Amarillo, TX · Member since 2012 · 7 posts · 0 votes
Just won the bid on a rental property waiting on paper work to be finished. I live in TEXAS and need to get up to speed on being an effective and profitable landlord. Where can I get a great rental tailored for TEXAS market? Do I make tenant respondsible for first 200$ of a repair? Do I get credit criminal reports and best place to get them for TEXAS? Any advice or opinions would be appreciated. Thanks
Involved In Real Estate · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2012 · 158 posts · 11 votes
14y
Hi Albert congrats!
I have been a landlord for the past two years so I am pretty new. What price did you get it for and does it need any repairs to make it rent ready? What's your monthly payments, interests, taxes, insurance total up to and have you checked how much you can rent it for in that neighborhood?
Throurougly screen your tenants and get them to fill out an application for each adult. I used a company called Mysmartmove, you can find them here on BP. They do all the criminal and credit check for $25 per applicant. You can either instruct your potential tenant to do their own screening on the website and pay the $25, or you can also choose to do it yourself. Make sure their income is at least 3x the gross rent and have a stable job. Check previous landlords is a must. Any questions feel free to ask I hope this can be of help
Involved In Real Estate · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2012 · 158 posts · 11 votes
14y
I used the rental agreement here on the BP files just make a search for it. Maybe someone else can better advice on what you should include and what addendums to add to make it better for you.
Amarillo, TX · Member since 2012 · 7 posts · 0 votes
14y
Thanks Dave. Ive heard that tenants are responsible for first 200$ repairs from some podcasts. Is that common? My dad has some rentals and doesnt charge that fee. But he was never told or taught to do that. Just wanna make sure Im doing things right. I will check out the site for more info on reports.
Investor · Statewide, MO · Member since 2011 · 814 posts · 425 votes
14y
Albert:
You'll hear a lot of good ideas from a lot of good people. The trick is to tailor their suggestions to what works in your given market. Depending on the region, income, neighborhood and other factors the idea of having the tenant pay for the first $200 of repairs may or may not work. There are a ton of pitfalls to this approach, most notably tenants never fixing small things, like a tiny leak, that could bring on massive problems if not repaired.
When the massive problems arrive, the tenants are likely to leave and everyone loses. There's a ton of threads on this board about this subject.
Personally, I follow @B G, as he is the brightest mind in the business, bar none. He's not selling a course, just passing out phenominal tried and true advice.
Involved In Real Estate · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2012 · 158 posts · 11 votes
14y
I have heard the same and verbally have mentioned it to them but forgot to put it down on the contract. I did write that I make 6 months inspections and 1 month prior to the lease ending. Also collect first months rent and deposit before you let them move in.