All Forum Posts by: Adam Martin

I like to do the prescreening on the phone and take notes.  This weeds out a good amount of people which is just a list of a few questions I have.  Many people are pretty forthcoming and I just let them know that this is just to make the best use of their time and I'd hate for them to like the place and pay to apply when I can't rent to them.  I encourage them to be honest and most people are.  I don't think everyone understands the full eviction process but I ask them if they were and a lot of people tell me that it was filed but they moved.  I don't know if this would show on my check but I'm not interested so it may catch a few my screener wouldn't.  From there I schedule showings in 30 minute blocks back to back and the home is 90% done so if someone no shows me I just clean some windows or finalize some touch up paint.  I am big on the prescreening as some prospects get upset and I have had a few get hostile over the phone, I'm not looking to have that conversation in person.  

That was a long winded way to say I prescreen but don't actually have them submit and pay for an application before viewing.  I want to get an idea but I personally wouldn't pay for the privilege of looking at a house and I think good tenants know they don't have to and will find another more reasonable landlord.  Also I have had a few people tour that were just nuts and maybe they qualified maybe not but I was no longer interested good sir after you repeatedly put your hand in a mole trap when told not to.  That poor wife knew they were done at that point and they just left with her family and I never head back even though I think they were really interested.  If they already applied and saw the place I really don't see why you could say no to someone who may not be a great fit personality wise. 

I've done it before and had a company reach out to me asking if it was something I would be interested in.  Keep in mind not a lot of people are willing to do the shorter term rental so everything is negotiable and they will pay a premium.  I had an empty LTR that was unfurnished and they paid an extra 650/month and also paid to furnish it for a 6 month rental.  Everything went well and I thought this could be a good niche but at the end of the day they don't always need a house and you really can't plan vacancies in advance.  If it were the off season and I was having trouble renting I may consider it again but overall I don't think it is worth the extra vacancy but if you are doing MTR it is definitely worth making the right connections.  We used ALE relocation services and they were great, you can register on their site when you have a vacancy and they will let you know if they need you but it is somewhat based on luck if they need you.  

Easy solution for this one. It seems like they want the mural to stay and the landlord wants to get paid for advertising.  If the current owner wants to pay the advertising rate to keep it there then there is no reason to remove it but if not they may be out of luck.  I'm not sure how many companies in LA though are going to be paying a premium to hang their advertising in a place that had Kobe covered over so publicly though.  

I'm still doing them all accessible beige which is a greyish beige and it is still popular here.  For finish I'm looking for ease of turns and touchup.  When you are trying to touch up paint the actual color stays true for quite a while it is the sheen that fades over time.  Because of this I use flat since you can touch it right up and not have to worry about it.  Behr has a scuff defense paint that I like and it seems to hold up well to a magic eraser and touches up extremely easy.  This was a hack a painter friend gave me and has saved me a ton of time and money.  I have 6 rentals and this is the color for all the walls, I buy it by the 5 gallon bucket.  

Your post in reality should have been how do I get rid and replace a property management company who has not collected rent in 5 months.  That was not the question though but as others have said the likelihood of collection is low but remember low is not impossible.  The first objective should be to get them out and re-rented but after that I encourage you to file the suit on money due and send to collections.  Sure you may never see it but really it is not that expensive and I have made worse gambles that never paid off.  I really wouldn't expect money but I'm petty and at the least I'd get a sense of satisfaction that I had made their life just a bit harder.  You also never know there are plenty of posts on here where landlords have collected but I can guarantee you they won't come knocking looking to make good on their debt without a judgement prompting them to do so.  If nothing else at least you warned the next guy, it would have been nice if someone did that for you since I doubt this is this person's first rodeo.  

I like some of his advice while some of it to me is garbage but the same can be true for anyone giving advice.  What I admire most about this man is he is a marketing genius.  He found a niche with people who are bad with money and can’t help but spend it and then turned around and charges those same people money to learn not to spend money.   This is brilliant.  To really drive home sales he got churches and religion involved as well to really solidify his name and reputation.  Bravo my good sir.  

I have a strong suspicion that you are going to court either way.  It seems naive that someone willing to commit this kind of fraud is going to just up and leave when the lease is over.  They are playing you for a fool and are going to continue to do so after the lease is over.  If you haven't taken action up to this point why would they believe you when the lease is over.  It is posts like this that make me laugh when certain individuals response to everyone's question is that you should just give up and get a property manager, obviously this is not going to solve all your problems.  In fact picking the wrong one can be worse than messing up yourself in many instances.  

I'm also voting go for the bigger one. Sure the 50 gallon will suffice for today with the current tenants in place but they aren't going to be here forever.  Go with the 75 gallon to avoid future hassles.  

I get the first 3 were time wasters but it seems strange how you reacted to the last person.  Who knows why they were contacting you after your open house but did you at least try to do any prescreening over the phone before you cut them off.  I would see it as I'm already there and if they checked the boxes over the phone it would be a good use of time to stay an extra half hour or so to try to close the deal.  

I came on here to say that all my leases say the home is rented as is and they had an option to see the home before signing the lease.  Then I saw your pictures and thought wow that is bad.  Paint all homes 1 color and I suggest flat paint as it touches up easier where you aren't as likely to have to repaint a whole wall as often.  I like Behr Scuff Defense flat tinted in Accessible Beige on all walls. If you hired a painter to do this never hire them again, if you did this yourself and felt it was adequate hire a painter and never touch a roller again.