All Forum Posts by: Mags S.

also talk with your real estate broker.  If they are experienced in many phases of real estate, they may have connections.  There are several r e brokers in my area that also lend monies to investors

It's free to post your ad on Zillow.  Zillow then feeds to several other sites like trulia and hotpads.  From Zillow you can also get the info to Craig's list.  Nearly all my leads/responses came from Zillow, trulia, and hot pads. Very few from Craig's list but I did not add followup ads there.w

Good screening is the key to getting a quality tenant.

I also put my criteria in the ad, but sometimes believe prospects totally ignore them.  Although I rarely return a phone call with a phone call, I always responded via Google voice like this:

Me: Hi <prospect name> <property addy>  st in Philadelphia. Tons of calls. Must earn minimum $3150/mo in verifiable income. $38k/yr). Requires $3150 to move in. All over 18, Subject to credit, backgd checks, no evictions. No recent credit issues. No animals or smokers. No calls. Text ok

For the zillion of email inquiries, I responded similarly, but added:

- Complete a renter's profile and send to me or tell me about yourself financially.

The tire kickers go away if it requires an effort to get to see house. Serious ones you can further eliminate by their response. 

At the showing I ask them directly while looking straight in the eye - how's your credit...or anything else they were being evasive about.

If your tenant has their name on several family members water bill accounts, that tells me that the relatives owe on their accounts.  So they had your tenant put the account in your tenants name. Hope they are paying on those accounts and are current. If not, the utility company may not let tenant put their name on your rental account.  Pay or quit should bring it all to a head.

 I used to be torn between 'helping my fellow citizen' by a accepting section 8.  Whenever I read these section 8 posts, I just shutter. I am glad that I convinced myself that there are many hardworking 'drag yourself to work daily' folks out there and are just as worthy of a place to live/rent. My recently rehabbed rental is above average for the neighborhood but still affordable.  I believe the good product = good tenant theory.  

In my area, If you are 'not approved' for section 8, you can't be forced to take section 8 tenants. 

@Aleksey F.  a general home inspector, typically, is not going to put their license on the line for anything too structural.  The ones around here will usually recommend that you could investigate further with a structural engineer. Can often be done during your inspection period

@Anna Reamey  Don't know how much money is involved but beyond contacting the tenant and asking, I'd probably chalk it up as a lesson learned.  For me, it wouldn't be worth the stress factor to go beyond that.  Google search is your friend when looking for information. 

Not exactly sure what good or bad means to you @Amy E.  are they good tenants if - if they pay their rent on time? If they keep the place clean? Will they get along with the neighbors? When I look at prospects, I try to look at all factors, including some unwritten ones. My rental is in a blue collar neighborhood, and not all tenants will feel comfy there if they are not familiar with the neighborhood or similar neighborhoods. I don't want  a tenant to ask for an early out/break lease early because they dont feel comfortable (aka safe) in the neighborhood.  When showing the house, I try to tune in on the prospects, listening to the questions they ask, what they say and watching their behavior. Are they respectful to me and my property? Do they have that 'sense of entitlement' aura about themselves? Are they asking for things they already know the answer to but hope to change my mind? Are they a 'can you work with me' prospect?  This time around I enlisted the help of some family members. The way things were set up, all of us got to spend some individual time with each prospect while showing the house.  What I noticed is that they looked for reasons to accept an applicant, i looked for reasons to reject them. I had above average housing in condition and size (always trending #1 or within top #10% of neighboring competition) so I knew I had a good product and didn't see the need to settle for a tenant. I believe if you put together a good product, good tenants will come.  The other unspoken criteria is just listening to my gut or intuition.  That usually never lets me down.  If it doesn't feel right, it prolly won't work out in the end, no matter how much you want it to work.

@Amy E.  When I look at a prospective tenant,  I consider their 'stress factor' rating, right along with rental history, credit history, etc.  I recently filled a rental.  If I receive multiple phone calls and/emails from one prospective before they see the property or before submitting an application, my red flag goes up and I suspect they will probably be high maintenance. If they carry on that much before they get into the property, they'll probably drive me batty once they start paying me money.  So for me, I'd rather wait it out a little longer for another qualified tenant than accept one that will be high maintenance.  

IKEA butcher block countertops are not highly rated by homeowners. Won't last and requires upkeep that tenants prolly won't do. Laminate comes in all different flavors. First time I've used it, very happy with it in a rental.