All Forum Posts by: Steven Groshong

Hi all,

I have some tenants who just gave their 30 day notice that they’re moving. Should I sell or continue to rent?

Their reason for moving: over the weekend, while the husband was in the backyard, someone from over one of the neighbors fences shot him with a BB gun (hit him in the face).

They’re not the type to get the police involved (husband runs a police accountability non-profit) so I know that’s a dead end for me. The wife seemed uneasy with that when I brought it up. 

99% chance it’s someone’s nightmare child. I mentioned that they should ask the neighbor who we think it might be, if their child has a BB gun. Most parents would take away their child’s weapon after they’ve shot someone in the face. That would at least stop future occurrences.

So, now I’m wondering, sell the house (and buy a new one) or rent it out. 

What do you think? Recommendations?

Hi all,

I lived in my rental property for a couple months while making repairs. When it comes to deducting these expenses for taxes, do you know what the rule for this is? 

Are there any resources you can direct me to on how to account for this with my taxes?

Thank you

Hi all,

If anyone wanted to know how things were going. As soon as I listed as OK for Section 8 I got applications

That's all it needed

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction 

Thanks for the tips!

Lots of lessons to be learned for my first property.

I'm going to switch things up, as you've advised above, and I'm going to include section 8 in the listing starting next Monday with no pets, prior convictions, evictions, etc.

Hmm, I'm confident that it's the location because that's potential tenant feedback the property manager has provided me. 

Since I lowered the listing price, the property is now one of the lowest priced 3 bedroom homes in the area (as of last week). 

It should get some traction now. There were 3 people that left with applications at this past weekend's open house.

If no traction by the next 2 weeks, I'll open it up to section 8. Plus, I've heard there are certain benefits to section 8 (ex: rent increases go easier because the program pays for it if it's under or goes to the listed fair market rent)

The property is located in East Oakland close to the San Leandro/Oakland border. The property manager originally recommended $2700 however I lowered it last week to make it more competitive. I have professional photos of the property on the add. 

The property manager's weekly reports indicate: 

+/- 50 inquires per week

+/- 5 showings per week (I'm assuming this includes time for the open house)

Via Zillow, I'm getting about 48 views/ day (96 views over 2 days) and it's typically around that level. Interest also went up after the price drop.

What are your thoughts?

See link for property: https://tinyurl.com/y5mch57l

Hi all,

I recently made the jump to being a landlord and I'm having some trouble getting off the ground with tenants.

As of today, the house has been on the market for 43 days and I've reduced the rent from 2800 to 2500 over the past 30 days. The property is in Oakland, CA.

I have a property manager who does open houses (1hr windows on Saturdays or Sundays) and individual showings however I still don't have any applications for the property. 

The property was recently renovated (new appliances, upgraded electrical, windows, landscaping, etc) 3 bedroom - 1 bathroom home but it's in what I think you call a "Class C" neighborhood here (not the worst but also not a war zone). 

Because it's been on the market for 1.5 months now, I'm entertaining opening up applications to section 8 tenants (with 3 room vouchers).

I don't want to go much lower than I'm already at ($2500) because I don't want to lose money on the place (mortgage + maintenance + insurance + utilities + etc) but I'm trying to figure out what I need to do to get the place rented.

Do you have any suggestions for how to get the place rented?

Thank you!