All Forum Posts by: Nancy P.

In pre Internet days,  when a buyer told their agent what they were looking for and the agent decided what houses to show the buyer,  sure.  In the Information Age where most buyers look online for a (sometime quite long) time before even looking for an agent,  no.  The BUYERS are deciding what to look at.  A decent buyer's agent isn't going to refuse to show properties that don't pay "enough".

I knew someone in Houston who did it...the house was $1.  They still paid $10K to move it out to the country about 30 miles,  and this was 20 years ago.  Plus prepare their country lot, etc with utilities and a foundation for the house.  Was another 20K.  Also about 1000 s.f.   They owned the land for a long time,  I don't know what it cost them or if they inherited or what.  I guess a lot depends on the value of the lot the house is on relative to the total price of the house.  What did the hospital give them for the lot?

 Exactly.  The HVAC will last longer if you change the filters regularly,  and tenants just don't do it even if you give them the filters.

Two of our properties are near a RR track,  but there is a fence blocking the RR track from view.  However,  those filters are always twice as filthy at least as my other properties.  Apparently there is more pollution from trains than I realized.

In every state I've lived in,  you have to honor the existing lease.  So I think your "send the rent to me now"  idea is right.  As is slowly increasing rents and renovating and getting market rent for vacated units.  Not sure what the point of the credit check is if you have to honor the existing lease.  And then,  if they're paying on time...why do you need it?  JMO.

I assume you take over security deposits as well?  I think you absolutely have to walk through every property.  I would think you could only charge them for damages done since your became the owner,  or rely on (hopefully well kept)  records from the previous owner.  You need to know the condition of the properties.

Just wanted to add,  on top of being the decent thing to do....two weeks in Florida humidity is not good for your property,  either.

Once had a tenant in Houston (we rented our small house when we moved to a larger one so we could see how we liked being landlords).  He moved out early,  refused to obey the lease which said the a/c  wouldn't get above 82--he left without telling us,  turned off the A/C,  we were out of town. We checked it out as soon as we came home.  He had left a "**** you"  message.  (Alcoholic who was getting a divorce,  said we were being unreasonable by making him give 30 days notice to vacate. )  He had left a wet towel hanging on a rack.  In NINE DAYS in Houston August weather the towel had grown mold and was  literally connected to the wall,  and had spread  about three feet in every direction.  That dumbass tenant lost his entire deposit between that and not reporting a leak which ruined some carpet.  

I believe Florida is as humid as Houston.  Protect your assets.

This is good advice even if you live next door.  Through painful experience I have learned that the ones who want to see it and move in RIGHT AWAY should be avoided.  With an open house no one can claim that they saw it first..hard to argue that with a two hour window.  Plus my units almost always have several folks interested,  seeing others at the open house has a mystical effect of making them want it more...

1-8 miles.  Before we moved to Germany for a job assignment...but I'm not counting that.  My stuff and my grown kids are still 1-8 miles from our properties.

I wonder if there is a gender line here. I intended to major in social work almost 40 years ago, was set straight about my idealism as a freshman, ended up with an MBA and the idea to earn money at whatever and then volunteer at what made fulfilled me. In the end I stayed home with my kids and volunteered at various things. 8 years ago when first kid graduated H.S. we started investing in condos. I DO end up remodeling most of them, and I enjoy finding ways to make the place look great without spending tons of cash (while remembering tenants are hard on properties as well.) I DO enjoy dealing with tenants, and while not a pushover my husband and I both feel that sometimes you take less rent from someone who struggles otherwise. (In fact, one of our tenants pays $200 below market because they are in their 80's and were our neighbors until the husband started failing and they are like second parents to us.) This is related to our faith which I won't get into here. We don't raise the rent on tenants just because the market says we can. My husband has a high paying W-2 job and we have what we need and want in life. The REI is more about him being able to retire when he wants and a legacy for our kids and other loved ones. So yes, while I still volunteer a lot, I would say I find being a landlord fulfilling. I did have to grow a thicker skin, though, as not all tenants are of good will! I'm happy to have learned that, it serves me well in life outside of REI. I wish you well as you figure it out. Think about if it's maximizing money or something else that matters most.

We get $75 more a month for a condo that has a swimming pool compared to similar units that don't.  So there is that.  But I agree,  a discussion of the costs with your insurance person are in order.  It's not the drunk guy,  it's the innocent toddler drowning which will be very bad if it goes to court.  It is fenced?  I think that's a bare minimum you'd want.

Interesting.  Currently living in Germany and TV's are NOT always provided or expected.  My husband is watching tennis today,  first time in 2018 that things been on without our Netflix being what we were watching.  I still think in the US a TV in at least the living room is expected,  but not cable. 1/4 of the U.S. already has no cable or satellite,  and it grows every year. You need Netflix or something similar and Internet.   It is the cable bill that adds up.  As other wise folks have said,  make sure it says no TV in the ad so you don't get bad reviews over it.  I am thinking of places we have stayed which had a TV and either a remote we could not figure out,  or no channels coming in.  That was worse than no TV,  IMO.