be grounds for a discrimination lawsuit. I don't even believe you can ask what service the dog is used for, but that, unfortunately, is out of my expertise. Perhaps you can ask what service they used to train the dog, and ask for a copy of the graduation certificate?

A side note for all of the people discussing these dangerous dogs - I worked at a dog training/daycare facility for some time, and some of the nicest dogs are pit bull breeds. They are regarded as especially people-friendly, and only in some cases are they dog-aggressive. These cases just happened to get highlighted, like all bad news. For every horrible case you hear of, there are hundreds of peaceful, friendly pits out there that aren't getting recognition. If the concern lies in the breed, do a temperament test/dog 'interview' beforehand. Watching how the person handles the dog would be the biggest indicator of how well they will do on your property, in my opinion. 

From my personal experience as a tenant, I paid a set amount of rent, and any time I did any maintenance where I paid out of pocket, I included the receipt in the check I mailed in, with the amount on the receipt deducted from my rent. 

For example: the rent was $1995, and I dropped bags of leaves off at the landfill, which cost $8, and purchased seed to fill spots in the yard, which cost $12. That would take $20 off of my rent, so I wrote a check for $1975 and included the receipts in the envelope. 

That is all financial, and doesn't depend on the quality of the work. If there are more controversial purchases, have the tenant clear them with you first. For example, before I went and bought a cheap weed wacker, I texted my landlord to see if she would cover the purchase (I am big on having a nice lawn, so I probably would've bought it anyways, but it is always nice to know if she would take it off). She ended up saying yes, on the grounds that it would stay with the house after my lease was up. It's things like that. 

If you feel like you'll have good communication with the tenant going forward, I think that's a wonderful way to go!

I'm sure it depends. There will be the people that it will startle away, and there will be people who might even find it interesting to live near a cemetery. I personally have friends who are horror movie and Halloween fanatics, who would see it as a bonus. That being said, I agree with the people who are saying to figure in a little extra wiggle room for the deal.

Side note - I also thought you were trying to flip a cemetery, based on your title. That would have been a completely different story!

Welcome to BP! I've also heard great things about the podcasts here. I'll have to look into those. I've never ventured to the west coast, but I've heard great things about the beautiful state of Washington!

Hi there! I just joined today, and I'm looking for some tips from some seasoned BP people on how best to educate myself here! This thread looks like a good place to start. :)