All Forum Posts by: Matt Nolan

It may just be a matter of poor luck, but I've had three go in the last three years.  Each fan was in the $125-$150 range. Nothing fancy. 

Light fixtures are cheaper and more durable from what I've experienced, so I always go that route. 

I'd personally advise not putting ceiling fans into rental units.  Ceiling fans absolutely love to break, and I've had to replace too many of them to make it worth it.  I'd go with nice/affordable light fixtures if you're upgrading.  I have a clause in the lease stating that all broken fans will be replaced by light fixtures.  They last forever and help me avoid some headaches down the road.

I do a walk through every six months on my properties. I give my tenants a week or so notice, and I bring a bunch of 9v batteries to replace the ones in the fire alarms. 

My go-to neutral paint is "Silver Drop" by BHER.  It's a nice, light grey color.  Holds up to abuse, isn't particularly taste-specific, and is affordable/readily available.

Good tenants get a reasonable bump in rent, and bad tenants get their walking papers. 

With the way the market is here, tenants expect a raise in rent.  My rates are reasonable and my services/dwellings warrant the monthly rent cost.  

I just had tenants renew their lease with a 2% increase, and they were thrilled.

These little $25-$50 annual bumps in rent are rarely a point of contention from my experience, but I'm only invested in one particular region (greater Boston).  I can't speak to other markets.

I think it looks fantastic the way it is. If you're deadset on repainting it, I'd maintain the current color scheme personally. 

I couldn't imagine placing a tenant in one of my units without running their credit first.  With that said, my properties are in A neighborhoods, and it affords me the opportunity to be extremely picky when placing my tenants.  I'm extremely critical of credit scores when it comes to applications, and I've turned down countless potential tenants as a result.  I've never had issues filling vacancies, and I've always ended up with tenants that were financially sound going into a lease.

I screen to the fullest to put me in the best position as a landlord.  It's not a perfect science of course, and there are bumps in the road, but it avoids inheriting a known problem.

As for a property manger not running a credit report, that seems crazy!  I would think that would be a big part of their provided service.  I'd be most concerned about finding out that they don't run credit checks after having hired the PM.  That seems like something that should have come up before enlisting their services.

While you might not think it's worth the additional $300+ a month, I'm telling you from experience that it's easily worth that in my market. My duplex is rented for $1,900 and $1,975. I'd be be able to get $2,300 each with ease if they had an additional parking spot. That's the reality of a market that has a parking ban and brutal winters. It would also broaden my rental pool a great deal. 

If the OPs market is similar to my own when it comes to parking bans and snowfall, he may very well expect a healthy jump in monthly rent. 

That all depends on your market. We have an on-street parking ban that runs from November 1st to April 1st each year.  If I added a single parking spot to each unit in my duplex, I could easily charge an additional $300+ a month in rent (per unit).  I'm not sure what the situation is with the OP, but given his location, off-street parking might be a huge selling point. 

@Kim Meredith Hampton I hadn't heard of roommate lease form, but that certainly seems more formal/binding than telling them to simply deal with it.  I appreciate the advice and will be printing a form out ASAP.  Thanks!

@Christian Bors Good point regarding affordability for the remaining two, and it's something I've considered.  The couple is more than capable of covering the cost of rent and have been fantastic tenants so far.

Thanks for the help!