All Forum Posts by: Kendra Mattson

I've used SmartMove for my last 3 tenants and have had good experiences with all of them, but I'm currently trying to screen a tenant with SmartMove and 1) I can't tell if I'm still receiving a BP discount because it doesn't tell me how much the reports cost (the tenant pays) and 2) the tenant suggested RentPrep as a better alternative for future screenings (which quite frankly makes me trust RentPrep less, but I'm open to the possibility). Has anyone had experience with both?

@Rob Beardsley I second @Justin Y. - What do you mean about structuring rentals properly? I pay taxes on my rental income. . . :(

@Rob Beardsley I second @Justin Y. - What do you mean about structuring rentals properly? I pay taxes on my rental income. . . :(

I'm looking into small multifamilies in CO Springs, but am an OOS investor. Does the landlord or tenant normally pay utilities in this area? And if it's the landlord, what is a good way to estimate what the cost would be monthly for a triplex or quad?

Thanks!

@Joseph Scorese Wow, thank you for the informative and instructional response. I never would have thought to look into those groups. I appreciate all the insight!

@Paulette Midgette and @Jeremy Chaudet Thank you for your insight! Sounds like I should probably keep looking then.

@Paulette Midgette My apologies, Google Maps doesn't make it clear which neighborhood it's in, but you are correct, it's between West Parkside and Powelton Village, close to the Miles Mack Playground.

I'm not sure if I selected the right category for this, but I am in San Diego and have been looking at out of state deals for cash flow. I found one in Philadelphia, PA that I could snag for pretty cheap. It needs a good amount of work, but my main concern is whether anyone would want to live in this area of town. I would, of course, visit the property myself if I go forward with an offer, but I'd like to screen it out early if the location just doesn't make any sense. According to Google Maps, it's between West Philadelphia/West Parkside and Powelton Village. I tried looking up crime stats, but the website I usually use doesn't have Philadelphia apparently.

Does anyone have any insight into what the good/bad neighborhoods here are or how I could determine which this is (before I get on a plane)?

Thanks!

I currently rent out a couple rooms in my personal residence in Clairemont Mesa (San Diego, CA). I have a large backyard and want to add a stand alone unit to rent out. The total lot size is 5800 sq ft, the house is 1228 sq ft, and I could fit a clone of my house in the backyard if I didn't mind not having a yard, but since I live here too, I clearly don't want to do that. I have some contacts who can do the work, but I've never built something before so I was hoping I could get some advice on what to build that would allow me to generate $1300/mo. Some of my ideas are a simple one-story studio or one bedroom, or building one of those over a garage (to add value while minimizing footprint), but I don't know what square footage or other details I should be looking at to try to reach my goal cash flow amount (after the work is paid off). Any advice would be appreciated - as I mentioned, I haven't built anything before so I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed with all the options and trying to figure out ROI.

Thanks!

Thanks for all the replies! Since it's come up in a couple comments, I want to clarify - I'm not trying to evict the couple because the wife is pregnant, I'm just trying to get an idea of what to expect and if there's anything I should be doing. The impression I get from the responses overall is: Make sure all the tenants are clear on giving me as much notice as possible if they decide to move out (they're all month to month now), but otherwise there's not much to actually do. Once the baby is born, the couple will likely want more space, and since I don't have a 2 bedroom I could move them to, they'd most likely be leaving. If they can't afford to move. . . well I guess that's just a bridge to cross when we get there.