All Forum Posts by: Thomas B.

Bankruptcy in Memphis rentals is not all that uncommon especially in C/D properties and the "need" can be hidden. Do you review your prospective tenants applications and reports before approval? If not I would highly recommend you do as an extra layer of protection. Your goals and the goals of the property manager are not always 100% inline with each other. 

Fortunately for you, the eviction process in Memphis is very landlord friendly. 

I will add a few comments regarding the pictures.

Pic 1 Front of house:  Loose the awning if at all possible or edit it down to just cover the front door it dates the house. If the yard hasn’t improved consider sod.

Pic 2 Kitchen:  The kitchen seems dated. Clean or paint the base board in the middle lower portion of the picture it looks molded and dirty. Swap out the ceiling fan for a flush mount light fixture. Edit the open cabinets if you can there seem to be a lot of them. I think many women would see all those open shelves and think about how cluttered it would look with all their stuff on display. I would update the cabinet hard ware and also consider painting the cabinets white.

Pic 3:  Remove or fix broken fence in back yard

Pic 4, 5 and 6 Den?:  This room could use some staging it is hard to tell where furniture would or should go. The awnings really darken this room.

Pic 7 Bed room:  Awnings really darken the room and make it feel smaller.

Pic 8 Bed room:  This is one of the better pics but as with all of them it needs to be a wider and brighter pic.

Pic 9 Room?:  These walls seem to have a lot of texture and look dingy in the pictures. Try to keep close in focus walls out of the add.

Pic 10 Bathroom 1:  The paint. The paint on the ceiling looks splotchy in the picture. While fine for certain things Baby Blue could be a turn off for some. Builder beige is a popular color for a reason. Add a toilet paper holder (or hide the toilet paper), a mirror, and vanity lighting. Consider swapping out the vanity top for one of the granite tops at Lowes or Home depot.

Pic 11 Bathroom 2:  Same issue with the blue and I would try to update the mirror.

This long and maybe boring post is solely my opinion and is entirely subjective. 

Your property needs to show in pictures and in person as well as or better than http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2...

If a buyer is looking at your house I guaranty you they are looking at the one above!

Fire your agent!... NOW! There are no post remodel pictures in the add you linked to and it doesn't show up on zillow. you are missing a large part of the market and the ones that see it don't get a good first impression.

It all goes back to what does your contract say regarding maintenance and repairs? Regarding the leaking siding: If it says he is responsible for maintenance and repairs and the issues are not fixed it could be grounds for eviction (last resort). You do not want to let this tenant live in the house and not keep it in "proper" condition. That being said this sounds like an issue that should have been fix negotiated when it was noted in the first place. 

As for the tile updating and remodeling it is not your responsibility financially unless you agreed to it in the lease to purchase contract. So it would be on his dime. That being said, if there are no issues with the tile (chipping, cracking, falling off, water leaks, etc...) I would tell him to hold off on any bathroom remodeling for the remaining 18 months.

You might see the following link as it pertains to tenants doing work.

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/1969...

I would get rid of it, Bradford Pears are a favorite of builders and developers in our area because they are cheep, fast growing, and look good. However, the branch structure is very week and they do not hold up well in the long run as you are seeing. They also have a tenancy to send shoots up from the roots that burn up before they can mature leaving lots of 2-3" tall spike like sticks in the ground. I have had to remove 4 over the last few years and it is easier (less expensive) to do it sooner than later.

Playing devils advocate here. Can you tell from Facebook if he still has the dog, or if it was an ex-girlfriend's dog? Could you have your PM ask about the other dog and tell him it would be a violation of the lease if an undisclosed dog or a dog over X lbs was in the house and he would be evicted.

Facebook can be a valuable tool for vetting tenants. Images of prospective tenants braking the law, acting thuggish, or using extremely poor judgment can aid in your decision making process. My question would be, weight can you put on it and could it trigger any legal issues for a land lord?

@Jennifer T.

His post may have been in fun but he does live in CA. There are lots of people who make a living off these types of lawsuits. 

Just because you are paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you. 

@Joe Villeneuve I think the $2250 month payment above includes PITI and PMI so it may be 30yr loan.

@Edward Did you $2250 a month include taxes, insurance, and PMI? or is it just principle and interest.

@Rob Beland

Renters insurance also covers YOUR property in many cases of tenant negligence or damage. Think grease fire, there are other items also, but that is the one it saved me on! If it weren't for the renters insurance I would have lost my coverage or had the rate go through the roof. 

Sorry Andrew, I know this doesn't answer your question either.

@Andrew Martinundefined

P.S. I would also be interested in a Renters Insurance Addendum that they like and would be willing to share.

We process all applications once the applicant gives them to us regardless of how many are in line. In Memphis 90% of my applicants lie and I end up having to move to the next applicant. We tell each prospective tenant our process and requirements on the front end and tell them the fee is non refundable. If I waited for each applicant to vet out it would take a month to get the unit rented.