All Forum Posts by: Melissa Melia

Thanks for the warm welcome, and thanks @Aaron Ramm for recommending the podcasts! I've heard quite a few and am already a big fan of @Joshua Dorkin and @Brandon Turner!

1 Vote

Totally agree with @Michael Rossi

"1. Improper screening of tenants"

The right tenants will be great stewards of your investment. The wrong tenants will make things difficult and expensive.

Originally posted by @Michael Rossi:

We all know that the vast majority of newbies fail in the rental property business. Therefore, I would consider the two mistakes that cause them to fail to be the most critical.

The number one reason that newbies fail is that they don't understand the real world operating expenses. Armed with this ignorance, they underestimate expenses and believe that a property will be profitable when in fact it will lose money (often, a LOT of money). This causes them to pay too much for properties, which is a certain recipe for failure.

The number two reason that landlords fail is that they don't know how to deal with tenants. This can be broken down into a lot of different facets including:

1. improper screening of tenants
2. failing to have a written screening process and acceptance criteria
3. accepting late or partial rent
4. failing to IMMEDIATELY evict non-paying tenants
5. accepting excuses from the tenants
6. being an absentee (hands-off) landlord
7. failing to aggressively fight lawsuits
etc, etc, etc.

I have bought properties from many landlords who were absolutely DESPERATE to sell. Many have told me that they were literally physically sick and couldn't sleep because of the stress the tenants were causing them. Dealing properly with the tenants will greatly decrease these stresses and increase the chance of success.

Mike

0 Votes

Hi!

I'm new here, and excited to join the Bigger Pockets forums. My name is Melissa Melia, and I'm in Seattle, Washington.

For the last ten years I've been investing in real estate and self-managing the properties. It's be a great experience, leading into professional property management, where I recently opened a firm and serve as the designated broker.

I'm interested in participating in the dialogue, learning, and making connections. Thanks for having me!

1 Vote

I'm a newbie to Bigger Pockets, and want to say first, I love this post! Pricing strategy is one of the biggest levers we have as investors, and sets the tone for improvement schedule, marketing, how the properties turnover...

For the last ten years I've invested in an area with high demand and low inventory (Seattle), and have had moderate success pricing near the top of the market for the category & neighborhood. Of course, this meant investing in upgrades the properties, and allowing pets to distinguish them from the rest of the market, so there are tradeoffs. But it's proven to be a great model for me, and the properties have attracted tenants who have been excellent stewards of the properties.

1 Vote

All Forum Posts by: Melissa Melia

Melissa Melia has started 4 posts and replied 55 times.

Post: New in Seattle

Post: New in Seattle

Post: The Top 5 Landlord Mistakes

Post: New in Seattle

Post: What is Your Rental Market Sweet Spot?