All Forum Posts by: Mark Whittlesey

I would assume that the cottages would rent more quickly. By cottage.. I am assuming detached.

I don't see that the decor etc. variance would really matter unless they were just grotesque looking... but even that could be changed.

So I would say cottages.

False. People rent for many reasons, not all of them credit related. Sometimes it is down payment related. Sometimes they are new to the area, don't want to be tied down to something they own, dont want the general responsibility of owning etc.

Yes, you will get problems. No screening is 100% fool proof, but it's also true that there ARE good tenants out there. I have had plenty of them.

Yes, I use them. I agree that the vast majority of PMs are VERY bad. But not 100%.

I also agree that no PM will look after your proeprty as well as you would.

To me.. it comes down to a few questions.

Do you have the time to manage your own?

Do you WANT to manage your own?

And I will add a partial 1/3.. CAN you fully manage your own? (I say this because of issues with long distance if you are not near the property.)

If not, then hire a PM.

I self-managed for a long time then turned the re-renting part over to a PM and gradually turning full control over to a PM. (So I manage the PM instead of the property.)

Impossible to say. Where is the property? How is the area? What shape is the complex in?

An A property in an A area will have a much lower cap than a C/D property in a C/D area.

Also, properties on the west or east coast will simply have worse caps than say the rust belt.

In your area Mesa caps > Glendale caps > Phoenix caps (generally speaking). Chandler, Tempe, Scottsdale would typically have lower caps still.

Wow.. tough landlords. Do you not repair stoves or disposals or the toilet in the spare bathroom either?

I view washer/dryer different than other appliances. I don't provide them. For exactly this reason. But my rentals are at a significantly lower price point than 1750 a month.

But if I DID provide them... and with a rental at this price point, it would be very possible then I would take responsibility for them. Yes, things DO break... and when they break through normnal wear and tear, it's the landlord's responsibility.

@Edward Synicky 

I use Tina Jado at West USA 623-764-3377. Very responsible and quick to reply.

@CK Hwang 

I would agree with most of your post. I would only say a couple of things.

Even out here, appreciation is NOT guaranteed over the short term.

Cash flow is immediately spendable. Appreciation is not. So it depends on what your goals and strategies are.

I still don't know that I would put a 400K condo in Boston in with what you seem to be buying. A lot of people in Miami took baths doing that.

I would take the people who want it for a year.

And as for the original question... I dropt it every week unless it looks like it will go.

As you have pointed out... If you drop it 100 vs losing a whole month... well.. do the math.

How long has the tenant lived there?

My rentals are pest free when the tenant moves in.

After that, extermination is a tenant responsibility.

i think this:

"attend mandatory "training session" for $50"

A nuisance. :P But fine. I mean landlords SHOULD know the nuisance laws.

"requires landlords to run background checks"

Should be standard operating procedure anyway.

"it can only take 1 time for the cops to stop by your property for it to become a nuisance"

Unbelievable.

My experience has been that local politicians ie city council members are some of the most stupid, short sighted and incompetent of all politicians.