All Forum Posts by: Theresa Nicoletto

I agree with what @Michele Fischer . You don't want tenants who don't want to be there.

I think it comes back to... what's your goal? Your goal is to keep the unit rented 12 months a year without an interruption of income or a lot of time/energy spend from you. Their goal is to get out of Dodge. So I would look for a solution that makes everyone win. 

I would tell them if you can find a suitable tenant to sign a new lease (pass criminal, financial checks), you will let them out of the lease. They need to pay a cleaning fee and any costs associated with the make ready (paint touch up, etc.) They have to keep paying rent until you all find a suitable tenant. They also need to keep the place tidy and available for showing if they want to partner to get it rented. (They can help with socializing it (Facebook, Twitter, word of mouth, etc.)

 Don't put anything in writing to that effect. This will ensure you get someone excited about living in your unit without losing out on any revenue. I've done this with several tenants for various reasons - getting a medical fellowship in another state, got a job in another city, just got pregnant with 4th child and want more room, etc. 

@Justin Stanfield - In my "world" people read the full post before they Mansplain how it's wrong. 

My post said, "a roof is $50 per square... materials are separate... etc...") 

This means that: 

I pay $50 a square for LABOR ONLY

AND 

Materials ARE SEPARATE (this means materials are not included in the labor quote above of $50)

I have done 17 roofs. I have 2 crews. They charge me $50 a square. 

You mentioned you come from Ft. Worth to OKC because you are cheaper than locals. 

You are not better or cheaper than my guys. Sorry, but you're just wrong. 

How do I do it? I negotiate, share construction contacts and keep my guys busy & working. 

I agree... the working on your business, not in your business was the most eye opening. I also love the concept of system thinking.... making sure that everything can be broken down into pieces so that it can be delegated and farmed out. 

I've met so many landlords that get burned out because they are fixing toilets and doing all of the rehab work themselves. When I first started in the business, I thought I was at a disadvantage because I'm not handy nor do I have any desire to be. However, I know how to hire and manage good, talented people. I also know how to motivate them and treat them well... (without breaking the bank, of course! Working "in the business" is never a concern for me because it's not where my talents lie

The way I put the E-myth concepts to work... I make sure my main contractors can text, email and have working smart phones (I know.... but you would be surprised). I set them up on gmail if they don't have it so things don't get lost and also so that I can add them to my spreadsheets (where I keep track of products, skus, pricing ext.) Every rehab looks exactly the same... classic transitional finishes that be dressed up or down. Clean, inexpensive but good quality is the theme. As much thought is taken out of product selection as possible.... and we write SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) for everything we can. (I have an assistant that helps me with these tasks.) We also have a cost associated with rehab activities... ie... a roof is $50 per square... materials are separate... etc...) Then everyone can estimate how much the job is going to cost prior... (thanks to @J Scott  for your fabulous book, The Book Estimating Rehab Costs - excellent and highly recommend!)

I've done AirBNB for mutliple properties in SF and it was an absolute money maker! It's great if you can keep it rented consistently and keep damage to a minimum. I personally wouldn't escalate on something like that. 

Look at the Bigger Picture....What's your goal? It's to get lots of guests again and again. How will that happen? Only if you have a great product and have lots of great reviews - it's not rocket science. I would apologize for the inconvenience and let her know the cleaning lady has been fired. (Nawh - don't fire her - good cleaning people are hard to find!! LOL) Then let her know that you would love a good review and will do the same. (Give her a neutral review. "Stayed at our home" - sharp AirBNBers will be able to read through it.)

However, if she tries to rent from you again, let her know your unit is busy. 

Going forward, think about what you could have done differently. Did this nutty guest have lots of positive reviews? Or any? Does she have an AirBNB herself? My policy was to only rent from known entities. If she was "new to AirBNB," she's not going to rent from me. However, my area in SF was super desirable so had a lot of people to choose from - not sure if you have that luxury where you are.

Anyway... good luck and let us know how you end up handling it.

Welcome to BP, @Nyree Chambless! Let me know if you are interested in investing OKC. Also, feel free to connect with me! 

Best,

Theresa

It's not your responsibility to check sex offenders in the neighborhood. It is a public record that the tenant can access online. If they would like to take on the responsibility of talking with the police and ensuring that the person is registered correctly they are absolutely able to. People move in and out of houses all the time. 

If the tenant "who's not been the greatest" feels concern about renewing the lease, I would encourage her to start looking for an alternative rental with enough time so that she can give proper notice. Let know you will understand and not take it personally if she doesn't want to renew the lease after her lease term is over (and if she asks.. unfortunately due to "company policy" you are unable to drop the rent.)

Also, remember Pareto's Principle..(the 80/20 rule... 80% of your problems come from 20% of your tenants. Think about if she's part of that 20%. If so, let her go but let her think it's her decision! ;-)

Good luck!

Welcome Mariano,

Read The Millionaire Real Estate Investor. Go to your local REIA, network like crazy and eventually, you'll find someone that will take you under their wing. Figure out what they need...and what you can provide. Money or time... both valuable and if you share one with the right person, they may wil be willing to teach you the beginning steps of investing.

Go check out 100 properties and run them through the BP calculators and you'll get the fundamentals down. 

Listen to all the podcasts and you'll learn a lot of what you don't know (and be inspired!) But at some point, you gotta just do a deal. You're going to make mistakes... and it's fine. Just ask for lots of advice on here to minimize it as much as possible. 

Buy properties at 70% ARV and you'll have a nice cushion in case things go south.

Good luck!

Welcome to BP, Luong! 

@Mohammad Haidarasl - Yeah.. you don't want to put anyone in a bad situation by asking for their user id/password. Encourage  your wife to hurry up and get the license! ;-) She can take EVERYTHING online. It shouldn't take a couple of months... just weeks. 

You can also get your broker's license in CA online (no residency requirement), fill out the proper paperwork and then take the state specific exam portion in TX (or any classes that are specific to your neck of the words). Also, once she gets her license, she can probably add you as an unlicensed assistant so you can share in the data analysis

I started with Keller Williams Elite and love them. Lots of training and support. It's not like I can't figure it out but why re-invent the wheel, right? Besides, I want to have access to 1,000s of agents when they get those terrible, awful, nasty houses that a hoarder just moved out of and now they are charged to sell...! That's where I come in and solve their problems... 

Anyway... there is a function that your wife will probably have access to when she gets her MLS access called RPR. It's a wonderful resource and pulls all the data together for a great picture of what the market value, neighborhood, tax records, previous owners, etc look like. It also gives a confidence interval as to how reliable the data is. (My MBA is in statistics so I kinda nerd out on that stuff...but I digress...) You don't get this with Zillow, Redfin, Homesnap, etc.... If I had a dollar for every wholesaler that has tried to tell me the house they have under contract is worth a whole lot more than it is because they saw it on Zillow... well... I'd have enough for another rent house.

.Good Luck!

By the way... last year or so when I was trying to figure out what/where/when to buy... I took @Deborah Burian out to lunch... and now I'm up to 30+ units. I'm telling you... this networking stuff works! You learn what you don't know you need to learn. You get great contacts for contractors and resources... and best of all you get more wind in your sails when you are about to quit! LOL