All Forum Posts by: Tyler Kivland

Hi BP community, 

I just surpassed the 1 year mark as a landlord and I'm currently thinking about my tax implications for 2021. Last year was easy to claim a loss and maximize my tax benefits because I only collected a half month of rent and spent far more than that getting the place going. However, this year, I have done just about nothing other than collect rent. 

My head has been out of the game a little bit and I can't recall some of the tax info I had heard previously. Would anyone be willing to share thoughts or information on whether or not it would be in my best strategical interest to make some purchases and get my expenses closer to my revenue? 

Both sides of the duplex I own are in need of some repair but I haven't been able to do anything yet with the ongoing COVID situation and tenants who have been there from day 1. However, I need to get some new appliances and thinking this might be the best time. 

If you know of any podcast episodes that cover this, I'd be most appreciative if you pointed those out as well. 

Let me know if you're thinking about running with this Bloomington, IN suggestion. I'd be happy to connect and talk about the new hospital, the university, and the Bloomington area. For me, I've been watching and learning about the Btown market for about 5 years now but recently purchased my fist duplex (finally) this last December. 

Besides, there's likely some local IU Basketball fans that are looking to sell now (half kidding).  

Hi Matt, 

I feel like I've been very respectful and actually feel like it is my tenant who is being disrespectful in this circumstance. He is much older than I and his comments seem condescending in tone. I feel like his quote is intended to educate me on how to be a reasonable landlord. 

As for time frame, he's already had three months to move-in and has yet to unpack a single box inside the house or remove the stuff outside. His lease is set to expire Nov 1st but I'm honestly considering letting him opt out with 30 days notice since he clearly would like more space for less money. 

Thanks for the reply. 

I recently purchased a duplex on a fairly nice street and inherited the tenants from the previous owner. One of those tenants experienced some difficulty from an insurance scam and lost his home of 15 years as a result. It was quite the downsize which has resulted in him living among boxes for three months and counting. That part I don't mind so much but his stuff is also outside of the house. It's stacked "nicely" but frankly, it's obviously clutter and I don't feel that its fair to neighbors on the street let alone my other tenant. 

After asking both of my tenants to please help by cleaning up their items outside and even mentioning that I would help with some of the larger items and/or items that were not theirs, I got this email back...

Thoughts? 

The term "firm but fair" keeps going through my head. On one hand, I didn't make him sign the previous lease and, although it is riddled with holes, it's all we have and it DOES state that tenants will keep the exterior clean and clear of clutter. On the other hand, is this a battle worth fighting right now for someone who is clearly struggling? So far, he's a pain but he pays his rent. 

All help is appreciated and valued. Thanks!

Welp, it's literally my first day as a landlord (signed earlier today) and I've already got an issue that I'm struggling to figure out. 

In short, I was hoping to use RentRedi to manage this and hopefully other properties. However, RentRedi seems to only function on the tenant side via their app with no web option. In other words, if you don't own a smartphone, you're out of luck. This seems odd to me when considering some quick stats about smartphone owners. Overall, 19% of the US population does NOT own a smartphone. That's nearly 1 in 5! When looking at salary, that percentage doesn't get better until you surpass salaries of $50k. I don't know about you, but I'm likely going to be renting to people who make less than $50k. 

Back to today. Wouldn't you know it, I was all excited to show off my new RentRedi toy only to find out that one of my tenants doesn't own a phone!! I know you saw this coming. 

Any workarounds, thoughts, guidance other than just switching platforms? Am I missing something?

RentRedi, 
If you're reading (and I know you likely will) why no web option? Landlords are able to do most/all of our work via web login. Why isn't this an option for our tenants who are less likely to own smartphones?