All Forum Posts by: Micah Watson

I began renting my first and only SFR this passed April. Should I use a CPA to prepare my taxes or will my usual online software do the trick this time? Also looking for recommendations. I'm in West Michigan.

Looking for an investor-friendly CPA near Greenville, MI. 

Up until this year, I’ve used h&rblock’s online service and had good results. Now I have one rental, and want to make sure I’m properly depreciating, etc. and on the right track for the future.

@Robert Biggerstaff

If someone has your account number and bank name they could easily look up the routing number and steal money. Have you ever signed up to autopay a bill using only an account number and routing number?

@Russell Brazil

Exactly.

However, I also want to cover my bases. Should I draft an addendum specifically stating their obligation to pay for any damage caused by this or either of the other two dogs.

@Greg M.

I really appreciate you taking the time to write up a suggested note. That’s well written.

Side note: I’m sure you’ve heard this, but it’s much easier to take advice from someone with a profile photo and a little bit of a bio.

@Michael Ablan

I’m concerned about the age of the dog, too. She claims it’s already house broken. She has been more than forth-coming up to this point, aside from house-sitting the puppy for a couple weeks.

@Robert Biggerstaff

$25/pet is not unreasonable. How many rentals do you have with pet owners?

@Micah Watson

I should clarify. The $50/pet I charged initially was a one time fee to pay for carpet cleaning after they vacate. They are already paying a top-of-market rent rate.

Hello,

My tenants(husband and wife) have been model tenants for 8 months now.

-They get a $50 discount for rent paid on or before the first of the month. They have only missed out on this discount one time because they were one day late. In fact, she sends me a screen shot of her online payment every time.

-She lets us know when she plans to have a house party.

-They never complain and they offer to do minor things like change their furnace filter and put weatherstripping around their doors(it's a SFH).

-I performed a walk-through of the house to mark the 6 month mark and the place is immaculate. They are very clean.

I advertised “pets negotiable” because i believe:

1) Pets are a very common member of stable families and vetting the pet is as possible as vetting the tenants

2) As Michael Swan said in episode #238, kids can do more damage than pets and you can charge per pet(try charging per kid!)

3) In my market, it gives me an advantage over many other rentals

I selected them knowing they had two dogs. After vetting the pets(saw their current living conditions, met the pets, etc), I charged them only $50/pet. As it is, I'm charging $949(after early payment discount) for a 2bd/1bath SFR in a small town. I didn't want to push it with high pet rent.

My question is what would you do when this same tenant asks “What would you charge for a third dog? We are house sitting a 6 wk/old black lab for my nephew while the army relocates his family, and he may not be able to take back the puppy.”

1) The fact that she is already house sitting a third dog seems like a red flag. She didn’t notify me

2) I don’t love the idea of a third dog, but this tenant has been a breeze. I already know the first two dogs aren’t an issue.

3) I’m coming up on the end of the lease, so worst case, dog is only in there until May. Best case, I get to keep these great tenants another year after checking on them at the next lease signing.

Thanks in advance for the input!

@Joel Owens @Russell Brazil

It’s glaringly obvious now, how right you are. Ironically, I talk about opportunity cost on a regular basis, but I was thinking very narrowly within the context of his “how to refi a non-recourse loan” problem.