All Forum Posts by: Adam Martin

I asked my agent about this previously when I turned my first home into a rental and you have to have a landlords policy to be covered.  In my experience it actually cost less than a homeowners policy which originally surprised me but makes sense when she explained it.  A homeowners policy covers the dwelling and your stuff but for a landlords policy you have a much smaller coverage for personal property, I stick with 5k for kitchen appliances.  The tenants stuff isn't covered by your policy, that is what the renters insurance is for so there is a lot less risk for your insurer which makes it cheaper.  Lets say the house catches fire they are going to fix it and as a bonus you usually get lost rent if it is included in the policy but they don't have to pay the tens of thousands to replace your belongings that were burnt or smoke damaged like clothes, electronics, or personal items.  Your best bet is to just call your insurer for a quote and they will tell you what you need.  I'd also recommend calling a few because quotes can vary but make sure you are comparing apples to apples on coverage.  

Sounds like fraud to me and not something I’d get involved with.  If she gets caught I’m not sure what the repercussions could be but I wouldn’t put myself in the position to find out.  All it takes is a breakup and him to report her and you could be in a world of hurt.  

Never underestimate the power of a facebook marketplace porch pickup.  I am always amazed at the junk people will take if it is free and it has saved me several trips to the dump.  One man's trash is another's treasure.  You could take the nicer stuff out in the yard or if the house is really packed just post some pictures saying to take what you can carry.  I would make sure to be there though as some may get overzealous taking things you don't want to get rid of like appliances or fixtures but you should be able to easily get rid of at least 1 dumpster of stuff.  I had a guy drive over an hour for some scrap metal I posted where there is no way it was worth a 2 hour round trip drive but that is not my problem.  

I’m about as pro 2a as they come but I do not believe you should have clauses in your lease for those insurances like you would renters insurance.  I know many of my tenants have guns and I'm all for it.  I have even gone as far as finding out one of my tenants kids got a 20 gauge for turkey hunting but they couldn't find practice ammo in a shortage and dropped off 50 rounds for him, youth shooters are the future.  For those unaware of the mentioned programs they are essentially paying for retainer fees so that if you do have to use your firearm or other means of force for self defense you have a lawyer on retainer to defend you.  If you do find yourself in that situation there is a high likelihood you will be sued and you most certainly will be talking to the police.  They also provide legal services such as helping you understand local laws as well as other states laws when traveling.  Good programs in my opinion but not something to mandate.  

Others have hinted to it but this is a great moment for the happy clause.  Good sir I realize that this unit is not meeting your expectations so if you want to leave by the end of this month please submit your notice by Friday.  This is a 1 time offer but if you choose to stay you need to abide by the lease and your behavior will not be tolerated.  Life is too short to deal with a PITA and I don't think you should be keeping rent at 50% below market but if you choose to below market rents are reserved for above market tenants, he is not.  I would personally just non renew but if you choose to let him stay that rent needs to be at market when his lease is up.  If leaving rents below market I'd just let everyone go M2M.  They aren't going anywhere since you are the cheapest but this keeps everyone respectful knowing there is nothing holding either of you down.  If they act up just send a non renewal and they are out, since this is a multi this will paint the picture that you aren't going to tolerate that kind of behavior.  If someone chooses to use that same flexibility great let them leave and get a market rate tenant.   

I am currently using Zillow and it has been good to me so far.  It gives the tenant options where ACH is free, Debit is $10, and they can use a cc for whatever their % is, all fees are paid by the tenant.  There is no partial pay option it is full payment only.  This also means though if there is a roommate situation there is no splitting.  You can turn off payments and restart them easily as well as adding fees.  The main drawback of it is that payments take about a week to show up in your account but really if this is a deal breaker for you, you are cutting it too close.    I also use Zelle which would allow for partial payments but I get the money immediately and there is no chargeback risk.  Both options are completely free for the landlord and Zillow is usually free for the tenant unless they get in a bind and need to use a cc to make a payment but they usually won't do that every month, just in an emergency.  

The last thing you want to do is get this person who admits to being unemployed on a term lease.  If he is able to pay stick to month to month, if not go ahead and issue a 30 day notice to leave and if not evict them.  Evicting in most locations for termination of lease is much simpler than past due rent so any term lease is going to lock you in significantly more than it will lock him.  Did you get proof that rents were being paid from the seller or an estoppel showing that there was no deposit?

I do all the normal background checks but one of my favorite prescreening questions is do you have the funds to move now or did you need time to get the money together.  I get that it is expensive and often I am asking them to have almost 5k set aside for the first month, deposit, and possibly 600 pet deposit but I'm looking for tenants who have the ability and financial responsibility to have an emergency savings.  By skipping this and allowing them to pay slightly more for deposit insurance each month I feel I would open myself up to people who are not as financially stable which is exactly what I'm trying to avoid.  I'm interested if people can comment on how easy it is to actually collect on a claim after a tenant moves out.  The companies say it is easy but how to they vet the claim to see if the landlord is entitled to the money or just scamming the tenant.  

I am assuming by your post that the lease is signed but the tenant does not have keys yet, keep it that way.  Yes you have a signed lease but that lease also says that move in funds are paid but they are not so they are in violation.  There was also clear fraud on the application front which is another strike to back out.  Keep showing and ignore her threats and cease communication.  People threaten to sue all the time but unless you hear it from a lawyer it is all smoke and do you really think they would win even if they did.  Keep moving forward and ignore it.

That said there were mistakes made that it seems you are learning from.  Move in funds need to be made in certified funds through a certified or cashiers check, without this there is no move in or keys.  I have also accepted a wire from a tenant who did not have a local bank where they could get a certified check.  I also have them send me a copy of their drivers license after the background check so I can verify their info before the signing.  All said though you dodged a bullet and overall got a far cheaper lesson in screening and move in funds than others have.  

I will disagree with the last part of your post though on hiring a property manager which no doubt you are going to get suggestions anyway you need one.  Nobody is perfect starting out but really this isn't that hard especially if it is local and you don't have many properties.  Keep your head up and keep moving forward and you will do great.  While they work out great for some people nobody cares about your money like you do so don't let one setback scare you off.  

Pretty much everything can be fixed but that doesn't mean it should be.  Most appliances are fairly easy to fix but if you are going to have to hire a repair person the cost difference isn't enough to warrant bothering with it.  Over the past 2 years I have been a frequent flyer at Lowes buying appliances.  While the expenses hurt and the situation is a pain I do have mostly new appliances so I should be good for a while.  On a bright note it is ovens for you, I only needed 1 of those but replaced 3 fridges which cost more plus a microwave, dishwasher, and garbage disposal.  When it rains it seems to pour but on a plus side that usually means it will be a bit before I get the next round of calls.