All Forum Posts by: Royce Talbo

For your bottom tenants they should not be able to hear the foot stomping or door slamming if the unit was properly soundproofed or at least not enough for it to bother them.  This will be your opportunity to do it right when they move out.  As for your upstairs tenants definitely do not renew.  I would put them on a month to month and let them know why.  I look to the good in people and hope things will change.  The other reason to do this is if you are tight on funds.  If you have the reserves which you should have built into your business plan and you are in this for the business of making money, then let them go because it all comes down to whats best for the property to make you money.

@Matt R.

 This isn't anything new, its been going on for a while now.  As a landlord can't you just put in your lease agreement that the tenant can't sublease it.  When they are letting someone else stay there and they collect money, it is a form of subleasing.  If they do, then it would be a breach of contract and you could keep their security deposit.  Someone correct me if I am wrong here as I am not a lawyer or had to deal with this. 

On the other hand isnt this good for those who dont sublease as the guys who are doing vacation rentals make more money than regular rentals.  For the guys who do have regular long term rentals, this cuts down supply, increases demand and raises the rents thus makes us more money :).

@Jeff T.

 Hahah I know right.  Well in good climates Jalousies are the best as they let in the most air,  but now with global warming its hard to find a place that doesn't need ac.  The good thing is that you still have couple months till summer and if this cold is sticking around maybe you have even more time to save up for those windows.  One thing people over here are doing is silicone sealing their roofs.  I have heard from many people that it keeps the house a lot cooler, so if you need a new roof in the next five years maybe this is an option to kill 2 birds with one stone.  This one plumber I talked to said he doesnt even use his ac anymore, but who knows how much he used it in the first place.  Just another option to add to your plate.

@Caleb Amundson

I have never investing out of state because I dont know the areas/markets and I dont think I would have time to get to know the areas.  West coast is almost as expensive as Hawaii and East coast is too far to fly to get to know the area.  To get to the east coast it would take half a day-full day of traveling to get there plus a nice chunk of change.  I could always use miles, but I rather save that for trips to asia.  The stories I see on here that cashflow well seem like places where there is no appreciation and lots of problem tenants or turnovers.  In Hawaii our family has only had 1 eviction in my whole life.  For those reasons and because I feel the risk is too great right now for me to take a chance out of state I stick close to home.  Like I said before if your income isnt high enough to get you enough properties to cashflow every year you need to find alternative routes.  I know my investments will take care of me in retirement, but I want to retire earlier, so I am switching gears and learning creative financing and flipping.

@Peter Sanchez

 Hahahah I thought this was going to be a dewalt vs bosch vs etc thread.  Yes I would have to agree youtube is the best tool to have.  I am not a contractor or handy man, but I know how to build and fix things.  I often explain to my sister how to fix something and then tell her to "youtube it" to see what I am talking about.  

@Caleb Amundson

 I love your plan!  I previously traveled the world for 1 year and I really really miss that.  I have almost the same plan as you to retire in 10 years.  What I learned from traveling is that I don't need much to survive and when I came home my expenses went down.  When ever I look at something nice that I want to buy I always ask myself do I need this or is it just a want that will create clutter in a couple years.  Most of the time I dont buy it.  

First you need to figure out how much money you will need to survive while traveling. I did a year on $15k and little miles. If I knew then what I know now I would have cut that down a bunch. It all depends on your level of comfort while traveling. If you are looking to cashflow as much as you make now then that is more than enough to travel for the rest of your life if you plan on staying in cheaper areas. After you have your number in mind does your expenses allow you to save up enough money every year to buy a place that will cashflow enough to meet your goal. If it does then you can go after buy and holds. If not then you have to go another route and build your capital first by flipping, wholesaling or other means. Then you can buy up a bunch of SFR or multi's.

@Jeff T.

 if your market recognizes new windows over jalousie windows then I would do it because at $5000 is not much to lose potential buyers over.  That is if you plan on selling it later.  If you plan on keeping it forever then it would take roughly 7 years to recoup the cost.  The only reason I would not do it is if I was took strapped for cash at the moment and had my Heloc maxing out or the market didnt recognize it and you were planning on selling before the break even point.  

@Jon Adams 

 not sure if you are over priced for your area, but here are a few tips.  When you take pictures try to make the area light and bright and get as much area of the room in on the picture as possible, this makes things look bigger and more attractive. Think of it this way if you were a potential tenant would you go to the house that has pictures of dark small looking rooms or one that is bright and looks spacious?  

Another thing is to just leave it as 3bd.  People who are looking for a 2bd like newly wed with a baby knows that they can just convert a 3rd bd to an office if need be.  You do not have to spell it out for them.  

Maybe in your listing clean it up a little break it up into bullet points making it easier to skim through noone wants to read one big paragraph.  Also add in features about the location such as quiet neighborhood, walking distance to shopping center, bus lines nearby etc.

Just an FYI you shouldnt put no no sec 8.  That is discrimination and illegal, though almost everyone on craigslist does it.  I just tell them that I have minimum standards over the phone and they did not qualify if everything is good with them besides sec 8 then I give them a chance to see the place and usually end up picking someone else.  This way they can not say you discriminated against them.  I doubt anyone would go to that extent, but better safe than sorry.  When you list your property think before you put anything in that you think someone might feel discriminated against.  On another note I didnt like taking pets, but now I personally like having pets in my rental, as they can pay higher rents and not many places take pets so the tenants are happy to be accepted and will try to take care of the place because they know the market for places allowing pets is a lot harder. Good luck 

@Karen Johnson 

 I think what you are doing is a good medium, like @Roy N. they are supposed to give you 30 days notice prior.  If it were me I would be fine with them leaving at the end of the month and giving me notice today.  This still lets me have enough time to get new tenants in before I have any vacancy.  It is not ok for them to tell you today and ask for a prorate if they move out on the 15th because that doesnt give you enough time to find a tenant and you end up with a vacancy and losing money.  So you are not punishing them, you are meeting them halfway.  Punishing them would be holding them to the contract and requiring them to pay for part of March (which you could then prorate for March 12).  

@Richard Villandry 

 Since you are just starting out and have no experience, I would recommend getting a PM.  If you are investing in your city then you can always let them go later when you get a feel of how things work.  If everything goes well and all they are doing is collecting a check for you, then you can do that yourself, but be sure you are comfortable screening future tenants.  If they keep calling you to update you on the status of your property for repairs and other crap then I would probably keep them to reduce the headaches you will get.  If you are investing out of state I would keep them for as long as you have the property.  In other words if you are investing close by in a A class neighborhood and house then you can let them go after you get a feel of being a landlord.  If you are investing in a C class or below neighborhood and house or out of state keep the PM.