All Forum Posts by: Mark Berge

Once the property is rent ready, and tenants sign a lease at market rents, the property should really positive cash flow after all expenses, otherwise you would have to put money in to cover the expenses.

Hi All, my tenant texted me a question-

Would you have any objection if I painted one of the rooms? Maybe two?

What would you all say? He works from home and pays rent on time and takes care of the house, on his third lease. This is my first rental property so don't know what to say. I had a contractor paint the entire top floor of the house where the tenant lives before he moved in, in 2020. He works in customer service, he is not a professional painter. I don't know if he has ever painted before, what kind of paint he would use, will he use drop clothes, etc.

Not sure you would use craigslist, lots of scams on it. Why not use a real estate agent to market the rental and they will send you tenant applications. That's what I did and it has worked out great, I rent the whole house out. 

You might be able to ask the tenants if they could move out if you pay them to? I guess it would be like cash for keys. Since they have a lease, they might not want to move. I haven't seen houses with knob and tube. I would ask the opinion of an electrician in your area.

I only have one rental unit and it's in nj. I googled it and found this

Landlords with 10 or more units must invest deposits as specified by statute or place deposit in an insured money market fund. Landlords with fewer than 10 units may place deposit in an interest-bearing account in any New Jersey financial institution insured by the FDIC.

I should add that I hired contractors take all of the nasty carpet out which smelled like dog pee, etc and made the house very musty especially in the basement which had a leaking sewer line that was copper and the plumber put in pvc which was not cheap but now no more problems with leaking sewer waste. I cleaned the sub floor under the carpet and had to take out all of the carpet tacks, nails which took a long time. Also the electric baseboard heaters in the master bedroom when on high heat, smell like dog pee so I will probably have an electrician change them out.

Hi All, I am living in a single family rental in a suburban NJ neighborhood on a busy road during the day but quiet at night. I am remodeling the master bath, kitchen and living room area. I intend to rent this house out someday but for now am camping out here while I clean it up and do the demo work and have some contractors help me with the work. Every room with water had leaks and mold issues, cracked tile in the master bath and kitchen. I had the leaks fixed and took out the damaged toilet and tile. I expect to rent for $1700 or so a month, what kind of flooring would any one suggest for the master bath and kitchen? I don't want to go crazy but want it to look nice and be low maintenance in case of water overflows when future tenants are here?

Hi All, my tenant is on his second year lease, pays on time and takes care of the property. He texts me when repairs are needed and I have the repairs made. The security deposit, $2625 is supposed to be put into a bank account which I have it in my personal separate account. I called a local bank and the lady said that the tenant needs to fill out a w-9 and after he does that, I would bring it to the bank and open a savings account for his deposit. I texted the tenant that I would bring the w-9 by for him to fill out. It has been a week and haven't heard back from him. Any ideas on what to do? Just keep his deposit in a separate account? Fyi, his lease is up for renewal July 31. He also got renters insurance I guess since his has so much personal property, every room the in the house is full of his stuff.

To me it's like 2007 all over again without all of the for sale signs around. As soon as a house hits the mls, it's under contract in a day or maybe two.

Matt, I agree that people are overpaying. In my area, I made an offer on a cosmetic fixer for full asking and 27 offers were made 8 over asking. From $250k my full price offer, it closed at $345k. The furnace made noise and the water was off so who knows about condition.