All Forum Posts by: Michael Fortier

Does anyone know of a good preparer in the Lubbock Texas area? Last year as my first year with a rental house and I have always used Turbo Tax in the past to do mine.

Thanks for the replies. I have spoken with the parent of the girl who is staying and he would like to buy the other girls part of the lease out and have his daughter live there alone. I will know more later today but everything might just work itself out.

Thanks again everyone.

Hello Everyone

I am in Texas and have two college girls renting a house together. The 1 year lease started in May and yesterday I got an email from one of them saying that they aren’t getting along and she wants to leave. She is asking if it would be OK if she could find a suitable roommate to replace here. The two girls are both on the lease and their parents have both signed cosign agreements that they will be responsible for things. The one that would be staying is paid up for the whole year already and the girl wanting to leave pays the other half monthly. They both split the security deposit equally. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. This is my first rental house and I am trying to figure out the best thing to do here.

@JD Martin Actually the seller had already agreed to the higher amount. The problem is its more than 2% of the sale. But you are probably right. It just irritates me that if I make a mistake it cost me money and if they make a mistake it cost me money.

Thanks for your reply

Hello 

I closed on a house a little more than two weeks ago and everything was rolling along nicely. I got it all cleaned up and rented out on the first of April. This morning I got a call from the bank telling me that the seller credit was more than 2% of the loan and that it I need to go bring a check for $150 dollars to the title company. So my realtor made a mistake and let it go though without saying anything, the bank let it go though without saying, we closed at the title company more than 2 weeks ago and they didn't say anything. It got caught when they were trying to sell off the loan to another bank. If I would have known this before hand I could have either asked for more repairs or a lower price on the house. Now the deal is done and its my problem? Is there anything I can do or do I just need to chalk it up to experience and pay the title company and move on?

Thanks in advance

Thanks to everyone for all the advice and past experiences. This kind of stuff is invaluable.

After talking to the parents of the two young ladies i have decided to rent it to them. The parents will be cosigning and seem very willing to do whatever it takes to make sure this all works well for all parties involved. Hopefully all goes well on my first investment property. Time to start looking for another now.

Wouldn't having a clause saying all parties are jointly and separately responsible also cover this? I one person moved out the other would then be responsible. 

Thanks for your reply @Deanna McCormick

Hello BP

I just closed on my first SFR rental house less than a week ago. I put an ad on the popular rental sites 2 days before closing and got flooded with applicants before I could even show it. Yesterday we were close to choosing a tenant, but I still had a few more people to show the house to. Two college girls came over to look at it, neither of whom is working or has any job history or past rental history. So i have no way to screen them. About an hour after I get home from showing it to them they email me saying "I forgot to ask but if we were chosen would it be OK if my roommate pay her of the rent for the year up front". So now I am torn and the rent up front sure sounds good. The girls are also in their second year of College so in all likelihood if all went well they would probably be in the house for at least 3 more years. My wife is calling the parents today to find out more info on them and to see what they are thinking about being responsible for the rent and lease agreement. It appears they are quite well off and I assume college dorms they are paying for are not that cheap either. I have looked to bigger pockets for advice many times while I was on my Journey to become a Real Estate Investor. So what would you do BP. Would you rent to the girls and have the parents cosign on the lease, if so should i just add a cosigner line under each tenant. I was thinking of putting something in the lease saying all parties tenants and cosigners are jointly and separately responsible for the above lease. I look forward to your responses. 

Thanks for all the help along the way BP.

Reasonable is fine with me. Dirt cheap usually comes with other issues.

Does anyone know a good handyman in Lubbock Texas? I just went under contract on my first SFR for investment and am trying to get all my ducks in a row.

Thanks in advance