All Forum Posts by: Lisa W.

My investment advisor also uses Jim McNeely.  She's a really sharp lady and says she's been pretty pleased with his services.  

My units have crappy particle board subfloors that dip in high traffic areas and have a few dings.  IMO you can put vinyl plank over a less than perfect subfloor as long as the plank is high quality and relatively thick.  In a situation like yours (and mine) something relatively thin and flexible like Allure won't work.  The imperfections will telegraph through.  I ended up using CoreTec vinyl plank.  Not the cheapest, but it went over my imperfect subfloor without issue and looks fabulous!

I've been using Cozy for 2 years and it's been OK, but I have some concerns:

1. Application does not appear to ask about 'other occupants' who will be occupying the property (e.g. children, caregiver).That's a problem, for a number of reasons. If you do RUBS for utility bill-back it's based on occupants. Also, total # of occupants could potentially be more than legally warranted for the unit (i.e. couple with four kids in a 2BR 700 sq ft unit).If someone has an adult caregiver, you'd want to do a background check on that person too (ideally have them on the lease).My original paper application asked to list all occupants, and also stated that all occupants over 18 had to submit an application. Of course landlords can't discriminate against people with children, but you do need to know who's living in your property.
2. Cozy’s background check vendor is Checkr. Uber and Lyft also use Checkr. There’ve been some news stories about how some of their drivers have really shady backgrounds (including a convicted terrorist), yet make it through the screening process. Makes me question the thoroughness of Checkr. No service is perfect.But when I ran the credit/background checks myself I could ‘read between the lines’ to get a pretty good picture of an applicant.Can’t do that with Cozy.

Because of these limitations I'm considering using a different service, or supplementing with my own application.

@Mike H, what Cozy date do you use to determine if the tenant 'submitted' by the 4th?  The "in progress" date?

I'm considering using iTrip to manage a rental property here in my hometown.  Reason is that it's a turnkey solution.  They take care of cleaning, marketing, reservations, etc.  Does anybody have any experience using them for this?  

@Kiersten Vance -- how do you connect with patients at the local hospital?  I've heard about the visiting nurses website.  How do patients find you (or you find them)?

I assume you mean Portland, OR. I have a SFH and duplex here. My experience is that yard maintenance companies here charge a lot and don't do much other than "mow and blow". And even then they don't do a great job. Also, seems they want you to sign on for ongoing monthly maintenance ($300!) even though it's not really necessary some months (winter). So I now have tenants responsible for yard maintenance. They don't necessarily do a great job either, but has worked out so far. One tenant really liked gardening and did things well.

Re: water bill....the water bills for SFH in Portland are VERY high, relative to other places nearby. Much of it is fixed cost due to large infrastructure projects (google "big pipe"), but there's also been some political finagling. The per unit water bill in a high rise condo is about $10/mo per person, whereas for a SFH and smaller plexes it's about $40. The Portland Tribune has a good article explaining it all. My duplex doesn't have separate meters, so for years I paid the water and bundled it into the rent. Then my tenants had unauthorized people living with them and water usage went way up. Last year I belatedly discovered RUBS (better late than never!), so now the duplex tenants pay $30 pppm for water.

Just wanted to add my $02., as I'd come here for advice on CoreTec Plus myself.  Recently installed it (Red Rock Hickory) in one of my units.  It was not the cheapest solution, but am hoping it will prove a good value.  My units were pretty cheaply constructed and have particle board subfloor (underlayment, really).  And the kitchen floor was a mess with bits of older sheet vinyl in places.  Seemed like getting those surfaces in good enough shape for cheaper, thinner LVT would be problematic.  And I wanted something that would last at least 10 years, as I don't want to have to redo before then.  I figured that was worth the extra cost.   FWIW I bought from a local supplier who also did the installation, and paid just under $4 sq/ft. Supplier gave me a pretty good price on the installation, was cheaper than ordering from NiceFloors online and finding an independent installer who would charge more. 

The CoreTec went over the crappy subsurface with no problem.  It looks and feels fantastic!  Really classes the place up. Having the same flooring in the kitchen is visually cohesive, good in the small space. Time will tell how it holds up but so far I'm pleased.

I had the same question.  My current tenants seem financially stable, but in the past I've had tenants whose rent payments bounced on occasion.  I can see how with Cozy this could be problematic.  For example, tenant says they 'sent' payment on the 1st, it takes 8 days to process, you give them a 72 hr notice on the 9th.  If they then 'send' payment through Cozy again it could potentially take another 8 days to process.  I suppose if it doesn't go through the second time you could start eviction proceedings.  It all seems a bit nebulous though and makes me slightly nervous from a legal standpoint. 

Just found this info online....yes rents are high, but many people CAN afford it.  So that makes me feel a bit better :-)

https://sf.curbed.com/2017/11/13/16640936/san-francisco-rent-burden-2017