All Forum Posts by: Anna M.

Thank you all for the input.To be honest, I was a little unsure of how to respond to said listing agent’s reaction and that is why I pointed out that, yes, I do appreciate the concern if in fact that was the case, however, that being said, none of us would appreciate being ruled out of an offer simply based on our gender.It is really wrong to make an assumption that someone is not qualified to buy from you, just based on gender alone.It is for this reason that the Fair Housing Act came into place and what saddens me is that the only way he agreed to a showing was after my buyer’s agent pointed out my military background.I served in the United States Army and it is sad that, my agent needed to bring this up to try to win me a showing.My agent tried to convince this listing agent that if I can handle being in the military and seeing what I saw, living in the “supposed” bad neighborhood was the least of my worries, and it is.I know what I can handle and it just saddens me when people presume just based on my gender that I need something “softer, more secure” or else, I will fail.In the military, my MOS was 62 Bravo, heavy equipment mechanic.I am by no means fragile and incapable of taking care of myself and it is truly sad when a listing agent feels the need to bring up my gender as a pre-qualification for showing a property! Wayne Brooks, I do appreciate your comment, but in all honesty, I am not over reacting and I doubt you would feel you were overreacting if you were in my shoes for a minute.Too many times we see stereotypes that rule highly qualified people out of things, and it is comments such as, “you are probably overreacting” that saddens me as it forces those being discriminated against to withdraw and feel that they have no voice.Thank you Jon Holdman, Linda Weygant and Mike Reynolds too for your input. I am encouraged by your positive words and while I know that I may do little to change the minds of those that seemingly have the power in this market, it is important to know too, that there are those out there that like me, view this act as being outright wrong, regardless of the intentions.I would think a real estate professional which is what the listing agent is, of all people would be more aware of the Fair Housing Act, but I guess I am wrong.

“The Fair Housing Act is a federal act in the United States intended to protect the buyer or renter of a dwelling from seller o...r landlord discrimination. Its primary prohibition makes it unlawful to refuse to sell, rent to, or negotiate with any person because of that person's inclusion in a protected class. The goal is a unitary housing market in which a person's background (as opposed to financial resources) does not arbitrarily restrict access.”
It’s sad that one would immediately try to rule out a woman from purchasing a property simply because she is a women. Makes me wonder what is going on in the mind of such a person! I was interested in viewing a property and the shocking feedback from my buyer’s agent was that the listing agent (who also happens to be the seller) immediately expressed concern when he learned that I was female. “this might not be the right property for a woman..." Why would someone even think, that and worse say it out aloud? I appreciate the concern, if infact that was the case, but how about letting, me “the woman” decide if the property is right for me? I hate stereotypes that peg women as some soft, fragile creature that needs to be protected from this big, bad and horrible world. We are not little children that need to be hand held through life and told what is right or not right for us. We are adults just as our fellow male counterparts. It is bad enough that we live in a very competitive real estate market. To then immediately disqualify a motivated female buyer, as “an unqualified buyer” based on her gender is not only discrimination, it is just outright chauvinistic, wrong and goes against everything that the Fair Housing Act stands for. Shame on this listing agent who shall remain unnamed, for taking such an immature approach to real estate, I guess he still lives in the dark ages! It is sad because in looking at the listing, I came to learn that said listing agent is affiliated with a very reputable company here in Colorado yet it is sad to know that he operates in such a manner.
More often, the fair Housing act comes into play protecting renters from landlord discrimination, but I guess I am living proof that even as a buyer in this crazy market, one should not be shocked when exposed to discrimination from seller. Sad, but I guess we live in a brutal market. Ladies, buckle up, because we are going to have to really prove ourselves by the look of things! Wonder what he would have said if he knew I was not only a woman, but a black woman and a naturalized citizen at that! Sad, just sad!

Am afraid your lease was not descriptive enough and may have a tough time in court.Take this as a lessons learned and start working on improving your lease from the things you are seeing with current tenants and then wait it out if you can, which you seem to indicate you can do.Even with a very tight lease, I paid close to $3000 in evictions not to mention the heartache from tenants that I inherited on my first duplex purchase where I lived on one side and rented the other.I will never again inherit tenants.These ones moved in an extra person a year and a half in, despite lease saying not to, smoked marijuana and cigarettes in house despite lease saying not to and worse, I lived on property so they became very sneaky about how they broke their lease and these was just a nightmare.I hate evictions, but I equally hate bad tenants and tenants that I have not personally screened and that is why I refuse to take on tenants at property purchase.I also always, always do unit inspections.I just did one yesterday and glad I did, which I had initially decided I would not do, but nope, get in there and see how your property is being maintained.My fairly new tenant seems to have an issue with basic housekeeping.There was a smell in the unit, which I still cannot figure out what it is, but brought it to their attention and will be following up, he has a car that leaks oil endlessly on my newly resurfaced concrete driveway and garage flow, has a ring in toilet bowl that is also stained and smelling toilet from lack of cleaning.It pains me to see a unit that I took great care of when I lived in it to see what it is quickly turning into but I am nipping that in the butt right now.Dirty tenants can be a liability to any landlord, but overall tenants will try to test you and see just how vigilant you are and how much they can get away with.I also make notes on what I want to update on my next lease when I run into issues.Pets?I do have a pet addendum in all my leases, it is initialed even if blank by all tenants whether or not you have pets, to show that you are aware of my pet policy.You learn as you go good luck.

Does anyone know a reliable lawn mowing company/guy or gal that they can recommend?Basic Mowing service/edge trimming (with disposal of all debris) is needed for a property located in Lakewood.Mowing would be forfront and backyard (approximately 3000 sq ft), on a weekly basis.Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.Thank you

Does anyone know a reliable lawn mowing company/guy or gal that they can recommend?Basic Mowing service/edge trimming (with disposal of all debris) is needed for a property located in Lakewood.Mowing would be forfront and backyard (approximately 3000 sq ft), on a weekly basis.Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.Thank you

Am sorry I am going to have to miss this.Weekends generally work better for me as my schedule during the week is slightly hectic.Hope to meet up some time when schedule allows or at a weekend meetup.Thanks

Yes I will thank you Ramar.  I am trying to get my homework done before end of May, ideally May 15th so that if for whatever reason the numbers don't work out right and there is a rent raise then they have 2 weeks (May 15th to end of May) to give it some thought before giving me their 30 day written notice of intent.  Thanks :)

I really do not want to raise the rent, but am I being smart about this or just being a naïve newbie landlord?

I am a newbie at real estate, landlording and property management (going to be 1 year on May 4th 2016).  I have a multi-unit property in Lakewood Colorado.The lease on one of the units is due to expire in July 2016 and I have notified the tenants that they would need to notify me in writing of their intent to vacate at least 30 days before the lease expires.In the meantime I am working on doing my homework to figure out current market rents for a 2-bedroom basement Unit in Lakewood, Colorado.Unit has a 2 car parking and also comes with good-size garden space, washer and dryer.Current rent is $950 and I am thinking of keeping it at $950 as they have been great tenants that always pay on time, they have pets and pay a non-refundable annual pet fee of $450.Other than some damage to door and stair railing from dog chewing on both “suspected” (not confirmed) separation anxiety, they have kept the unit pretty clean.I like to reward good tenants and feel that I really would rather keep them than go out and get new tenants that may prove to be a nightmare.Do you think that keeping the rent at $950, requesting the annual non-refundable $450 is fair/reasonable?I am still in the process of researching current market rents, but thought I would reach out to BP for comment.Thank you.

@Rochelle Wilkinson, you truly do inspire me.As a newbie, I love to read stories such as these.It can be a scary thing going into this as a newbie just hoping to get decent tenants.For the most part I do have decent tenants, but those in one unit occasionally try to push my buttons, which I have done well to stand firm, but I cannot tell you how many times I almost feel like throwing in the towel because of these 2.I purchased the property and took over their lease, so they have been on property for a lot longer than I have owned it and try to push their weight around, not to mention I am a young investor so I think that sometimes makes them think they can push me around.Hanging in there though and thanks to people like you and all other BP members I can go about this not feeling so alone or like a fish out of water.

Mistakes Landlords make (This may have already been mentioned, but these 2 I would say have been top on my list as I have not had issues with the screening or tenants paying):

Skipping the routine inspections.I currently undertake 4 inspections during the lease term (move-in inspection; 2 in the course of the lease term and a move-out inspection).Some may deem this over-kill but for me, it ensures that I catch and address any issues sooner rather than later.

Treating tenants like your buddies.You must be able to separate business from personal and know when to draw the line else tenants will walk all over you.

While some may go for the idea, I would not touch it with a 10-foot pole for reasons already mentioned above, mainly potential damages to the home.I also would not like the potential drug activity that could arise from this.To each his/her own.My current lease agreements offer garden spaces to tenants, but prohibit any growth of Marijuana.