All Forum Posts by: Terry Hoefer

Sounds like attorney time. I'm thinking that you as the owner have the ultimate responsibility for the security deposits. Their lease is for your property and the PM was representing you. Good luck with that.

I would put replace the shutters in a dark color, pull something out from the brick-black would also work. The bushes in front of the windows come up too high, although neatly trimmed, the proportion still reads "overgrown". The other bush, closest to the driveway could use something less bulky for the space.

For a first project? The size alone would eat up time and money. Some historic properties have strict limitations on what's allowed for renovation/restoration, further checking is required. The first big consideration has to be the ROI. Although the idea of making a place look grand is appealing, if it would make sense financially, I'm thinking someone with money and experience would be all over it by now. Your first couple projects can be overwhelming while you are in the midst of it, even the small ones. I would rather make my early mistakes on something easy enough to resell in a hurry, if needed.

I have had friends and family email pictures to me, along with exact measurements of rooms, windows, doors. Some make really rough drawings with the dimensions labeling walls. I mean REALLY rough drawings. I am a certified home stager, although I don't have a business. I made drawings with suggestions and emailed back to a niece who was having trouble with a layout for her odd-shaped living room. She followed my directions and just loves the result. Two of my friends text me photos when they are shopping for furniture, rugs, window treatments-so I can help them decide what to choose. I've never thought of charging anyone for this, but I've been told I should. I love doing it, but I have no idea what it's worth. I'm a fix/flipper along with my husband. I design-he carries it out. If you message me some pictures, I would be glad to make suggestions.

Our offer was accepted on a nice duplex today! The tenants upstairs would like to stay, and have excellent payment history. They keep their unit spotless and have nice furniture. We want to keep them, and I saw no evidence of them being smokers or having pets. Their lease is month-month. The owner downstairs has two dogs that were yapping in their cages when we viewed, and I thought I smelled a hint of cigarette smoke in the back hall. I also had to dodge little "land mines" in the back yard. When I lease to new tenants, can I mandate a smoke-free building? Each unit has a small balcony out back, and if they are neat about it, that would be my version of a compromise. I'm going to say "no pets", although I don't yet know about the good tenants I want to keep upstairs. Any thoughts on this? It's not just us that want to avoid smoke and other people's pets, I think many potential tenants would appreciate it as well.

While looking for duplexes in Wisconsin, some have no garage, but are otherwise desirable rentals. I know when I think back to my years as a young renter in Wisconsin, my dream was to have garage access. I would have stayed longer at a place with a garage. How does this affect the amount of potential rent, and is it ever a good idea to build a garage to attract tenants with decent cars. Or would the cost of

@Bill S.: Thanks, I finally got the "@" thing right! You gave me excellent advice and we'll definitely use the link for screening tenants. Our offer was accepted today on a nice duplex on a neat, well-kept street of mostly large single family homes that I would live in myself, if I didn't like my own house so much. 3  bdrms up & down, natural woodwork, built-ins, arched doorways, 2 car garage. The current owner lives in the lower and we will have to tone down the paint colors. The tenants upstairs are long term, pay $800/mo on time and would like to stay. They keep their unit neat as a pin, nice furniture, etc. We close at the end of September, so we have time to learn as much as possible about screening tenants. Thanks so much!

@ Anthony Gayden

Thanks, we are in the same situation in that we both work full time jobs. Fortunately, we are also experienced DIY-ers, my husband being self-employed and flexible/mobile. He can stop over there any time. My problem is, I have to keep reminding myself that this is a rental. My constant mode of rehab needs to be tempered with some restraint.

@Kevin Knight and @ Steve Vaughan: Thank you both for your suggestions. Now we know where to start looking for the right PM, and Steve, we'll be sure to contract for notification of repair requests.  I would have overlooked that as a necessity to be addressed in our initial contract. The screening and lease handling are what we need most. We put in an offer on a duplex today, we'll see how it goes! Thanks, again

While looking for duplexes in Wisconsin, some have no garage, but are otherwise desirable rentals. I know when I think back to my years as a young renter in Wisconsin, my dream was to have garage access. I would have stayed longer at a place with a garage. How does this affect the amount of potential rent, and is it ever a good idea to build a garage to attract tenants with decent cars. Or would the cost of adding one not be worth the expense?