All Forum Posts by: Sylvia B.

No, I would not want to live in my rentals. Some are smaller than I want, none have big enough yards, and all of them are in town. I live on 80 acres 5 miles out of town and like it that way. It has nothing to do with the quality or upkeep of the house.

We provide quality rentals and look for quality renters. "It's just a rental" is not something we'd ever say. However, "It's not my preference, but some people like it" is.

Mine call if service is needed ASAP, such as a burst pipe or AC out in mid summer with temps approaching 100, or if it is complicated. If not time sensitive they text or email. I have good tenants who do not abuse the phone. Earliest call I've had is 8 am (burst pipe) and latest was 9:30 pm after tenant suicide. Both apologized for calling early/late. (!)

We require our tenants to have renter's insurance. If they do not already have a policy, (which many do) we pay for a minimal policy for them. They must apply, but we pay the bill. It has $5000 coverage for their belongings plus $100,000 liability. It costs us $40-75 per year. They are welcome to buy their own policy at any level of coverage they want, of course.

Yes. One reason is to prevent rate increases due to claims.

Suppose the tenant has a grease fire in the kitchen. The primary claim is against their policy, not yours, so the claim won't make your rates go up. Now if the fire is due to faulty wiring, that would be on you.

 And that tells you pretty much all you need to know about being a landlord in CA.....

 Yes, it's clickbait, a detestable practice. My time is valuable. Wasting it with dishonest advertising is not genius.

 I would vote for this post 10 times if I could. That type of manipulation frustrates and angers me as a potential guest.

 This is called structuring and will get you in more trouble than just depositing the whole thing.

 Vent through the roof or make a bend in the attic and vent through the wall.

My general impression from your post is that you need to slow down and figure out what you're doing. You seem to be acting before thinking everything through.

You put the house on the market, got several offers, and NOW you're wondering if you should keep it as an STR? People tell you that you can make more money keeping it, so you jump on that and say that's what you'll do. THEN you mention scorpions and your fear that they will cause you problems with guests?

Stop. 

Think things through. Write a list of pros and cons for selling and keeping. Evaluate your options, and determine which best fits your financial and personal pleasure goals and desires. Once you have done all that, THEN act on your decision.