All Forum Posts by: Kevin Thomas

Much appreciated.  This is all very good advice.  I have found out that if I have to ask the question then the answer is probably NO.  I will pass on each of these tenants and wait for the tenant that meets or exceeds my set standards.

Best of luck to you all.

I have a duplex in a quiet neighborhood and have a prospective tenant who sounds very responsible, has good credit and income.  The prospective tenant just told me that she has a baby sitting business with 6 kids a day maximum.  I am the landlord and property manager and can see this being disruptive to the adjoining tenant.  

My experience tells me that if I have to ask then the answer is rarely yes however, I haven't found many prospects with good credit and stable income.  Does anyone have any experience with this?  Any opinions or advice would be helpful.  

My other prospective tenant is willing to pay a double security deposit (prepaid rent) because his credit is week.  I am leaning toward this prospect since I have the extra security deposit.  

Thank you in advance!

We bought a duplex and several months later an existing tenant is complaining about rodents.  I contacted a local pest control company and they want $100 to start and $45 per month for both units and a 1 year contract.  My lease is vague about who pays for this but it seems to fall on the landlord since the landlord is obligated to keep the place habitable.  

My thought was to explain to the complaining tenant that I will take care of the cost of the service for the first year.  

How would other seasoned landlords handle this? 

Thank you!!

Thank you!  Very helpful.

Dear BP'ers!  What are your thoughts on opening a checking account in the state where the property is located?  

We decided not to set up an LLC but through other forums we understood that best practices are to open a checking account for rent and expenses an a savings for CapEx, etc. We have good banking relationships in our hometown but wasn't sure if there was an advantage to a local banking relationship with a typical depository/local bank.

Thank you!! 

Unfortunately, most of us know someone or have personally dealt with cancer.  Be compassionate but not a charity.  I try to operate under "3 strikes and you're out" rule. 

This is an example of why we should have 6 months of expenses in an emergency fund.    

Best of luck.

Thank you Josh.  Very helpful.

We are considering buying a business which will require a business loan and are still looking for duplexes which we would prefer to finance. We have substantial equity in our primary residence and thought we should secure a HELOC before we start taking on additional debt. My question is if there is a disadvantage to our securing the HELOC first and then the investor loans next. We have high credit scores and expect them to go down as we apply for loans. It may just be a wash. Thoughts? Thank you in advance.

Wow.  What a disservice to the seller when listing agents won't work with prospective buyers.  The whole point is to create competition among prospective buyers to get a higher price for the seller.  

A good agent is worth their weight in gold.