All Forum Posts by: Nancy P.

I agree it's mostly BS.  Accepted a tenant today with a score of 666.  She had like 3 late student loan payments in 2018,  otherwise perfect.  Basically her youth and lack of many cards works against her.  We struggle to be above 740 ourselves and our payment record is 100%,  but we buy a property or two each year and so credit score is being pulled more than they like to see.  And we stupidly closed several cards 15 years ago,  making our "length of time" issue worse.  OTOH,  my 28 year old had one 3-year term school loan he paid off early, and one credit card he pays off each month.  His credit score is above 800,  usually above 820,  and he makes literally 12% of what my husband does.  I look for income matching expenses reasonably.  If you make $30K a year and drive a $60K car,  I'll look for the next applicant even if so far you've always made your payments on time.  Stuff like that seems to correlate better for us.

58 and 59, began ten years ago buying foreclosures.  Just closed on the 13th  rental property.  We are buy and hold investors,  we have 8 mortgages total,  including our  SF home.  (We had another property, our first,  when a place went condo right when the recession hit,  but eventually it reverted back to apartments as the developer still held most units.)  Our older son and husband hold the mortgage on one condo, son lives in it with a roommate,  but we are still the landlords (son wanted us to be the bad guy for any potential roommate issues.)  So that unit sort of doesn't count.   We have 3 halves of duplexes,  9 condos, one townhouse.  Husband will probably take retirement from the oil industry soon, BP (the oil company, not Bigger Pockets) is cutting 15% of the workforce,  mostly senior folks.  We hope to eventually buy the other half of the 3 duplexes, don't have much planned beyond that.  But who knows what is coming.  Might be some real price drops,  might be tenants all move back in with Mom like they did ten years ago.  We're fine either way,  I think 20 units is probably our upper limit as we self manage.  Our system varies drastically from what most on here think is right,  but everybody has different risks tolerances.  Just now we are glad ours is pretty low.

We began ten years ago,  ages 48 and 49.  Just closed on our 13th property (and no we're not superstitious.)  We started with foreclosures in the Great Recession.  I have a feeling similar opportunities might be coming your way soon with the COVID-19 economic effects.  Husband will likely take retirement package soon,  we are probably done buying...but who knows.  We own 3 duplex halves,  one townhome, and nine condos,  and are buy and hold investors.  Including our own home we have 8 mortgages on those 14 properties,  so we feel prepared for possible downturns.

We allow pets,  we are dog lovers ourselves.  (I'm sad to say I'm allergic to cats).  We do find tenants with pets stay longer.    But 9 of our 13 properties are condos and have pet size and count restrictions.  That works out well because the breeds my insurance guy won't cover are all over the 20-30 lb. weight limit they impose. That way we aren't the bad guys.  We ask for proof of spaying/neutering,  shots,  and charge $300 security deposit per pet.  That is refundable.  We don't charge pet rent.   Our leases make clear that if there are noise complaints,  the animal must go if the noise cannot be removed.  Never happened yet.  The only damage was caused by a Section 8 tenant whose little dog would close the door to a room and then destroy the carpet trying to claw his way back out.  Because she was Section 8,  lived there for 5 years, AND because the condo was a crappy federal remodel of a foreclosure (NO padding under the cheap carpet),  we didn't ding her at all for the carpet.  Legally probably couldn't have anyway.  Replaced with LVP.  We will probably start charging $25 per month pet rent soon since everyone else does.

Giving my son's roommate three months but that's a gift to son who doesn't want another roommate.  Said roommate will earn the next two months by working for us.  After that he has to find a job or leave.  Gave another tenant half off of one month until unemployment kicked in.  After July, if they are not employed,  they too will have to leave.  (Extra unemployment runs through July.)  Everyone else (out of 13 total) paying on time.

Put them as  roommates on a" joint and several " lease.  That means EVERYONE on the lease is responsible for EVERY part of the lease being followed.  Which means,  if no smoking is allowed,  and one smokes,  the others are to stop it or tell you.  It also means the full rent must be paid no matter what.  If Joe doesn't pay, Jim and John have to make up the difference and deal with Joe themselves.  Otherwise ALL can be evicted.  I'd also advise everyone pays a non refundable deposit because no one ever admits to being the one who caused the damages.   If it isn't working out,  and Jim and John can find a new roommate to replace Joe,  i will void the original lease and make a new one.  Other than that they are responsible for figuring out their crap themselves.

We're in an upscale market so we almost always redo the kitchen,  but anymore I just paint the cabinets.  Of course you have to see if shelves bow, there's any mold, do drawers work smoothly....I house we lived in had a family of five boys and then a family of six boys and the cabinets were just destroyed from years of slamming.  But in general,  even old bottom-range cabinets of 50 years ago are made of more solid stuff than anything but quite high range cabinets today.

Husband is PhD chemical engineer,  I am an MBA.

I used to agree with Dan, but have changed my mind after a couple awful tenants. Just putting them in my rearview mirror and freeing up my property is worth a lot. And I have never relied on landlord recommendation as I know they can be utter b.s. So I don't feel bad about "passing on" the professional tenant...and I screen much better and haven't had a jackass in 5 years now, I've been a REI for ten.

Have no vacancies and have people asking me if I have any openings.  But we are in Naperville,  IL,  mostly professionals so fewer than average job losses.