All Forum Posts by: Amy E.

I'm interested in becoming an appraiser in GA (specifically middle GA).  Interested as in, "have been thinking about it awhile, know the education requirements, and want to pick someone's brain to gather more info."

In doing research, I found many folks say that it is hard to get into the business because you have to have a supervisor appraiser sign off on your experience log before you can become a fully fledged appraiser.  I'm not sure how to go about getting a mentor/supervisor.  Do you hire on at a firm, do you do pro-bono work and get your educators to sign off as supervisor?

Does anyone here have their appraiser's license in GA and would be willing to let me email/talk to them about the best way to go about getting this certification and getting a supervisor?  

Hey @Thomas S.,

At this point, with six houses all of the same type with similar tenants of similar background, I can say that this is my only problem house....and the issues have not been a problem for me, its been a problem for the neighbors.  In the back of my head I keep thinking that I don't really care who gets arrested as long as rent gets paid and the house is in adequate shape.  

But then I feel bad for thinking that.....because, you know, Karma.

Thanks, @Andrew Acuna.  I guess I just needed a sanity check that I was not being unduly harsh or unfair to the tenant.

Hi @Marcia Maynard, thanks for the input.  I will checkout CPTED in my area.  

I made the lease I have on Rocket Lawyer and the templates available on BiggerPockets, and then gave it to a local lawyer to review (was cheaper that way).  Not sure what is missing that would cover this situation that's not already in there and very subjective (for instance, it already says the tenant is responsible for keeping the property clean and free of trash and debris).

I've been doing regular maintenance inspections since I found the first damage, and nothing is an issue other than general cleanliness. I have a pretty good relationship with the tenant.  I suppose I just feel its a bit unfair to terminate a lease for something that the tenant didn't do (tenant was not violent, was not arrested and has not violated the lease). I'm trying to be fair and treat someone the way I would want to be treated, and also run this like a business.

That said, the tenant chose to invite a violent guest and you're right that I'd rather terminate now when I have a good relationship with the tenant than later if it goes south. 

Thanks for the tips!

I've had several complaints from neighbors about one of my rentals in GA, which has a Section 8 tenant.  The tenants pay rent on time and treat the property at the minimum acceptable level.  They punched a hole in a door, which they paid for.  They punched a hole in a wall, which they repaired themselves.  The house is filthy, but there's not junk/garbage lying around (it just needs a good scrub).  That said, I've had worse tenants and if these were the only issues I would not terminate the lease.

However, there have been three separate domestic violence incidents on the property in the last year, and arrests have been made. None of the people arrested are on my lease.  The last time it happened, the guy that got arrested made verbal threats to the neighbor, and now the neighbors are calling me because they are scared to go outside in their own neighborhood.  The neighbor claims tenant is smoking weed as well.  I've personally not witnessed anything negative with respect to the tenant.

I want to be a good landlord neighbor, but I want to be fair to the tenant, too.  They've damaged the property, but have fixed it.  They pay their rent.  That said, their lease expired in April and we are now month-to-month.  My lease states either party can terminate the lease during the month-to-month status with the appropriate notice.

Legally, I can terminate the lease (it'd be a hassle with Section 8, but it can be done) but I'm not sure if I actually should or not.  Turnover costs are a bit high in my area, which is another factor.   But I feel like the situation with the neighbor is only going to escalate and I had hoped to keep this property for another decade.  

I have not talked to the tenant yet.  Any tips or recommendations for how to proceed?

Warner Robins.  Just bought a 4 bed house for 52, put 4 in it, am renting for 950/month.

Not sure what your numbers are, but I've never found one I could make work, Much better potential in WR. Mercer neighborhoods are not that good to begin with. I am getting 1.5% of ARV in monthly rent in WR.

Call an insurance broker. For me, it was easy to get insurance through USAA even though my properties are held in an LLC and are rentals. I swapped from USAA to Auto Owners (through an insurance broker) because USAA had a hard time keeping my personal and business billing separate. The insurance broker I used was Greenway Insurance in Warner Robins, GA. But I'm fairly sure any broker could get you a policy.

Hi Andrea.  The report you have is lacking in quality and details, and despite the price you did not provide credit score or Resident Score in the Smart Move review.  That is why I am here requesting recommendations for a different company.  Who would you say is your biggest competitor?

What's everyone using for background checks nowadays?  I started doing this a few years ago, and have used TransUnion's SmartMove.  Its worked great, but recently they changed it up and now I don't get nearly as much information and the credit score has been left off completely.  I still get to see a partial credit report and eviction/criminal partial reports, but no details.  I feel that for $35 that's a bit of a ripoff even though the tenant is footing the bill.

I like SmartMove because its all through email and is almost instantaneous and the tenant can pay TransUnion directly.

What's everyone else using for checks?