All Forum Posts by: Morgan Porter

@Steven Warner thanks Steve. I’ll just stay out of it

@Theresa Harris My lease does not require anyone be present for move out. I was just pointing out that the responsible ones were there upholding their end of the deal. I’m not sure you can legally require their presence to return the deposits.

I have a single family house that I rent to students. It’s always one group lease. I never rent by the room. I just had 5 girls in the house for 1 year and the lease was up. I was contacted by 2 of the 5 claiming the other 3 took off and left the house a mess. I told them I don’t get involved in that, they need to talk to their “friends” and that I’d see them at the move out inspection.

I sent a text message to all 5 that everyone is expected to clean the house and to refer to the move in/out guidelines. They all received the guidelines when they moved in and I sent them again a month before the move-out date. They know what is required.

I arrived at the move out inspection expecting a mess but the 2 girls were there to meet me with a clean house. A few minor things needed to be addressed but otherwise there will not be many deductions from the deposit.

They even split the deposit so I should return the refund evenly but I feel bad that 2 of the 5 cleaned the house in detail for 2 solid days. I have photos from the 2 clean roommates of how nasty things were when they started cleaning.

I have one message from one of the 3 “dirty” roommates but the other 2 never replied. They didn’t bother to show up for the move out inspection and didn’t even bother to turn in their keys.

I know I should stay out of it and distribute their refund evenly but I feel like I have the evidence I need to charge a “cleaning fee” and pay that out to the 2 clean roommates and give the smaller remaining amount to the other 3.

Thoughts?

@Matt R. Collecting rent in bitcoin is different than holding a ton of bitcoin. I’d accept bitcoin if that’s how they want to pay however I’d charge a slightly higher conversion rate and convert it into USD right away, so I’d come out on top. It’s very liquid and easy to exchange with Coinbase or one of the other exchanges. To date, though, I’ve never had a tenant ask to pay with bitcoin.

FYI I am holding a small amount of bitcoin and other alt coins, but not much. Most of what I hold actually came from a short stint of mining years ago. Overall, it’s paid off for me but I wouldn’t recommend anyone buy in at these prices. Most likely the prices will swing down again soon.

@Thomas W. I’m also in Richmond and recently seem to come across more deals than I can fund on my own. I also happen to be in “digital”. Let’s connect.

@Yu Chen I had this happen once and it was an understandable situation. The rental was close to a university and a professor had one more year before she retired and she planned to move out of the state after retirement. But she already sold her house and had a large sum of money as a result. Of course I did my usual screening and everything looked good. Credit was solid and she was, as stated, a professor.

If you have a solid application and screening process, never deviate from that process and you will be fine. Collect the up-front rent and keep it on hand for repairs over the next year.

@John Moorhouse finish up and get your diploma.

@John Moorhouse it’s awesome that you are thinking of this at 16! I hope my kids get an early start like you. (My oldest is just 9 but if he’s asking this question at 16, I’ll be thrilled.)

I would say step 1 is simply to learn. If you’re into podcasts, check out ... the Bigger Pockets podcast! Seriously, I own a few rentals but just started listening and wish I’d started listening a while ago. I also recommend reading Rich Dad Poor Dad. That’s the book that started things off for me. Simply put, read, listen, learn. Learn the numbers and learn about property itself - construction, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, etc etc. You will never learn it all so get started.

Meanwhile, save up some money. It will take some time, but your first real investment will be your first home. You’ll want to “house hack”

It, as they say here at Bigger Pockets. And rent out a room or 2. Or if you can start with a multi-unit, Rent out the other units and let the tenants pay down your loan for you.

The advantage you have as a young, first-time home buyer is huge! You can typically buy with a lower downpayment (just avoid anything that is interest only or a variable rate - lock in that low rate for as long as you can) and of course you have a lot of years to live to pay down the loan.

This is all long term stuff but since you’re thinking this way now, I have a feeling you’ll be financially set at a much younger age than your peers. Good luck!

@Shiloh Lundahl School districts are now and will always be a big variable in overall property values. Don’t overlook it due to your bias. If a majority of buyers care and your property is in a bad district then you automatically loose a majority of potential buyers.

@Rio Peterson I read the whole post but only a few replies. Sounds like the consensus agrees with your gut.... run away from this guy as fast as you can.