All Forum Posts by: Nik Corbaxhi

@Maria G., Cozy.co and Tenantcloud are 2 that I know of,  however there are quite a few out there. This topic was recently covered as well. See link below:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/411929-best-tenant-screening-company

@Lucas Rankin, congratulations on your new purchase! I would strongly agree with Ryan here. Don't mention that you are the owner, even when you speak to your tenants in person. Just like you, I do my own property management including everything, but always introduce myself as the property manager. It is easy to just blame the "landlord" in a difficult situation. :) 

As for the formatting of the new lease, absolutely, you can change it to however you want. New management comes usually with new rules and changes.  

@Sayoni Banerjee, there is a judgment call here. I usually return the security deposit, as long as the property was not off the market for a while, which really affects my ability to rent, and I can make a case for loss rent because of the property being off the market. 
To me, 1.5 weeks later is not that long of a time and I personally would have returned the security deposit. I am not saying that you have to, because legally, seems like you have the right to keep it, but I would fear for the same as you.

In your situation, tenant came back saying they will stay. I would not ruin the deal and I would move forward. Just do right by the tenant, be prompt, respond on time for any issues, check on them periodically to see how they are doing and whether they need anything. What I also do, in a special occasion (such as Christmas), I send them a little gift basket or something like that as a token of appreciation. You would be surprised, it is the small things that count! 

Good luck and move forward with no regrets. You can show this tenant that they made a great choice by picking your property. 

Key fact that is not mentioned here is the investment type (flip/short term vs buy and hold). Lets look at both:

1. Flip/short term - there has to be some thought put into the equation if you are planning to own a property for a short period of time. While you cannot predict the future, you can still be informed where the economy is headed and whether there is another turmoil coming our way. 

2. buy and hold/rent - I would agree with most here that I don't bake it in on cash flow. The way I see it is this way, I keep getting the return on my investment (cap rate or Cash on Cash investment) and keep capitalizing on what you put down. If you are ready to sell, wait for the value of the property to be the same or greater than what you bought it to sell. 

@Susan Clark, very important and sensitive topic you bring. I would avoid any mention of a protected class (Stating "open to rent to females" is discrimination because you are specifying you are only open to rent to females).

There is a very good article on PB regarding this as well that touches on this. While it will not answer your question directly, it should provide some context of why people are telling you that you are discriminating, below is the link:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/2013-01-27-tenant-screening

Be sure to check with your State and local laws to ensure compliance to your fair housing standards. A simple Google search for “your state” and “fair housing” should give you the answers you need.

@Russell Brazil, in today's world, having a decent (not great) rental portfolio might not be enough to take that very same leap. While I am all for taking risks in life to pursue your dreams and financial independence, one has to be grounded and take calculated risks to avoid "all or nothing" situations. 

You most likely worked very hard to get to the balance of making 125k a year and having a decent rental portfolio, and that is key for everyone to understand. Becoming a savvy real estate investor does not come overnight or by just waking up one day, quitting your job, and starting something else in the hopes that it will work out. There is a transition point where you have to balance both (with a strong will, determination, DISCIPLINE, and sacrifice),  and only then, you can make such a leap. Super key for anyone wanting to become an independent real estate investor to understand. 

@Steve Shirk, Start the eviction process. Local law where I reside is that even if she is not on the lease, if she has lived there for at least 2 weeks and has family/close relationship with the tenant, you cannot force her out. (never quite understood how logical this law is in this case). Either way, seek legal advice and start the eviction process as it will take a while. There is a very good article on BP about eviction found here: 

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/198716-how-to-evict-a-tenant-the-ultimate-guide

good luck!

your rental equity is not liquid cash form. Meaning you cannot pull money out of that property unless you decide to sell it, hence you need to leverage your properties for a cash out refinance, or HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit) in order to pull cash to support this second property.

Other options - do you have any  other means of income in addition to your 25k? 401k? Savings accounts? another job? Those could count as means of income/assets. 

@Michael Toba, great thinking on this one and I can tell you from experience it works. I do rent to college students and all of the points made above are valid. Here is a few things to consider:

1. Local laws and regulations whether you an rent by room (already mentioned - some cities require that each room have its own lock as now each of the rooms is considered to be its own unit). In addition, where I rent, you can only have 4 non-related occupants live in a single family home. You might want to check on that as well. 

2. Living there yourself - the positive of this is that you are there and can get real time updates on what is needed etc. The negative is that no-one wants to live with the landlord on premises, especially college kids. They tend to have people over, not treat the property with much respect, be negligent,...etc.etc. These things will annoy you and eventually will put you in difficult situations whenever you confront them.

3. Renting by room - I dont know if this is the best option. How about you rent the whole house for a set price and let the students figure out their roommates? This would be a lot easier for you as there is only one contract in place with all of their names, and also less headaches about a bunch of strangers living in the same house (they will eventually fight). You can also make the parents co-sign since most of the students dont have credit or past rental experience (very tough to screen). 

4. Make sure you get security deposit for at least 2 months and put together a very specific, clear, concise rental agreement. There should not be room for negotiation or interpretation. Understand that renting to Students is much more riskier, hence the higher rewards. 

5. when calculating your ROI, make sure you call your insurance first. There are not many carriers that will insure a home with students and the ones that do, you will see a big increase on that premium. make sure that is baked in to your calculations.

6. THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE - put the house in an LLC. This is the very least that you can do. In the event of a lawsuit, you need some type of protection on your personal assets.

Best of luck!

@Scott J., Usually the rate difference from personal FTHB to investment loan is about .5%. as it has been re-iterated here, you can capitalize on the fact that this can count as your first home and lock in that lower rate.

Also, great typical way to start building your investment portfolio is by purchasing a multifamily, live in one unit and rent the other. Very quick way of being able to save and within a short period of time you find yourself having options (invest again, or buy your own personal property) and then fully rent out the multifamily.