First time landlord

[Lamar Thomas]

hen I purchased this property the first unit already had tenants in it that has been there for like 4 years. They recently settled on a house and will be out by the end of the month. They were paying 1030 but they also had 2 dogs. The original owner did not tell me if she was charging extra for the pets (most likely she was) or if 1030 was just her base rent. should I keep the base rent 1030 regardless if the next tenant has pets or not. How would you go about this?? And, if you do allow pets at your rental properties how much more do you charge??

[JD Martin]

Most LLs charge extra for pets. I do not, but I have strict standards on pets. No exotics (anything beyond a cat, dog, or caged bird), animals must be fixed, housebroken, all shots, socialized, and I will meet the pet. I will say this: I have not had a pet that I didn't like in one of my houses because I haven't had a tenant I didn't like. If you have good people as tenants, they are probably responsible pet owners.