All Forum Posts by: Steven Stohlman

Thank you everyone for the recommendations! I’m looking forward to reading all of your suggestions.

I’m adding to my reading list and I’m interested in what book you would suggest for buying apartment buildings.

Thanks.

@Johnoson Crutchfield that’s a great outcome! My property insurance includes lost rent on the property due to a fire etc. Glad to hear you came out of this well.

@Greg S. I’d have no problem with renting to the student. I would use your 3x rent guidelines and credit score to see if the parents qualify. If I was using a strict 650 score or above none of my units would be rented right now. I look at the whole picture on my prospective tenants. Are they current on all their bills, is their score low due to a past bankruptcy and they are rebuilding. Hope that helps

@Samantha Klein On the first occasion maybe you remind her that the lease states a charge of $50 will be added for any lockouts. You don’t have to charge her but just remind her. @James Wise has a good idea that I’m adding to my properties, in that he only has a deadbolt as a way to lock the door, the doorknob does not have a built in lock. That way it would be extremely hard for the tenant to lock herself out again. Hope that helps

@Pawel Swiecki for my properties, I always make sure there is at least 1 bathtub in case the tenant has a child. Looking at it from a cost prospective I think leaving in the tub and refinishing it (professionally not a Home Depot kit) is the least expensive, $300-$500 replacing the tub is the next option, you will have to remove the drywall to remove and replace the tub, then fix that and replace the tub surround. Unless you do this work yourself it could cost $1,000-$2,000 Then removing the tub and adding a shower will be the most expensive of the 3 options. You will need to replace the shower mixing valve, also plumbing codes require a 2” drain line with a shower only and your tub probably has a 1-1/2” drain line. Depending on what you are going for and what the area demand is a nice tiled shower with glass doors would make a small space seem larger. I would not do this option unless The property was in a trendy area.

@Aaron Taniguchi I use Cozy.co to collect my rent. It’s free for landlords.

@Patrik Kusek My first property had a heavy smoke smell in it. I used a shellack based stain blocking primer then repainted the ceilings. I first tried to just paint over the stained ceiling with regular ceiling paint and the stains bled through. I also have purchased an Ozone generator to remove smells from units. This machine comes in very handy for breaking down bad smells. I learned this machine is part of the process used to clean up after a death in a property. Good luck.

@Joshua Dorkin great article, I liked having the state specific laws linked to the blog. I’m currently going through the eviction process and it’s good to see I’m on track. An interesting addition we have in Cleveland OH. Is now the courts add a mediation step before eviction. Both parties sit with a mediator and decide if things can be worked out. In my case I was able to take a partial payment and we worked out a 30 day payment plan. In the end the tenant failed but I was able to get an additional $2,000.00 in late fees and rent.

@Priyanka K. I do love using Cozy and I’d be lost without Google maps. I rarely use my trucks built in navigation system. I thought I’d add my IPad Pro with cell phone data plan. That setup has helped me streamline my business. I have moved to paperless as much as possible and with the IPad I can sign leases, access all my documents etc while I’m out and about. I love the size of it and the keyboard. Adobe Fill and Sign is very helpful. Social Media- As a contractor and investor, I use Social media a lot. Most of my business comes from Facebook and Instagram. As an investor I’ve purchased 3 properties (soon to be 4) as a direct result of my Social Media posts. Almost all of my tenants are either referred from Social media friends or directly from my posts. I have not had a need to list a property for rent yet. I post daily pictures and videos of the latest property I’m working on and prospective tenants reach out to me Usually before the property is complete. Hope this helps.