All Forum Posts by: Sarah Buchanan

I own and manage several single family rentals. One has a 4/2 upstairs and an ADU (2/1) in the basement, but they are not separately metered and doing so is not an option (also, yard is not divided). Previously we have rented the whole house to one group - it's great for friends, multi generational situations, etc. Our current residents who are AWESOME (rent always on time, take great care of property) now have a situation where the downstairs roommate is moving out but the upstairs group wants to stay (lease is up July 1). They want to know their options for renewing and are concerned about getting an PITA roommate downstairs. I'm trying to decide between renting the basement as a long term rental (and figure out something with the yard and utilities), do a short term rental like Airbnb or Furnished finders and give upstairs a utility credit, or leave it up to the current tenants to sublet it on Airbnb or find another roommate (so I don't get calls about tenant disputes since they will have chosen them). Has anyone had a similar situation? Any advice or things I should be aware of?

I own and manage several SFR and have some interested tenants (roommate situation) who meet my screening criteria (good credit, income 3x rent, great references), but none of them have solid work contracts. One makes good money waitressing (same job past year). One has a new sales job with a great income guarantee for 3 months (then moves to commission) and two are sole commission/sales without contracts (photography and insurance sales). While they exceed income criteria, the lack of history or employment contracts gives me pause. I realize many people work this way so I'd like to develop a method for screening these. I'd love to hear how others handle this! Thank you!

@Nathan Gesner this system is genius! I realize you posted this awhile ago, but would you be willing to share more details about how you score? I’m guessing it’s based on income, credit score, etc but would love more specifics. Thank you!

Hello! I currently own and.self manage 4 single family homes, all of which I purchased off the MLS with the help of an agent. But the market is now such that I need to find off market deals. I'm familiar with the methods for finding ( driving for dollars, direct mail, etc) but I'd like to know details for how to purchase on my own without an agent. Eg I know I need a purchase and sale agreement, would also plan to get a home inspection, and would plan to have a title company do a search on the title, and then help us with the sale. But for anyone who has purchased off market before, would you be willing to spell out the actual process for buying once you've found the off market deal? Thank you in advance!

Two Questions for Oregon Property Owners / Landlords:

1 - Can you recommend a good attorney in Oregon with experience in Real Estate law?  I do try to keep abreast of the ever changing laws but I'm no lawyer!

2 - Can you share your experience with early termination of the lease (by tenant)?

My lease lists a $3600 "re rent levy" for tenants which terminate their contract early.  I'm wondering if I need to justify/provide proof of expenses to my tenant or not.  Their deposit was $2600 and I'm only planning on retaining their deposit, but not charging them the remaining $1000.

Full story: My tenants with a 2 year lease just moved out after 9 months.  They provided written 60 day notice so I did have time to re rent the house,  but the turnover was nonetheless a huge inconvenience and expense to me.  First, I manage the property myself so I spend several hours listing the property on various sites, taking calls, screening tenants, meeting with tenants, then vetting tenants.  (They gave notice to me while I was on vacation which resulted in me spending hours online posting and then on the phone answering calls while the family was site seeing).  Also, as I live out of state, I have to travel there to turn the house over (airfare, car rental, hotel).  I also had to take unpaid time off my day job to travel out there.  The turnover itself required some cleaning they missed (under appliances, mopping, windows, cleaning carpets, etc), carpet replacement (normal wear and tear) and painting which I know I can't charge for, but were an expense I had sooner than planned with their early termination.  Because I did a lot of the work myself, and am unsure whether I can include my own personal lost wages from work, I don't have receipts to justify the full $2600, but it seems fair to me since they broke their lease early.  

I'm looking for an attorney to discuss this with, but am curious if anyone's had experience with this situation personally, and what the outcome was?

Thanks in advance for your insights!

@John Underwood I know this is an old thread but I came across it searching. I’m wondering whether you’ve ever had problems with this? I had tenants break a 2 year lease after 9 months. Rent is $2600/month. My lease states that early termination of the lease will result in a $4500 re rent levy.  I was able to quickly re rent the home but it did take a lot of time, effort, and expense (I live across the country). I did not charge the full amount but did retain their $2600 deposit and now they are angry.  Have you had anyone come after your for the deposit you’ve retained in this case?

I've been screening tenants for several years but haven't had this come up before.  I received a lot of applications on a rental property I own/manage and the first in line was a man from out of state, relocating with his kids and grandkids.  They met the criteria so I sent them the lease to sign and asked for security deposit.  This is when he turned into a PITA.  He went through the lease with a fine tooth comb, asking for clarification on multiple issues.  Fine.  But when it came to the deposit, he began throwing a huge fit over Cozy.co.  (I do include in my listings that this is how rent is collected).  Doesn't want to link his bank account but doesn't want to pay fees for the debit card.  I told him sorry, that's how we collect it with all our properties, take it or leave it.  He said he'll deal with it but he's not happy.  Now that I'm seeing his true colors, I do not want him as a tenant.  But is there a legal way I can withdraw the offer since he hasn't technically disqualified?

@Joe Splitrock at the advice of our attorney, we made her get rid of the dog with 30 day notice and she elected to break her lease early and leave as well (we waived her early termination fee).  We had to replace the trim and carpet in one bedroom, all the bedroom doors, screens, grass in the yard, etc due to dog damage!  

@Joe Splitrock haha I'm not nicer, probably just less smart. ;)  I haven't read all of the comments so I apologize if this has already been mentioned, but after my personal experience, I now require all animals to be screened through a 3rd party service "pet screening.com".  They do a more official screening of the animals - vet records, breed assessment, etc. I find that many people who claim to have "emotional support" animals shy away from that when they realize it's going to be formally "investigated" through an official process.  Then they call them what they are - pets.  It may deter some pet owners; I'm not sure, because I put it right on my listing that I utilize the service, but I still have pet owners as tenants so it hasn't scared everyone off.

@Mary M. Thank you for the links!  I've looked into Oregon laws a lot during the past several years but it seems Portland has additional law that the state of Oregon doesn't (or the other sources I've been relying on have been inaccurate), which I hadn't realized, so I appreciate the links you shared!