All Forum Posts by: Li Kia

Thank you for your replies! My upper cabinet is the first photo, bottom cabinets were the same till now. The color is the same although the photos seemed not. please see the damages on lower cabinets. Are these enough damages to charge the tenants if I repaint the upper and lower cabinets? The painter thinks it would not be a good idea to repaint only the lower ones. 

My tenant lived in my rental unit for 4 years. When they moved out, I was surprised how much work I had to do. I had 3 different long term tenants in this unit over last 13 years, never had any issues. Please help me out if I could deduct the followings from the security deposit :

1. Curtain rods are damaged. Off the wall, or hardly hold curtains. They fixed some but still not stable. I have them all replaced. 
2. curtains/drapes are stained with food and whatever red, purple color. 

3. A Door was replaced with a homedepot primed door. I had to have it paint it, as a result I had to have the rest of the doors painted in the unit so they all looks same color.( Most of Other doors chipped by them.)

4. part of lock for my patio sliding door is missing, both the doors can’t be locked. I spent a lot of time to find the locks and now need manufacture to come out to install the lock

5. A window frame is damaged I believe it is caused by inappropriately operation. I need manufacturer to fix it.

6. Kitchen lower cabinets doors are all stained, damaged by hanging metal bars and water- not sure what to do. Expensive and waste to replace all since upper cabinets are all good, having all cabinets painted would cost $1500 - also not cheap, the paint may get chipped easily.  

7. Bathroom cabinet door is stained with coloring - not sure what to do, same as above. 

8. Faucets are all damaged (missing a cap, handle wiggly, loose): I had all replaced.

9. Patio screen door has many holes - replaced with new screen.

10. Kitchen tile counter and bathroom tile: dirty and moldy. Can’t clean well, had them regrouted 

11. Cleaning fee: they cleaned, but still very dirty. 
12. carpet damaged in 2 rooms, yes it is old carpet but in perfect condition before they move in. I had to replace the entire unit flooring but with vinyl. 
13.  holes and sticky stuff colorful on my entry door that can’t be removed. I don’t t know what to do with holes either since it went though the door.

Thank you for your help!

I have a question about a move out notice. My tenant wrote me an email on 5/12/24 saying they were moving out but move out date could be 6/8-6/12, they would let me know soon. On 5/17/24 they said their move out date is 6/12. They are on month to month with 30 days notice. They paid last month rent. They moved out 6/13/24.  I refunded them the remaining rent for 6/18-6/30. However they said it should be 6/14-6/30. Which one is correct? I thought the move out date starts when they told me the exact move out date. Am I wrong ?  They texted and called multi times daily asking for more money. 

 Thank you for your input! I am wondering if I should leave the bathroom floor the way it is. It is one piece vinyl, but there are yellow color marks sip through . They look like urine stains, not attractive. Maybe I should not use vinyl planks as floor contractor suggested, right? Labor for installing tiles are expensive. My bathroom is only 20 sft. Then I am like : should I redo the shower pen and tiles on the wall and bathtub wall?  

 The issues currently: 1. Carpet are through out living and dinning combo great room and two bedrooms. There are a few stains but are probably removable by professional carpet cleaner. The carpet in the 2nd bedroom is kind of damaged by the current tenants rolling office chair back and forth. The carpet is a commercial grade, and  was installed in 2005. If I replace it, it would be nicer looking and easier to rent. 2. I have not painted the condo unit since 2005. Should I just patch the nail holes and patch paint them? 
i don't think i could recoup the remodel cost in a year. I might get extra $300/month ($3900 instead of $3600)

I may sell it in about 5 years,  and plan to do full remodel then. But meantime I also want to rent easily. I got a lot of interests because of the convenient location. But I got some feedbacks that my place is dated. If I get the floor done, maybe I don't need to redo the floor when I sell it, right? Should I install wood when I sell? Should I just put vinyl in bathrooms till I sell or just install tiles now then no need redo when I sell. There is a small chance that I will not sell it for a long time. 
the unit might worth close a $1M. 

hi All, I would love some input. My tenant will move out in 2 weeks. I am thinking about  replacing the floor for the common areas, bedrooms, bathrooms and private hallways for my rental in a nice neighborhood. The floor guy suggested me using luxury vinyl (I think also called SPC) for all these areas. Is it ok to have vinyl planks in bathrooms?  
The entry hallway (left to living room, straight to kitchen, right to private hallway leading to bedrooms and bathrooms) has tiles - same tiles as the ones in the  kitchen.  he suggested to leave it since it is a high traffic area. Should I replace tiles with the luxury vinyl to look nicer (extra $1k to remove the tiles for such a small area, and vinyl would not be durable) or leave the tiles?

My kitchen is in pretty good condition, but has telecom ter top. Should I replace the cabinets and install slabs? I was told my unit was dated. Is it worth it to upgrade it? Expensive to remodel a kitchen! 

I would like to see answers to the original questions too.

I am looking to invest in San Antonio. I usually like single family house but open to 2-4 multi family homes. My strategy is buy and hold. I would like to invest in the areas that appreciate well - I assume good school, convenient, close to major employers are some factors. Ideally I could break even with 25% down. Would anyone recommend some neighborhood in or near San Antonio? Thanks!

Thank you Daniel for your advise! How do I find a cpa who works for California? Any search or tool to use to filter ?