All Forum Posts by: Jen R.

Honestly, since it’s a rental, I wouldn’t do much. Landscaping would certainly help the curb appeal, but in my experience tenants won’t care for it and it will end up a weed pit. So, I would instead add a bunch of colorful hanging baskets on the front porch along with painting the front door. Shutters on the two single windows would also help. If you wanted, a flowering tree would be nice on the left side of the house to help frame it out a bit. 

Will they be long or short term room rentals? For long term, I wouldn’t add anything extra  - renters will want to decorate their own space. If short term, some artwork would be nice, but otherwise, I’d  recommend practical items like a USB charger port, maybe some books, desk lamp, blackout curtains, maybe a fan.

If you don’t have a down payment, how will you fund the repairs? Investing in RE with no cash reserves is dangerous - what if the market drops and you can’t refinance or sell as quickly as you hoped?

To determine ARV on a single family, you will have to look at comparable sales in your market.

While I agree with your sentiments regarding the ease of scamming the system, I disagree that landlords should not consider this an issue. I know for a fact that in our area there are individuals who call about vacancies for the sole purpose of tripping a landlord up and then slamming them with a fair housing lawsuit. I’m confident I have been contacted by some of these individuals in the past based on the way they word their questions. If a landlord does not know the law, he/she can easily be tripped up and respond with the “wrong” answer. 

Also, under the current laws a tenant can apply, be approved, and move in, and THEN submit an ESA accommodation request. I’m genuinely curious as to what you would do in that scenario? At that point it’s not as simple as moving on to a more qualified applicant.

@Violet Lisa - every time a new post comes up about ESA’s, it is full of conflicting information - and much of that is understandable because the current laws have some difficult to understand nuances (like the issue of disclosure, for example), and because they are so easy to abuse by dishonest tenants. I found out this week that I can’t require an applicant to fill out a reasonable request form that I provide them; I can ask them to, but if they refuse and present their own doctor’s “note” instead, I cannot require an additional form. I can merely attempt to verify the letter they provide.

 At the end of the day, don’t trust any of us and confirm with your local RE attorney if you are still unsure! 

@Marcus Auerbach if the animal is legitimately an ESA, you cannot legally charge extra pet rent or deposit.

Actually, HUD states that the tenant may request reasonable accommodation, but the housing provider "must meet their obligations under...the reasonable accommodation standard...".

I guess I’m not really sure what point you are trying to make? There are very narrow circumstances under which you can claim undue hardship.

@Account Closed - yes, the website is run by a group in Wisconsin, but federal housing law governs ESA’s (and trumps any state laws, as the article points out). It’s difficult to find clearly explained info on the federal sites, and I thought the website did a nice job breaking down the federal laws in a practical way. 

@Russell Brazil I have to humbly disagree. Maybe that is true is most cases, but the last house we purchased had 6 offers on the first day; we won because we offered all cash, no contingencies, and a 7-day close, and were in contract by the next morning. Good deals in our market just get snatched up fast due to the number of investors.

 My application has the same; specifically, I ask how many animals they have. I’ve never had an applicant not disclose upfront, so I’m not sure how it would play out either. I imagine if they just move in an ESA without requesting accommodation you could hold them in violation of the lease. However, if you approve them and they then submit the reasonable accommodation request, you really are without options. I’ve seen ESA “certification” sites that actually encourage tenants not to disclose until after they are accepted, so that they “aren’t discriminated against.”

Yeah, I’ll just leave that alone...