All Forum Posts by: Kathleen Leary

My rentals are (if I do say so!) pretty nice & I (currently - fingers crossed!) have great tenants. My SFRs have all the bells & whistles for their price range, etc. (C+, B- area, give or take - certainly NOT high-end). But I am planning to make re-upping leases a no-brainer for existing tenants as they come due for renewal. If/when they re-sign for another year, I'll be putting in programmable thermostats (good deals on Black Friday!), USB dual-use outlets in a couple of rooms & offering to swap out the rain-shower style head for a dual w/ hand-held. And although tenants are responsible for their own light bulbs, I will provide some LED bulbs for them. Energy-saving! 

None of these little things cost much; they also stay with the property. But just having a few "extras" like these can really make a difference to existing or prospective renters. And it certainly earns brownie points!

It has NOT happened to me; until the full dollar amount is in my hands, nothing gets signed by anyone. Keys are not given out until all documents are signed. 

It's possible (not a legal opinion!) that with a signed lease & no payment, she is already in violation of the contract. 

It's also possible to have your taxes re-assessed in some instances; you'll need to look into local procedures, obviously. Here, properties are assigned value based on their last selling price, improvements made & (assumed) appreciation. If you buy a distressed property for substantially below its last recorded selling price, it may be well worth filing a tax protest. I've done this twice: the first resulted in about $550 less in yearly taxes, the second only saved about $150. But so what? That's money in my pocket!

You'll need to check all the specifics  for your locale, of course, but it's a possible savings a lot of people don't consider.

Have had good luck with Zinsser Jo-Max - is used by a couple of the "pro" businesses in the area. Friend had a flooded basement with standing water for several days - all joists, etc. covered with mold. Poof! Gone.

Be sure you get the mold/mildew killer - there are several products in this line.

I do. 

Why not? Otherwise, they'll be calling me for minor problems they could easily take care of.

Assuming you will consider renting to students in the future:

You might see about (AFTER you get these deadbeats out!) having your lease period start August 1st. You can start advertising in June/July with the explicit date of being available August 1st. 

There's a HUGE college in the next town over & an overwhelming number of rentals use that system, even if they're not targeting students. That's when all the housing opens up - might as well join in & attract the most potential renters.

But get these non-paying losers out. 

And one other consideration: "Co-signer." I would not put a full-time student on a contract by themselves. Even responsible college attendees have a tough time making enough money to cover their school costs & keep their grades decent. It can be done, but . . . . 

I give a $20 gift card to the local grocery store day of move-in so tenants can stock up on a few staples or pick up something ready-to-eat from the deli.

I have given wine, but you need to be careful & not assume everybody would welcome such a gift. A lot of people don't drink for a variety of reasons & may be rather put off by your assuming it's something they might like. (Send it to me in case you're not sure!) 

I also add a little something to the property if the tenant has been prompt with rent, clean, etc. A programmable thermostat, receptacles that have USB ports; there are lots of things that improve your property, don't cost a lot of cash & are kind of nice to have. 

One of my current tenants is using a rug I had in the house for staging; he's SUPER clean & it'll be well taken care of . . . & I don't have to store it! 

So there are a lot of options - if you have good tenants, they will appreciate it & if you have bad ones, they wouldn't care if you gave them a gold-plated  . . . anything.

I AM STILL LAUGHING! Thanks for the pic. Daaaaamn!

James Wise - yes! The whole enchilada (& pizza & corn & cereal & sandwiches - sorry!) So gross. 

Some people are just a waste of skin.

My properties are in the, um . . . "less desirable" parts of town. Granted, it's a small town, not a true urban area.

Everybody's got to live somewhere! A nice, clean place to live is a god-send for a lot of potential tenants.

There are nice folks & jackasses on the same street, no matter where you go. The "nicest" neighborhoods have drug houses & the so-called "bad" areas have decent, hard-working people who would help out a neighbor in a heartbeat. You just have to know your area & choose carefully.

Above all, my advice is: SCREEN, SCREEN, SCREEN! I've had many really great tenants, but I've left property vacant longer than I'd like until I got the right fit, tenant-wise.