All Forum Posts by: Tricia O'Brien

@Ezekiel Cardoso, @Nathan Gesner... thanks for you replies!

Hello!  Can anyone tell me where I can find good forms that are appropriate for Indiana for notices to vacate?  Or templates? I'd like to get one for giving a tenant 10 day notice of lease violation (like non-payment of rent or moving in an unauthorized tenant, etc) where the tenant can stay if they correct the problem within 10 days.  Also, a 30 day notice to vacate for someone on a month-to-month rental agreement.  Any replies would be appreciated!  Thanks

You need to screen tenant applicants better, and it might take 2 months on the market to find a decent tenant.  Find a PM company that will do this or you need to screen tenant applicants yourself. I have a class C house in a class D neighborhood in Indiana. The current fair market value of the home is about $60K.  My minimum screening criteria are:  credit score at least 600, gross income at least 3.5x the rent, no evictions.  My current tenant (just moved in last month) and my previous tenant all had credit scores of at least 650.  I screen the tenant applicants myself, and I live 3000 miles away from the property.  I have a local realtor who does showings and other tasks for me. 

The PM company might be ripping you off regarding the repairs. How do you know it really needed $10K in work?  Do they have maintenance people on staff that they pay $20/hour plus medical benefits but then they bill you $60/hour for their work? That can be a huge source of revenue for the PM company. 

Good luck! 

Great overview of the pros and cons from your experience!

@Theresa Harris

Would you list the 18 and 19 year old as occupants on the lease?  Would you list the 14 year old as an occupant as well?

Hello! I'd like to know your opinions about if  unemployed young adults (ages 18 and 19) should always be required to sign a new lease with their parent? Or do you sometimes let the parent sign and list the adult children as occupants? I have an applicant who is a 38 year old single Mom with 3 kids - ages 14, 18, and 19.  The 18- and 19-year-old have no income currently.  Her gross income is 3.1x the rent.  

She knows the adult children have to do the background check and credit check and is okay with that.  

I've had applicants in the past like this where the Mom objected to me requiring that the adult kid had to sign the lease. 

Just wanted to know people's opinion about this in case I get pushback.  

It's a class C single family home in a class D neighborhood. 

I know it's in the landlord's best interest to have all adults sign as tenants.  But I'm wondering if that should be a deal breaker if they don't want to do that?

Thanks in advance! 

It depends on what type of property it is.  Is it a place renting for $2100/month? Or someplace renting for $750/month

Hello !  I am using Zillow Rental manger to find/screen tenants.  One seemingly well qualified applicant did not post his actual last pay stub, but instead posted something that said he had gone through another service. It is called "Automated Income Verification by Finicity / Mastercard."  The pop-up window says that tenant applicant's data is pulled directly from their bank statements and pulls the "monthly average of regular direct deposits amounts for up to 2 years".  In his case it was pulled from March 2023 to the present.

I am a little bit leery about accepting this because I'm not familiar with it.  Has anyone accepted this service  as proof of income?

How did that work out for you? 

I did call his employer and they said he makes $24/hour and has been working there consistently since Jan 2023.  

So based on the employer's statement he should be making gross income of $3840/month. This is similar to what Finicity / Mastercard says he makes of $3722/month net over the past 6 months.  

Would you still insist on seeing an actual recent paystub? 

He is an electrician who is currently working a remote job and living in a hotel, so I'm thinking I might ask the HR person to send me a copy of his most recent paystub.  He is working 10-hour days and probably doesn't have easy access to a computer and printer.   The phone # I called for the office manager/ human resources manager I believe was someone's cell phone so a little concerning there.  

Thanks in advance!  

 Hello Fellow BP Folks! 

I have an unusual applicant that I am considering, and I would like the input of other investors / landlords.  This is for a 3 bedroom single family rental home ... C home in a D neighborhood in Indiana.

He has an old domestic violence conviction (2012). He has a current domestic violence case (felony domestic battery) that is pending, and it has been working its way through the court system since Nov 2021.   I don't believe he was taken to jail on this current case.  These have been a few court dates since Nov 2021, and he has attended these with a public defender.

I want to know if folks have rented to applicants like this, and did you have any problems...such as acts of violence against any realtor/PM or handymen that you sent out to the property? Any other problems?

The reason I have given his application a second look is that he has relatively high income (5.5x the rent), a skilled blue-collar job (machinist), and he said he is willing to pay a double security deposit due to his credit score being less than 600 if he were approved.  He has been at his current job for 3.5 months. 

The house has been advertised on Zillow now for about 20 days. The minimum qualifications listed are:  Income 3.5x the rent; credit score at least 600; no evictions. 

I've gotten about 9-10 applications.  Some are incomplete.   Only 2 of the applications meet the credit score requirements, and both of these families don't want to move until around Dec 1.  

I'm an out of state landlord and have a realtor that does tasks for me on an "a la carte" basis and I use local handymen.

I have not approved or declined his application yet...   I've not yet called his landlord references or employer references yet.  I am in the middle of processing it.  

But I'm a little freaked out by his criminal record.  

What would you do?  

Would you give him a denial based on his credit score of 526 (Experian) 

Or would you continue to process his application? 

He wants to rent the house with his current girlfriend.  I don't yet have an application yet on her, but he says she could do an application as well.  

Thanks in advance for your input!  

@Ian L.

Yes I got the vacancy coverage.  Is the vacancy endorsement $45 per month flat rate with State Farm? One weird thing about the vacancy coverage is it excludes some things... like if your kitchen appliances and window air conditioning units are stolen during the vacancy it does not cover those. Is that true with most vacancy coverage policies