All Forum Posts by: MIchael Rickerd

Not having maintenance built in is a bad strategy to me. Also, I personally dislike HOA fees. Be sure to be familiar with the in's and out's of the HOA contract/guidelines as well. There is a place here where I live that can double your yearly HOA fee if they are working on a project that ends up costing more money.

This probably isn't a great place to start, but there is nothing quite like getting real, hands-on, experience. You can probably stay in the green if you make some personal commitments, but that depends on you.

^ I second whats above. You hire a PM because they are supposed to be 'experts' (or at the very least more skilled than most landlords), and it sounds like yours has missed the mark.

Nip this in the bud.

I agree that legal assistance for establishing an LLC is unnecessary/a misuse of your money. I have read many stories where someone pays a professional to set up asset protection, and they end up with several layers of unnecessary entities that cost money.

Now, there are rules to follow with regards to having your LLC, and these things do require effort (although minimal in my opinion), that help you separate yourself from your business.

Do some due diligence on your own and follow the instructions at the link listed above and you'll be golden.

Whatever comes out of this, get a new PM, no matter what.

Communication is incredibly important for me, and all of my contacts live in the small city that I do. I can't imagine poor communication with an entity that is far far away from me.

I'm tempted to mimic others and tell you to just say no, but maybe not.

It would depend on the situation to me. If the addendum was well written and agreed to, about type of dog, etc. and the house was 'hardened' enough to handle a dog, you may benefit from the additional cashflow (I would charge a deposit that at the very least covered a professional carpet cleaning from a highly ranked cleaner and extra rent money every month).

To me, tenants are like employees. When I asked to have the capabilities to stand while I work everyday, my employers were very enthusiastic and supportive of the idea. Purchased me all sorts of standing desk add-ons and stuff like that. It left a very positive impression on me.

The same could be said for your tenants. If I had a couple who was always paying early, didn't harass me with calls/texts about stupid things, and didn't trash my property I would want to keep them! They sound like fantastic tenants! You allowing them to have a dog may make them want to stay in your property for years. Remember, you aren't in the hotel business. Give your tenants an incentive to stay, and you may be rewarded by decreased turnover and less hassle.

I would start by being familiar with the eviction process for your state. I'd have paperwork and the timeline ready to go, but tucked away in a drawer.

I'd then sit back and enjoy myself. Not need to worry, if she pays her rent on time. 

I'm wary of tenants with past evictions, but in your situation I wouldn't fret until the need arises.

Move in/Move out checklists are magical.

I am about to house hack my first property with two roommates, and I will be following my local landlord and tenant regulations, along with a bunch of tips and tricks i have learned from BP and reading books. 

To me, I am fixing all discrepancies with my home before I rent to anyone. This is my personal preference, but the quality of your rental is going to dictate the quality of your tenants. I'd rather invest a bit up front, get my hands dirty, and have a nicer place than the places around me. This method avoids headaches down the line.

In summation, understand your local laws very well (cannot stress this enough). If the roommates are liable, use their deposit to get your place cleaned/fixed up well.

New tenants are almost always going to damage your place in some way shape or form. I would not defer maintenance until the future. Take care of it now.

I have removed the popcorn ceiling in my home and it was a pain. It was worth it because it was my own home and I am not a fan of popcorn on the ceiling. I personally would not take the time to remove it (IMO it looks worse to just remove it and paint the flat ceiling as imperfections in the drywall mudding show too obviously. I skip trowel my ceilings, which is a massive pain, but covers up the imperfections) unless I was receiving lots of feedback that it is so terrible that the unit will not rent unless it is removed.

Better places to spend my time, effort, and money in the landlording business.

Phew,

Lots and lots of very good information in this thread. I have a plethora of automatic responses now.

I wouldn't demand the single payment system from my tenants. I personally don't like online system after online system having my account/credit/debit card info. Perhaps your tenant feels the same.

I would much rather have a tenant pay me with cash/cashiers check and go home content that they paid rent on time, rather than demand that they pay me via a certain medium and they go home (to my house by the way) upset, complaining that the landlord is mean and pushy over something that may appear to the tenant as very simple. This could create animosity towards me, resulting in negative repercussions to my property. Not worth it to me.