All Forum Posts by: Rachel C.

One thing that can help mitigate potential financial losses to the property due to pet damage is to include a clause in the lease that allows the pm or landlord to change the HVAC filters themselves twice a year and during this time, the landlord or her pm can are also inspected to check all rooms and outdoor areas. If there is a piss smell or damage to the floors and doors, you can catch it early. If pet hair is taking over the unit, that's something to watch for too. If you're not in a state like NY, CA or OR, you can then not renew the lease or evict.  

I have a friend that's a landlord in SoCal. Two small dogs pissed in the same spot so many times in the bathroom, the floor rotted and fell into the lower tenant's bathroom. This was in the Class A neighborhood of Los Feliz, CA. You do the math on how that effected his investment. He has a strict no-pet policy now.

And I mean, let's be honest here, if a pet pisses and craps in a similar place enough times, there is no getting that smell out without removing the floor and effected walls and even then it can permeate all porous surfaces throughout the unit. It really doesn't take long to cause that kind of damage. 

For my one SFH rental in SoCal right now, I did not allow pets at all. But given the data posted above, I realize it's something I may need to consider when I have MFHs and want to keep a large pool of potential renters to choose from.

It's good to hear that so many property owners have not found allowing pets to be a serious drawback when taking appropriate precautions.

I have a SFH rehab project in SoCal which I had originally intended to hold. As I've learned more about tenant protections and vacancy control, I've decided to just flip it and purchase rental properties elsewhere. I'm considering Washington since I live close by in Oregon.

Oregon is even worst for Landlords and I would never invest here. In Oregon, No Cause Evictions are essentially not possible anymore. 

Oregon renter laws have changed significantly in the last 2 years. New laws now prohibit landlords from rejecting applicants who were sentenced for murder, arson, and kidnapping more than 7 years ago! Misdemeanors older than 3 years must be disregarded. Landlords cannot reject a tenant for a credit score lower than 500, which is considered a poor score. The list of new regulations is over whelming.

The new laws also make it very very difficult for landlords to time their property sale. So for instance, were it not for the pandemic, in California, once your tenant's lease is up, you could put your house on the market or at least get it ready to sell. In Portland, landlords cannot do this easily. We would have to either wait for the tenant to say "No thank you, we do not want to renew the lease" or we would have to pay the tenant $4500 to end the lease! (The actual cost depends on number of bedrooms). 

So California and Oregon will probably have less and less affordable rental housing as these poorly executed attempts to protect renters just exacerbate the problem. I think NY is similar!

It makes me wonder which states are best for landlords but there is so much to research!

Hello Ladies!

I have a SFH in SoCal and am looking for a CPA and possibly a contractor for a flip. But happy to be in touch for other opportunities!

My favorite city to live in is by far Portland, OR. But sometimes I think about moving somewhere like Belize or Roatán.

I've lived in:

1. West Covina, CA
2. Hollywood, CA
3. Miracle Mile, CA
4. Menlo Park, CA
5. Pasadena, CA
6. New York, NY (LES)
7. London, England (Kensington)
8. Montreal, QC
9. Portland, OR

@Josh Feldman - Awesome insight here! Thank you for your post. 

I'm going to be rehabbing a house in SoCal. Initially, I had planned to visit the site frequently to keep an eye on the renovations. But due to the pandemic, I am weighing the pros and cons of trying to manage the rehab from out of state. Being that this will be my first flip and don't have a team there I've worked with before, do you think it would be unwise to rely on frequent video conferencing and photo updates to make sure the work was being done as outlined in the contract?