All Forum Posts by: Scott Townsend

I'm considering making an offer on a condo that I just saw. It's in a good area and seems to be recently upgraded so I'm looking at is as turnkey. But I'm getting hung up on how dirty the place is. I'm pretty sure a renter is living there, so I understand if they didn't care to tidy up, but I'm surprised the owner didn't clean before showings started. There's a layer of dirt everywhere, it reeks of smoke, and when I opened the stove (a nice, stainless steel and relatively new stove), my hand was sticky!. 

Maybe I'm making too big a deal about the filth? Should I just plan on a few hundred bucks for a deep clean once I close? Appreciate any thoughts!

Has anyone used zillow rental manager to screen tenants? I'm interested to hear feedback, particularly on the screening results. 

I have always listed my rentals on zillow, then used Rentler for the application (and rent payment), and then used RentPrep to screen. I love RentPrep and have gotten comfortable with the credit and background reports they provide. But I am considering using Zillow for everything - listing, application, screenings. The appeal of a one-stop shop seems nice, but I'm curious how they stack up to RentPrep?

I had a tenant leave me a voicemail saying he locked himself out of my condo. By the time I called him back he had scheduled a locksmith to come let him in. So the good news was that it saved me the trip and it was on the tenant's dime, but my question is how often can locksmiths open doors without damaging/replacing the lock? Appreciate any help!