All Forum Posts by: Michael K.

Originally posted by GamalR:

...(snip)... and no shortcuts during screening.

You speak the truth; there is nothing better for a landlord to do to stop eviction issues than to SCREEN all potential tenants.

Mike

I'm actually creating a second set of cards without pictures. One of the things stressed in Coldwell Banker Previews (upscale marketing) training is that many wealthier people do NOT like pictures of their Realtors or other service providers on marketing materials.

Lower class and middle class sellers were fine with photographs. But upscale (defined as $500k sales or larger), NO.

That's why official Coldwell Banker Previews marketing materials are NOT supposed to have agent photos on them.

Mike

It depends by state and municipal law.

Here in WI, we actually have to hire movers to take the possessions. Then we have to pay to put them in storage. If the tenant wants their stuff, they pay the bill. If not, the landlord pays the bill.

We can then auction the stuff at public sale after paying for public notice in the paper. The proceeds, less auctioneers fees, go to pay the storage bill. If there's any excess (never happens), we have to send it to the tenant.

Certain things must be given to the tenant free of charge like medical equipment, medicines, etc.

Wisconsin sucks.

Mike

Hello!

Yeah, aside from RING, I've yet to locate any other clubs. RING is nice but some of the pitch-folks they get in there.....

What did you have in mind for a REI club?

Take care,

Mike

I have a state of Wisconsin Real Estate Brokers License. Yet today I found myself in the office of a trusted commercial broker.

Yes, I could do commercial just as he does. However, I DON'T. He's been in the commercial business longer than I've been alive, has connections that would take me DECADES to make, and just knows FAR more about the commercial game.

I'd rather have him earn that commission and guide me past the landmines than try to chop $30k off of the price by snagging half of the commission but have to go it on my own.

A $30k price savings is NOT worth making a $500k+ mistake.

Mike

Clay, the properties' locations will help to answer that question. If they're in a tourist or vacation area, try doing vacation rentals. Are there lakes or hunting areas close? If yes, perhaps you could advertise in periodicals and on websites read by potential clients. Any significant national-level sports teams in the area? If yes, perhaps special "game day" weekend rentals where you're as expensive as a hotel suite but a far better option.

If it's purely an industrial area, either keep your rents competitive and/or keep costs as low as possible to keep the places occupied and generating profits.

Mike

I can't speak for the amount you'll charge, but let me recommend the following.

1. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS have a lease in place! It doesn't matter if someone stays for a day or a decade; both parties NEED to have a document in place specifying their respective rights and responsibilities. Failing to do so WILL lead to problems if something goes wrong down the road.

HOW you get your rent (up front or monthly) is up to you. But have that written and signed lease in place no matter what you decide!

2. ALWAYS get a security deposit. You don't need a full year to damage a place. Three months (hell, merely three DAYS!) is WAY more than enough to cause significant trouble if they're those types!

3. You may want to consider the time of year when their lease ends. Three months from 11/01/09 is 02/01/10. How much harder will it be to get the place rented in February? (Or is winter in your area not as much of a block to finding good tenants than it is here in WI?)

Take care,

Mike

Originally posted by Norm Chrostowski:

ABSOLUTELY UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES will I accept sex offenders. I don't care how long its been or how "non-violent" they say they are. They are scum.

Wait til the neighbors find out you've rented to one of them. Or see how hard your other units are to rent. DO NOT do it. I would rather have it vacant for six months then have THAT in there!!

What if that were your son or daughter they did that to? Would you rent to them still?

Noam, I accepted a guy in his early 30s who, at the age of 21 or 22, knocked up a 17 year old he met at a bar. (Now, given that the age is 21, wouldn't you feel a bit better about someone you meet in a bar being of age?) The fellow is now married with two kids of his own and observed that jail meant less to him than having to keep up after a daughter of his own! He's also been employed since his release (4 or 5 years, I forget) at the same job with promotions and a steady income. An he's been paying child support and is a part of the kid's life.

Non-consentual offenses, no way. That sort of crap doesn't need to be living near any of my tenants and their children.

Consentual offenses? I'm not automatically going to say no. The guy above is a HUGE exception to the rule, as this was a night of drunken stupidity that got him into a WORLD of trouble. But should he be lumped in with the dirty white van driving child molester? I'd say not.

Mike

It's entirely due to the weather and geographic location of the property.

When I lived in Arizona, finding tenants in the winter was easy because no one wanted to move when it was 110+ outside.

Here in Wisconsin, finding tenants in the winter is difficult because no one wants to move when it's freezing and/or snowing outside.

FWIW,

Mike

So long as you're up front about this with each Realtor in your non-exclusive Buyer Agency contracts, no problem.

Not so up front, or "accidentally" ending up in an exclusive contract (Don't laugh; it has happened.)? I really do hope that you have "bigger pockets" to cover multiple commissions!

Mike