All Forum Posts by: Lauren Do

A real risk in my area is that insurance will increase with more extreme hurricanes. I bought my most recent property with climate change in mind, and intend on increasing the flood protection measures. There are a lot of skeptics out there, probably more on Bigger Pockets given the demographic, but global climate change will have the last laugh.  

I would not allow unfixed animals (minus birds and fish) because of:

1. the negative behaviour of those animals 

2. what you can infer about their owners

3. the neighbourhood animals they will attract

Firstly, keeping the deposit would not be legal in my area. Secondly, if it were legal in my area, I would not do it. 

Is my understanding correct? You got a new tenant for a new property, and he left not because of any evil or malicious reasons on his part, but because someone broke into your property not once, but twice in one month shortly after he moved in. And he's paid until the 15th October but he has handed back the keys and so the property is vacant for you to show more easily and a tenant could move in immediately. And he left it in good condition, so you'll have no problem finding a new tenant particularly now that you have ADT. No, I would not keep it. That's not the kind of person I want to be. 

Gayle, what kind of construction is your house? Is it on pilings if it's on the beach? What is seaward of your property? Sandy beach? What is the distance to the mean high water mark?  I live on the coast, and am looking into climate change resilience measures for my property. For example, I am going to get flood barriers for my front door and expandable sand bags for the patio doors. 

There is no one-size-fits-all financial plan which works for every single person in the universe. Different goals, motivations and risk-tolerances mean that there is space for a lot of different schools of thought. Keeping your real estate investments at 5% might be the correct approach for some but not for all. 

Asking this question on BP will result in selection bias. However 5% seems so low that most regular people would never do it.  I believe that is by design - Chris Hogan appears to be saying that you should only invest in real estate after you are already rich. I would need a $4,000,000 net worth before buying a single rental property in my market. That approach does not work for me personally. 

I'm not sure how it works in your area, but have you considered subdividing a house lot next to that million dollar house and just selling that? You could retain the bulk of your land but get some cash to start your flipping projects. 

I assume you mean short-term only? I did for a while. I loved it but there were some logistical problems. 

Pros: It's like having a roommate but you get more money and share your house for fewer nights. E.g. a roommate would have paid me $600 per month/30 days, but I could get $600 if I rented a room on Airbnb for 15 days. 

Pros: Visitors spend more time out in the evenings than a regular roommate. Few people want to stay inside a STR all day. This means you don't feel like you are sharing as much and your house will be empty most evenings.

Pros: Your house stays really clean and you get paid for cleaning your own house! 

Pros: You meant some cool people and sometimes get small gifts. 

Pros: People sharing a space with you will be more considerate than a STR without you present.

Cons: People are idiots and you have all your worldly possessions in the same space. My one house rule was to lock the door when leaving the house. Lots of people did not lock the door??? 

Cons: You most likely will want to meet and greet the guests and that requires flexible working if you have a regular job. You can use features like smart locks/key pads for separate units but you might not want to do that if they are sharing a space with you.

Cons: It's not for the prudish. Most couples on holiday like to celebrate it. 

Cons: Airbnb can be a fickle platform and you have to have thick skin when dealing with Airbnb and with guests. Will you be able to handle an undeserved 1* review? 

Cons: It can be stressful to have to turn over a room after a day at your regular job. 

The cleaning fee also has a strategic use to encourage longer stays. If there is a high cleaning fee, then for a one night rental, the price for one night is higher. For a week rental, the cleaning fee can melt into the nightly rate.

It's cheaper to soak and cook dry beans over eating canned beans, just saying! :) 

Welcome!!

I would not kick out a tenant who is in the hospital without getting in touch with them or a family member as I do not consider that ethical. They could have the money in the bank but no way to send it to you.  You would be compounding someone's problems, because not only do they have a mental illness but now would be homeless. 

I would make every effort to get in touch with the person.