All Forum Posts by: John Pierce

Jimmy,

Does being a felon make a person less likely to pay their rent on time?  I don't think so.

I'm not sure why you would care about renting to a felon unless you owned some kind of multifamily building and had a vested interest in keeping everyone neighborly.

I personally haven't rented to a felon, but my father has.  One was an average tenant that fulfilled his lease with no problems.  The other has been in the house for 5 years and always pays his rent on time.

In low-income neighborhoods, the most important things to verify are income (pay stubs, government benefits) and expenses (car payments, cell phone bills, mouths to feed).  Tailor your rental application to the people that are likely to rent your house and take the time to ask a lot of questions.

A good rental application and the right questions can better define the risks of renting to a low-income tenant than credit checks and background checks.

I don't think that the management contract transfers.  If anyone is responsible for the termination fee, it is the former owner.

Make sure that the tenant knows to pay you directly so as to avoid confusion.  Also, let the tenant know that if the property manager contacts them, to tell them to contact you directly.

You might consider changing the keys on the house; most property managers get a set.

I may be interested.  Please send me a PM.

What kind of fees are you guys paying for property management?  What services do they provide?  Are there additional fees for going to court?  What kinds of costs are associated with rental calls?  Do your property managers do a good job of keeping vacancies low?

I am managing my 5 rentals in Richmond myself.  For the most part, I own nice houses in less then stellar neighborhoods.  I don't have a problem keeping things rented and I feel like I am keeping my rents at the medium-high end of the price spectrum.  The neighborhoods that I own in require a hands-on approach to property management; I am concerned that hiring a property manager might result in increased evictions, decreased monthly rental rates, late payments, and higher vacancy rates.  I'm also concerned that letting a property manager handle my maintenance will make maintenance costs skyrocket.  What have your experiences been?

Bob:

Give me a call at 804-774-6703.

I would be interested in meeting some people in the area. If someone organizes something like this again, I'll definitely go.