All Forum Posts by: Patrick M.

I am a vocal advocate of not giving gifts. I have heard it justified as a retention mechanism, timely rent mechanism, gratitude for upholding the lease mechanism, etc.

I am the best landlord my tenants will ever have. That is my gift to them, and it is no small feat. I respond immediately to problems and address issues in a very timely manner. I do not gouge on rent increases. I fulfill every aspect of my lease terms with a smile and I do not spare a nickel when it comes to repairing and replacing things. 

If a tenant decided to uproot themselves because they did not get a $25 Amazon card then I would have taken it as a blessing. Clearly I made some mistake in the vetting process and I should not have rented to them.

I am very grateful for my units, I am very grateful that my tenants uphold their lease terms and I am very grateful that when politicians told them not to pay rent- they paid it as they should have.

I show my gratitude in being the best landlord there is, not by buying some silly gift card.

Don't be afraid to be a landlord.

Don't be afraid to enforce the terms of a lease.

You have far, far more influence with a tenant knowing you are the owner and the buck stops with you.

It is 2021, a tenant is going to find out you are the owner, and when they do and realize you are frightened of your duties and responsibilities then they may believe they have the upper hand. At best they think you are a coward and they will play you out.

Agree on the appraisal strategy, it is an unfortunate aspect of life.

Disagree on preferring bigoted tenants that may pay more than others.

In order to start a new tenant I need them to sign a lease, a lead waiver and a w-9. I need the lease and the w-9 to open a free custodial account with Chase. I don't much care if they give me a personal check or if they zelle the money to me, it isn't going to stop me from having to sit in front of a banker. I also do this in advance if any planned move in or turnover, so I am not worried about a bounced check.

I agree whole heartedly with @John Underwood.

Sometimes people will start to sound like insurance agents themselves: "well this could happen..." and "that could happen."

If you address repairs, hazards and damages when you become aware of them then the law will afford you a great deal of protection and minimize your exposure.

You will also have grateful tenants who are less likely to be litigants- but that has a lot to do with vetting as well.

@Jim K. agreed.

I was fortunate- the buddy who was schooling me at the time told me to get the cheapest one. I could have wound up with turd pecan.

Lakeshore Pecan

Adhesive backed - Traffick master Khaki Oak or Brushed Oak

This is the lifeproof that we installed in our place oversees. (it was still being worked on- hence the blue film ;)

One or rentals with the Lifeproof

@Joe S. Home Depot... I just did a search- very surprised to see it s still .79 cents a sq.ft.!

I have run the gamut. 1st couple rehabs I used .79 cent per sq.ft Home Depot laminate. Lakeshore pecan, I believe.

Then I did 2 units in the vinyl with adhesive  strips.

Now I use beautiful Lifeproof sterling oak, used in 2 units so far. (I use this in our personal units as well. It just jumped .40 cents a sq.ft.!

The 6 year old lakeshore pecan still gets a lot of compliments and doesn't show any signs of wear- looks like it did day one. But it was a pain in the *** to work with compared with the others.

The adhesive, again, held up fine- but it is to thin for the upstairs units. I wouldn't use again.

I have about $5k of the lifeproof that I am shipping overseas for a project. I bought it before the price hike I figured was coming. That is how much I love the stuff.

When contractors in Europe see it they can't believe it- their best is quite thinner.

But again- lakeshore pecan has paid the best dividends 👍

My properties cash flow very nicely with below market rents (I cannot keep up with the skyrocketing rents that increase every month).

Bubbles are a boogie man that don't concern me.