All Forum Posts by: Malkia Ra

Is there anyone who understands the visibility that Zillow will show your property? I listed two rentals on zillow about 2 weeks ago. In the 1st day, I received about 50 queries on one of them, and 5 on the other. In the past 4 days, I've received 1 query. Is this a normal trend of lots of activity, or have I fallen into a space where Zillow wants me to upgrade (Pay) them to increase the applicants I get.

In 2 weeks of having the listings up, I have received 2 potential candidates to see the units. Once I send them my rental criteria, I tend not to hear back from most of them. There have been these 2 that got a showing. One of them has been in her job for 10 days, and the other (a mom and her adult son) both have cleared up and resolved bankruptcies. One was chapter 7 and the other was chapter 13. They both maintained employment and rental with the same place throughout the process. They both have current credit scores above 650 (my min is 55) but I've not run them through a credit service yet. What is the best service to use these days to run a credit check? My intention is to use apartments.com to collect payments. I'm already there with a tenant and I like their system.

Thoughts on both concerns? THANKS!!!

I've had good and not so good experiences with Zillow's free marketing platform, and like you, received tons of interest almost immediately that eventually tapered-off; there could be many factors affecting the volume of inquiries you're (not) receiving that isn't within your control. Their tenant screening I'm not too crazy about, and for this reason I started using TurboTenant, which has worked well for me. If you're already using the Apartments.com platform and are comfortable with it, perhaps you should stick with that.

Regarding lost interest after sending your rental criteria, you DO want to weed-out those who don't meet your criteria, and this is what's happening. Consider it a good thing.

As for those potential tenants, if they've already met your first layer of screening, then I'd suggest having them all formally apply and run the full-monty of credit/income/background-court checks and make your decision based on that.

P.S. Someone who's been on their job for only 10 days could be a better tenant than someone who's been with the same employer for 10 years. I'd pay more attention to a great rental and credit/payment history.

0 Votes

TurboTenant works for me.

0 Votes

Quote from @Penny Clark:

@Robert Hesselmann, is there any way you could add at least a half bath to the proposed laundry area? A second bathroom (even if it's just a half bath) would add value to the property for both the tenant and future investors if you should sell.

My thoughts, exactly. Instead of bringing the laundry room to the first level, adding a half bath and upgrading the basement would be ideal.

0 Votes

Quote from @Adah N.:

@Theresa Harris

Even without a hill, landlords need to get in the habit of maintaining their yards and not leave it up to the tenants. You can always tell which homes are tenant occupied and which are owner by looking at the lawns. Just add lawncare to the rent and hire professionals to do it.

Completely agree.

1 Vote

Knoxville, Tennessee

Quote from @Dena Puliatti:

My property management company doesn't honor home warranties. It's a huge hassle for the owner and me. Then the tenant waits forever for repairs, which would make my company look bad. Plus, if the home warranty company can find a way not to pay for something, they will.

This.

Short answer, no, home warranties are not worth it.

2 Votes

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Seeking recommendations for a CPA/tax professional experienced in rental/real estate income transactions and tax laws.

Thanks in advance!

2 Votes

**heavy sigh** Because of scenarios like this, I ask myself, "Why did I decide to become a landlord?" The most bittersweet job, I swear.

Charge the expense back to the tenant. And if it were me, I probably wouldn't renew their lease. I have a low tolerance for anyone who refuses to be accountable, especially for their children.

Interestingly, I've found many tenants feel a repair issue is always the landlord's responsibility, regardless who created the problem.

7 Votes

New Haven, Connecticut

Um, yeah.

1. Disclose this in your advertisements.
2. Include this as a violation in the lease.

If they violate, bump them outta there!

0 Votes

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Quote from @Wendy Fate:

Quote from @Malkia Ra:

I find it interesting that she put an 18 year old on the lease, but the day before arriving mentioned the 18 year old would not be there, and later revealed that she's "been doing this for a while now." Sounds like confessions of a professional scammer to me.

When it comes to house-hacking, I personally feel whatever you want the rules to be in your home, it should be. And always ALWAYS make them clear in your rental contract. Verbal conversations mean nothing; people tell you what you want to hear and manipulate very well. With nothing in writing, it's like those conversations never happened. I learned this the hard way.

But I learned.

And yes, the Fair Housing rules differ for house-hackers. Way more flexibility... you can get as picky as you want. (but do your research, please)

Yes! Thank you, @Malkia Ra. I don't think traditional investors understand this. If they have not house hacked, they don't get it.

I started off as a house-hacker, so I certainly get it. Remember, always put it in writing. In fact, every line item of my contracts require the tenant's initials, confirming they've read and understood each and every one of the terms, and I don't waver. I would much rather wait for the tenant who is comfortable with my terms, no matter how long it takes to find them, rather than relax my boundaries and accept a tenant that could potentially be problematic or make me feel uneasy.

And regarding Fair Housing rules and regulations, here's a link you may find helpful: https://www.hud.gov/program_of...

"In very limited circumstances, the Act exempts owner-occupied buildings with no more than four units, single-family houses sold or rented by the owner without the use of an agent, and housing operated by religious organizations and private clubs that limit occupancy to members."

2 Votes

Quote from @Scott Mac:

Just another reason I think cats make much better Apartment pets than dogs--they don't bark all day--and all night.

(and renter has a couple of cats---fixed = OK) (and renter has a couple of dogs--what breed, age, bite history, lawn gifts must be picked up, etc... then there is the barking issue for some of them that must be fixed).

Dog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD5_TpuBd6I

Cat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMq3ux6g4zE

But to be sure, not all dogs bark all day, (some do), and their owners can work with them to stop it--but it's a PITA that doesn't happen with cats.

...until you get a renter who's cat(s) urinate all over the place and you end up having to do some serious remediation just to get the air quality, among other things, back to normal. The horror stories I've encountered over the years about tenants and their cats, they're just as much of a PITA as dogs.

3 Votes

Cincinnati, Ohio

All Forum Posts by: Malkia Ra

Malkia Ra has started 5 posts and replied 176 times.

Post: Zillow: Visibility Algorithm or normal activity. Also, Bankruptcy

Post: Tenant Screening Service Recommendations

Post: Laundry room, or third bedroom?

Post: Rental house- mowing liability

Post: Home Warranties Are they worth it?

Post: Recommendations for a MARYLAND Tax Professional

Post: Tenant stuck toy in the toilet and doesn't feel its her fault.

Post: Tenants Smoking in the Dwelling

Post: Travel nurse wants to leave young children home alone

Post: Tenant complaining about dog barking