All Forum Posts by: Wesley W.

I would look at a variety of sources (I market on CL, FB, Zillow, Apts.com) and compare the existing inventory to yours and compare amenities, such as off-street parking, W/D hookups, square footage, neighborhood, updates, etc.  Be honest with yourself about how yours compares to these.  You will see a continuum of quality/desirability which will coincide with prices.  See where yours falls in that continuum, and you've got a rough idea on price.

You can also use rentometer.com for a gauge as well.  The more data sources you look at, the more confident you'll be in your pricing.

Absolutely vet the co-signer as you would any other applicant.  Many suggest to have a higher debt-income threshold for them (5x or higher), since they will essentially be financially responsible for two households.

Also have them sign a "performance guarantee" and make a deposit.  Here's a document that developed after the one in Brandon's Turner's book.  As always, run it by your attorney if you have concerns.

THIS LEASE GUARANTY IS HEREBY MADE BETWEEN _______________________ (“Landlord”) AND ___________________ (“Tenant”) AND _____________________

(“Guarantor”)

Tenant has leased from Landlord the rental unit located at _____________________________________

__________________________ (“Premises”). Tenants intend to sign a Lease Agreement specifying the terms and conditions of this rental on ___________________________________. Landlord intends to execute Lease Agreement after the signing this Lease Guaranty Agreement by all parties.

Guarantor guarantees to Landlord the full performance of the Lease Agreement by the Tenant. Guarantor agrees to be jointly and severally liable with Tenant for Tenant’s obligations arising out of the above referenced Lease Agreement, including but not limited to unpaid rent, property damage and cleaning and repair costs that exceed Tenant’s security deposit. Guarantor further agrees to waive all notices about any default by Tenant, including nonpayment of rent. (For example, if Tenant fails to pay rent on time or damages the Premises, Landlord has no duty to warn or notify Guarantor, and may demand that Guarantor pay for these obligations immediately.) All matters concerning this tenancy will be addressed through the Tenant, not the Guarantor.

This Guaranty shall remain in full force and effect and will not be changed by any extensions or renewals of the Lease Agreement. Guarantor shall remain liable under the terms of this Agreement for the performance of the Tenant, unless Landlord relieves Guarantor by express written termination of this Agreement.

Landlord and Guarantor agree to waive trial by jury in any action or proceeding brought against each other on any matter arising out of the Lease Agreement or this Guaranty Agreement.

If Landlord and Guarantor are involved in any legal proceedings arising out of this Agreement, the prevailing party shall recover reasonable attorney fees, court costs and any costs reasonably necessary to collect a judgment.

Guarantor agrees to pay a performance guarantee deposit in the amount of $___________ (refundable after Tenant legally vacates the unit and after all obligations under the Lease and this guaranty have been met).

ALL OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE ABOVE REFERENCED LEASE AGREEMENT SHALL REMAIN THE SAME.

I know cash is tight when you first get started but I would suggested fostering a relationship with a local landlord/tenant attorney in your area.  They will know the local laws and should be able to provide documents that comply with statutes. Believe me, this will be money well spent when you look back during your landlording career. You are also establishing a professional relationship so when the S--t hits the fan, you have someone you can call to handle it.  They will also be enforcing a contract that they provided to you.  That's a win-win!

Agree with @JD Martin.  Here we have to properly evict, and store for 30 days.  My lease states they must pay for storage fees to get their stuff back.

In your situation, I would move to evict.  If she left the utilities on and her possessions were still present inside, you'd have a hard time making the case to a judge that she absconded.

One "short cut" you could try is reaching out to her and explaining your situation with her still in legal possession of the unit and not paying rent to ask her to send you a "return of possession" notice (search it up online) to stop the accruing charges to her.  You may even proactively negotiate to waive some of what's currently due if she does this within 3 days, or whatever.

What I've suggested is essentially a "cash for keys" scenario, which I'm philosophically against - but it is a solution you could try.

It's tough if your market is not a retirement destination area or one that has a dearth of locum medical staff.  One thing you can try is significantly reducing the rate for the off season.  I own a vacation rental in central FL in a large retirement community and in the summer I advertise it for hundreds less than my carrying costs.  I'm thrilled if I get anyone because it mitigates the loss in the low season.  Many of my summer bookings are folks that have sold their home but are waiting to close on their new one, or are in the area to take care of a relative.

Yeah, for $1M it would be just a few hundred here and I'm in one of the most expensive states in the U.S.  

Objectively, there are a lot of people trying to circumvent property owners' pet policies or breed restrictions with what has been affectionately called, the "ESA loophole".  No doubt it can be tough to vet ESA legitimacy.  One service you may look into is petscreening.com.

That being said however, if after meeting a prospect, you did not get a good vibe and do not think they would be someone you'd like to rent to, you can pass on their application and entertain other prospects.  You did not mention your market, but if you are not in a jurisdiction that requires you to take the "first qualified", then you have discretion with selecting a tenant - just so long as you are not rejecting them because of a discriminatory reason, such as having "service dogs". 

Here's an excerpt from my application:

This application is for qualification purposes only. Applicant understands that landlord may accept multiple applications for this rental unit and retains sole discretion to select the most qualified applicant. APPLICANT REPRESENTS THAT THE INFORMATION SET FORTH ON THIS APPLICATION IS TRUE AND COMPLETE. Material misrepresentations or omissions on the Application will constitute a default under the Lease or Rental Agreement between the parties, and applicant will be responsible for the cost of any background checks performed. This application may not be considered eligible for evaluation if it contains blank spaces or incomplete information.

Absolutely hire an attorney for this.  NY's laws are deliberately complex in order to trip up the DIY landlords and extend the stay of deadbeat tenants.  Pay some money now for the attorney and get it done right the first time, or lose more rent and pay them later after the judge throws out your case on procedure.  (This is one of their "solutions" for the housing crisis here.)  In NY, each tenant gets a pro bono attorney in landlord court.  By representing yourself, you would be going up against someone who is trained in this area.  Don't make a pennywise, pound foolish mistake.  Get counsel, and do not waste time trying to work it out with the tenant (which it sounds like you aren't, so good on you).

Yikes.  8-10 texts and 1-2 phone calls a month from this one tenant is an improvement?  I would have parted ways with this one months ago.  Imagine if all of your tenants were like this?  Someone like that takes an inordinate amount of time to manage, and you get the same return as with your other tenants.  You also can't scale as easily if you self manage and indulge someone like this.  Life is too short!