All Forum Posts by: Ralph Poirier

I agree with Frank that you should check out the competition.  I would also ask what type of renter are you looking for Long term or short term?  Is the house located in a C neighborhood or a B.  Conceptually the nicer the apartment the higher the rent but will the area handle the higher rent.  I'd love to see how those Ikea cabinets hold up.  I've looked at those in the past.  They look great and seem to be well made.  Good luck!

So my units are 3/4 bedrooms.  I've been very lucky so far with no damage.  I'm probably making $1K month extra by renting by the room versus renting the house to working individuals.  I have a house cleaner that cleans the common areas every two weeks.  While she's in the house she sends me pictures of anything suspicious.  

Obviously you need to make sure that kids are renting in that area.  I rent in Columbia SC (Go Cocks!) they tend to rent south of the university.  Second and as important Parent Guarantee!  I try to build a good relationship with my renters.  Make sure that they understand it's my house and if they take care of it I will take care of them.  I rent to a group so if one of them graduates/doesn't return the next year they need to fill the room or none of them get renewed.  I use only one year leases and I lease to each student so it doesn't create friction with the roommates if someone is late (same with the utilities).  Good luck!

Your making an assumption that the securities in your 401k will earn less than 6%. Is that true?  I’d also check your plan to see what they will allow for regarding the frequency of loans allowed. These vary by plan. 

Who knows why they are doing it. Maybe there previous landlord charged them for excessive damage. If you think the renter is a good guy document the issues in the lease and move on. 

Math doesn’t lie!  No matter what someone tells you 2+2 will always equal 4. Don’t fall in love with a property until you ink a deal. Drop the price so the numbers work. Explain why you dropped the price. If they accept your off to the races. If they don’t your off to the next deal. 

I agree with everyone above you should replace now. There is a saying you can pay me now or pay me a lot more later. I’d also pay close attention to that chimney. It looks rough as well. Inspector should look at that. If they don’t make sure someone looks at it. Good luck!

Use Venmo or PayPal. No cost easy to use well known systems. 

Leave it to California to screw up a perfectly good system!

I currently am doing the same thing.  My lease is pretty standard.  However, I verify the student is actually enrolled and I get a parent guarantee.  I get one months rent for a security deposit and I get the first months rent before they move in.  Also, I rent to a group so the students all know each other but they all sign a lease.  I make them aware that it's an all or none deal.  If someone decides to not renew the lease it us up to them to fill the room or none of them get renewed.  I start the renewal process in February.  Lastly they sign one year leases Aug-Jul.  Good luck!