I was wondering if anybody has any out of the box ideas for creating a little extra cash flow out of your rentals. For example, the apartment i just leased was a one year deal (only did it because I don't know the area well enought o buy just yet) and they gave us an option to break the lease for an upfront charge of $400.
Any ideas would be appreciated. I know the previous idea probably seems very basic but, i just came out of a back woods town in Alaska and I have a lot of catching up to do as far as learning these creative ways to produce cash flow.
Real Estate Investor · London · Member since 2008 · 3k+ posts · 74 votes
18y
Stephanie,
On the pet idea...
You note that you are charging a deposit and the deposit is not refundable.
Any reason not to call the charge a fee rather than use the word deposit?
It seems odd to label anything a deposit if it is not somehow refundable or a credit towards something (deposit for special orders are applied to the purchase but are not something that is returned).
A pet fee sounds more transparent.
Some people suggest that people who have a pet will stay longer. Have you found that to be the case? The logic is many landlords will not accept pets so the tenant who is happy with their present home is less likely to move as they do not have all that many alternatives.
Do you ever charge extra rent or a pet rent fee per month?
Real Estate Investor · liberty township, OH · Member since 2008 · 149 posts · 6 votes
18y
granted this is my first property... but i offered to my tenants to either pay monthly, bi-monthly or every other week (with the option on this one to skip a payment in december)...Yeah yeah i know it is a pain collecting rent, but as i tell my wife.... If i give them choices to pay partial on pay day then i have a better likelyhood to get the rent... Some, if not a lot, of renters are living their lives pay check to paycheck and if i get my cut first (which to them seems like a smaller amount) then it works out for everyone
Originally posted by "REI":
Originally posted by "rich23s":
Not sure if this is a good idea or not, but I just thought of it last night.
for lower income rentals (A.K.A. people who have a hard time saving money) you could start a "Christmas savings fund" (or holiday if you're politically correct"). They would voluntarily give you $20 a month or whatever amount they want to, you put it all in an account and then disperse it to them on, let's say December 15th. In the meantime, if you have enough people participating, you could earn interest off of that money all year long. It also might help them pay their rent in January :lol:
just a thought.
-Rich
Rich,
This is not a way to make money. It could even require special accounting or a segregated bank account. Largely you are offering a service to the tenants for no economic benefit.
As an idea when brainstorming that later gets thrown out I like it. As a practical suggestion for increasing the landlords income it is a non-starter.
Investor · GA · Member since 2008 · 44 posts · 8 votes
18y
Things we do for additional revenue
1. We spray for bugs for a charge of $15 per unit. It may not sound like much but when you add up several units - it is good money. It only takes about 10 minutes to spray so about $90 an hour minus the supplies.
2. We charge $10 a day late fee up to %10 of gross rent fee.
3. We also do odd jobs for other nearby apartment owners and make small fees on these jobs (gutter cleaning, painting, hauling off trash, cleanups, mowing grass, etc.). Many landlords may scoff at this as it is not an effective use of your time. But believe it or not - it is an excellent way to get to know other landlords in your area and they will often contact you first if they want to sell their unit.
Developer · Santa Clarita, CA · Member since 2008 · 15k+ posts · 10k+ votes
18y
Originally posted by "TWatson":
I have had some success doing Chattel Apprasials, to accelerate depreciation. Check out National Chattel Experts
They basically value personal property and depreciate it over 5 years, thus adding to your after tax cash flow.
Tim, the IRS will have a huge problem with this and a Chattel App. will not be accepted. According to the IRS, a cost segragation analysis requires a site visit and Chattel App. are done over the phone in most cases. A true cost seg analysis should be ordered to accelerate (itemize) depreciation deductions and the other benefit is that some of the standard depreciation recapture can be avoided with a cost seg anal.
This is a great strategy to increase profitablility on rental properties and the standard cost ranges from 2k-3k which will be gained back the 1st year on depreciation deductions. There are some instances where a cost seg should not be done such as an investor who already has maxed his deductions and does not need any additional.
Real Estate Investor · Sparland, IL · Member since 2008 · 8 posts · 0 votes
18y
Originally posted by "steph71":
You can also contact your local cable company. If you offer their cable service exclusively, sometimes you can get a percentage of the sales in return.
I was wondering how many people have had success with offering exclusive cable contracts.
If so, what companies and how did you approach the topic?
Was there a specific department or term to use when inquiring about this?
I have a 4 unit building and 2 duplexes in the same town and it seems like it might work.
Tucson, AZ · Member since 2008 · 945 posts · 45 votes
18y
Originally posted by "takleberry":
ideas for generating revenues:
resell internet access (getting harder with more competition and cheaper rates)
Thought you might like to see this:http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/jun/10/letter-fcc-rule-may-impact-condos/
On Oct. 31, 2007, the FCC adopted a report and order (FCC-07-189) banning the use of exclusivity clauses for the provision of video services to multiple dwelling units or other real estate developments.
(More at site)
Real Estate Consultant · Somerville, MA · Member since 2008 · 339 posts · 52 votes
18y
On reselling utilities like cable...
Easiest method is to become an affiliate with WhiteFence and then funnel your tenants through there. They'll pay between $5-$17 per utility that's signed up and there isn't any work on your part other than getting the landing URL.
Also, accelerated depreciation...
When you consider the added time and expense to set it up, accounting/tax cost of tracking 50+ extra items, and the real net impact, I couldn't get the numbers to justify the expense for anything under about $500k in value.