All Forum Posts by: Maria G.

@Dennis M.: The point is, four of them are not in operable condition--they don't slide.

Hello, 

My rental unit came with vertical blinds, and several of them were no longer sliding. My previous tenants didn't care (they just wanted to open and close them, which worked fine), but my new tenants do care, so it is time for me to replace them. I have heard that vertical blinds are problematic and that the most durable (and inexpensive) ones are the mini-blinds. One issue that I am having is that replacing some might look odd, since I don't think I want to go with vertical again. What are your thoughts? I went to Lowe's the other day and now have a good idea of what there is out there, but since this is my first investment, I would like to hear some advice from the ones who have needed to do a lot of blinds/shades replacement and your experiences.

Here are the ones that for sure need replacement:

- Downstairs 

• I only have one window broken. It is overlooking the lake (71x71), so I am thinking that roller shades would be great. Besides, that may look OK even if I don't replace the ones that are working (since roller shades are so fundamentally different from the vertical blinds in the rest of the windows). This is the one I need to take action right away, as my tenant really wants all the light possible in the living room, and the nice view. 

- Upstairs: 

• Master bedroom slider to access the balcony with the lake view (63x82). I don't think roller shades would be OK there, as it is a door. In fact, even horizontal blinds don't seem like a suitable choice for a door. Would a rod and curtains be better?
• Two other windows in the master bedroom with no view, just the neighbor's roof (47x47).

Thank you!

@Brian Ellis: Glad to know it was useful. Here are my questions:

- email address (required)

- Phone number

- What makes you a great tenant?

- How many total people would be living in the house? 1 to 6

- What is your annual income?

- What is your credit score?

- What lease lengths would you rather have? (Check all that apply.) 9-12 months, 12-18 months, 18-24 months.

- Do you have any evictions? Yes/No

- Do you have any criminal record? Yes/No

- Can you provide landlord references? Yes/No

- Do you have any pets? Yes, a cat/No/Other

@Brian Ellis: I have been in a similar situation as yours recently for a rental that the previous time rented out in one day. So I think a lot of it has to do with the time of the year. Here is my timeline:

10/3: Posted the ad on CL

10/4: Posted the ad on Zillow and Zumper

During the first ten days, I got a lot of attention, but since the unit was occupied (and my tenants didn't cooperate in letting me show it), I only offered showings to people who sent me an application--first mistake. I got only a couple. I had the first open house/showing 10/20--second mistake. I only got 5-6 people and none seemed ideal. Both mistakes stemmed from not knowing how different it would be having an open house late October vs. early September.

10/22: I started using a google form for anyone interested to respond to a few questions (an idea I learned from this board). I got a very good looking candidate and I was able to arrange for my tenants to show it to him, but in the end, he thought he needed more space.

10/26: I sign up for turbotenant.

10/28 (Sunday): Second open house, 3 hours. I again tried to be accommodating to my tenants, since it was their move-out day, so I had it 2:30-5:30 pm. No one showed up.

11/4 (Sunday): Third open house. Only two people showed up. At this point, I only had a few applications, but none looked great. My network suggested to give a chance to one of them but my instinct told me not to.

11/5: The good looking candidate writes to me saying he would like to apply because his situation had changed (one of the people moving with him was no longer moving with him). Additionally, another very good looking candidate applies (without even contacting me first!)

I spend the week torn between the two. I find out more facts about the first good candidate and I worry about a few things. I make an appointment to meet the other very good candidate at the next open house. The day before, I think to myself that I wish that someone else showed up who were better than either and I didn't need to choose between the two. Because otherwise, I would probably need to go for one of them, since my rental had already been vacant for ten days...

11/10 (Saturday): A family shows up right when I open the doors. It bugs me because it is the time I had given to meet the second good candidate. In the end... that family turns out to be "the one"!!

In giving you a summary of my story, I mean to encourage you to follow your instinct and be a bit patient with the situation, because as everyone will tell you, you'd rather keep a vacancy for some time than have to deal with an eviction later.

I found the form with the pre-screening questions very useful. If you would like to see my questions, let me know.

As a reference, here are my stats of what sites brought me leads: 48 from zillow/hotpads/trulia, 24 from zumper, 17 from CL, 2 from turbotenant. (It wasn't a fair race for turbotenant, since I didn't use them from the beginning, but it wouldn't be a fair race for the rest if I had used them from the beginning, since they would have sent ads to the rest ;)

@Account Closed: I am not sure I understand you well. My HOA allows proxy voting.

However, I realize that I didn't make myself clear: I didn't mean only voting, but attending regular HOA meetings. I would like to be informed of any decisions that affect the rental.

I am not local and I am thinking of having my tenant attend the meetings. Did anyone try it? And if so, did you find it useful or not?

Thanks!

Hello,

I have found the "HOA rules" but the California lease agreement includes that I should provide a copy of the "rules and regulations," what is customary to include there?

Thanks!

@Bradley LaBrie: They all have pros and cons.

zillow is hard when it comes to saving a copy of people's credit report (and it is a pain to have to log in every time you want to check someone). 

rentcreener makes that really easy, but it doesn't provide a credit score, just a rating (A, B, C, F) considering all factors combined. 

I think my favorite is zumper because it handles both issues reasonably well. The problem is... I got more leads via zillow, so I would leave all channels open.

Hi Neal, will this talk be relevant to investors like me, that have only one SFH rental? Thanks!

Perhaps you need to ask other landlords in your country. Rentals are usually provided empty in the US, and if they are furbished, tenants don't request item replacement like that.

It sounds odd that they want a replacement for a new item. Like others pointed out, they seem to have a sense of entitlement that would bother me.