All Forum Posts by: Rick Bassett

We usually rehab our places with good quality materials / fixtures before we rent them.

We bring all the electrical and plumbing up to snuff and insulate everything. We replace windows and doors with energy efficient (not top of the line) products if needed.

In New England its the utility costs that tends to drive tenant turnover. We hear from many prospective tenants that their current rent is affordable but the utility costs are excessively high.

We generally don't raise rents for tenants that adhere to our lease.

I think that everyone like might an update. The tenant took down the pool within 24 hours BUT today I was riding around and checking on properties and found 3 more had popped up. In the process on having interesting conversations with all of them.

Going through this now on an expensive rent so the costs are adding up quickly. The property is in an LLC so we have to move at the slower and more expensive lawyer pace. Unfortunately it appears as if this tenant has done this before, she covered her tracks well on the background check, i guess the last landlord was happy to get rid of her.

Weighing the cost options of another 2+ months plus attorney's and court fees I just threw her a cash for keys offer, maybe she will bite. I hate giving a deadbeat money but it is a better business decision.

I was doing a property drive-by the other day and noticed one of those Wal-Mart variety 3' swimming pools in the backyard of one of our SFR's. I've never had a tenant install a pool before.

After consulting with my insurance guy, I approached the tenant and told him that he had 2 options; 1) Take it down immediately or we would, 2) Provide us proof of $1m in liability on his renters insurance policy.

Our lease is silent on swimming pools specifically but covers all improvements, which this should fall under.

Have any of you had a tenant put a pool up without asking? If so how did you deal with it?

Rick

I've no intention of trusting him my $250k house. I turned him down yesterday and he has already sent me two emails with excuses.

I stick to the decisions that I make and won't reconsider his application, I imagine he is used to pushing others into getting what he wants. Not this time.

As I indicated this prospective tenant is self employed as....wait for it....a seasonal landscaper with a suspended drivers license. At least he isn't a stripper.

I'm actually not desperate at all. I could've wrote that better as the fact that he liked the unit when most people don't was in fact a big red flag for me which caused me to do a deeper dive on the background check.

I guess my real concern is how to reject him on the basis of his public arrest record. I've rejected plenty of other potential tenants for income issues or bad references but it isn't exactly the case here.

Hi All,

Looking for a sanity check here with a potential tenant.

He called on a property, loved it with 2 minutes of walking through it (almost no one loves this property as it has a strange floor plan) and emailed his rental app within a hour. Called me a few hours later looking for a quick approval and said he had a check to drop off. I pushed him back so that we could do a proper screening.

The initial screening (Google) turned up that he was arrested for several DUI's. After a little digging we were also able to find out that he did several 30 - 90 days stints in jail for charges related to these DUI's including violating probation and driving with a suspended license.

I'm inclined to turn him down for the reasons above plus he is self employed 45 minutes from here and has no drivers license to legally get to work.

What would you do?

Rick

Our leases call for the rent to be due on or before the 1st. We are aren't allowed to charge late fees or serve them with a notice to quit until the 11th. I send a friendly reminder email/text to the late payers, some of which incorrectly think think that this is a grace period. We nicely remind them that it isn't and politely tell them that we weigh late payment history heavily when it comes time for lease renewal.

Having said all of that, I suggest that you have a nice conversation with your tenants before serving them with a quit notice, unless your goal is to turn over the units.

I've used the Allure vinyl planks in the past 2 kitchens and dinng areas and the look nice and the tenants like them. I'm not sure about durability yet. I usually want hardwoods in the living rooms and downstairs bedrooms as it is great eye candy and helps to seal the deal quicker. Tile or vinyl in the bathrooms, laminate or hardwoods in upstairs bedrooms. No carpet in our rentals anymore, got tired of those animal surprises.