All Forum Posts by: Linda S.

@Mark Berge,

100% NO.  Unless you're doing customized rentals are getting an insane amount of $$$, 100% NO!!

   If they don't like how it looks, pick another place.    In all of my experience, I have NEVER been happy with anything any tenant does.  I guarantee you will see drips, you will see outlet covers painted, baseboard painted, and then when they move out-- guess what?  You have no leg to stand on because YOU ALLOWED IT.  

Don't hate yourself later-- say no NOW!  If you do allow it (because it sounds like you haven't been burned by people yet, don't worry-- it's coming!), at a minimum put the charge of at least $250-400 in your lease to professionally repaint it. 

@Cassandra Vickers,

If you can wait until the lease ends,  you should IMO.    Not having a kitchen means they can't cook, and I GUARANTEE they will let you know of what a pain and inconvenience it is, and how much money they spend on food, how stressful it is on their kids, etc...   If you can wait, do!  It's not worth the headaches, not to mention the amount of lost rent because you'd absolutely need to comp them, and then lose $$!  

One time we had to replace the faucet in the kitchen, and a tenant was so angry because "she couldn't wash dishes" and I told her "the bathroom sink works fine" and she got so livid and angry with me, told me she was going to take me to court to pay for all her meals because the kitchen didn't work.    1000% not worth the stress  

@James Carr,

Expect the worse in people,  every now and then someone will surprise you for the good--- but as a new landlord--your rose colored glasses will get really foggy really, really quickly when reality hits.    Being a landlord makes you jaded, and if you don't feel that way, you haven't been a landlord long enough.

@Nikki Nicole,

I'd strongly suggest meeting/networking with investors, find someone who is doing what YOU want to do-- and figure out how you can help them.       The more specific you are, the better you'll be long-term.    As an example, I do low income rentals, it couldn't be further away from flips if you tried.   I'm of no real value for flippers, but those wanting to do low income  LTR-- no one can do it cheaper or better than me.     Figure out what you want first, and find the person you want to be like!

@Ryan Bird,

100% no, do NOT give gift cards IMO.  You are NOT a friend/buddy, you are their landlord, and trust me-- make no mistake about it, they don't like you as a person, they like you for charging them X rent only.   People think tenants like their landlord, no they don't-- remember you are the greedy MOFO taking 1/3 of their hard earned income each month, that's how they see you.   Imagine if your mortgage company sent you a $25 gift card, I personally wouldn't care-- I'd just think "thanks, you're obviously overcharging me if you need to redistribute $$ to customers."

If you want to "Thank" them-- ask them how you can upgrade their house?! Put a new security light in, or powerwash it to make it look better-- do something that will show them you appreciate them by reinvesting and LISTENING to what they want in their house.   I do this with all of my tenants, at the annual inspection, I ask "how can I upgrade your house and make it even better for YOU?" --- a lot of times it's something small and overlooked, like maybe add stepping stones so their feet don't get muddy when it rains.   The key is listening to what your tenants want.    This is 100% tax deductible, upgrades your house long-term, and improves the relationship.

@Patrick Britton,

If you always hire the cheapest/lowest end, of course, you should expect your experience.   I remember hearing "If you think a good lawyer is expensive, try a bad one"  and it's so true.. if anything is the cheapest-- they are going for volume, not quality.     People are all out for their own best interest, in any profession.   Humans are humans-- self-serving.   It is interesting how you are an appraiser, and say they are the best--- I've had good ones, and bad ones, hard workers and lazy ones-- just like with any other profession.

People will charge you what they think you can pay.    I had a trash guy give me a $8500 quote to gut a duplex, meanwhile another trash guy gave me a $900 quote.  I wish that was a made-up story, but it's reality.

@Stephen Jones

As someone who does C/D properties, let me tell you upfront-- exterior  work is the beginning of the work needed.   You need to evaluate if you can handle the scope of 43 properties, as I guarantee they weren't managed or taken care of like a B property.    You should expect deferred maintenance, and a lot of shady work. 

A lot of people get googly eyed when they see C/D property cash flow numbers, but don't really stop and think about the actual amount of work and maintenance needed.  I have "B" properties I forget I own.    If it's in the worst part of town, you need to expect a lot of problems, and most importantly-- be able to handle them financially and be mentally ready to invest a lot of $$$ to make them better.   I think of it like houses are dying, and they need a lot of $$$/energy/effort to get them back to normal, kind of like house CPR.    As long as you go into it ready and expecting the work/$$/energy and realize it's not apples/apples with a B property, you will do great!   It's different managing a house when someone is paycheck/paycheck vs. doing well,  and how they live/lifestyle, it's just different!

@Tiffany Colter,

Happy to help, and if you want more horror stories just PM Me!    I wish I didn't have as many stories, been doing this 6.5 years in low income areas it teaches you a lot.  

@Tiffany Colter,

When we started, I included a W/D in all of my units.    Like most good, normal people, I was like  "If that's what I'd want, I want to offer it to my tenants".... and then experience/life happens, and you realize---  it's actually everyone else who was smarter in the first place.  Washers/Dryers are the #1 thing I got calls on, people overload them,  break them-- and if they aren't common in the area, guess whose friends come over and use them?   If someone comes from using a laundromat, it's normal to pack as much as humanly possible because they are EXPENSIVE $$$$, I would at least-- that mentality follows FYI!   

I did renovate 1 unit out of a quadplex, and put a W/D hookup only-- you know what happened?  SHE FLOODED THE APARTMENT because it wasn't hooked up correctly.   Do I regret putting the W/D hookup in-- 1000000% regret it.   The floor under it is trashed.   About 3 years ago, we stopped offering W/d and only did hookups, and let me say our calls have dropped like 50%-70%-- BEST decision I ever made as a landlord!      Seriously! 

My advice if it's a lower income area is to pass-- people would prefer to pay **LESS**  and you will get more applications if you advertise for LESS.  No one complains about cheaper rent.    The fewer things you install, the fewer things that can break, and the more affordable and competitive your apartment is!  People LOVE cheap rent!  Most people don't move if their rent is affordable.

Don't think about the happy touchy feely emotions, think about how expensive 1 maintenance call is to fix it?    Tenants aren't particularly happy when things break, as it makes you as the landlord look bad-- even if they tried to wash 7 loads of laundry in 1 cycle.  If you find out you rent out to the most amazing person, and you want to add it later-- you can!   I can't take back my decision to add the W/D hookup and my apartment got flooded because my tenant was an idiot and didn't care.

@Nader Hachem

Remember with any rental-- you only need ONE (1) person/family!    Yes, winter is more challenging ( I call it the dry month for a reason), you may need to do a move-in special, but people will move!   If it's priced correctly, someone will want it!   Peoples leases end at different times,  people get frustrated at different times-- so yes, there is always demand IMO. 

 I would not postpone buying it, as on the flip side-- less activity means contractors will be more available, and you may get better deals for work!  My GC always calls me up in January/February asking for work for his guys,  even if it's small--- just to keep them busy!  He quoted us $1200 on a roof sealant job (already repaired) in November, and we paid $650 in January.