All Forum Posts by: Karen Bickford

@jeff t if your unit is on the beach why not put it on a vacation rental site like Vrbo and rent it weekly until you can rent it full-time to a long-term tenant. You could likely get 1800 per week.

@Larry P.  love Smartmoves and have been using the service since I learned about it here on BP. 

bear marquee paint is also very good. I am fan of  Benjamin Moore however thecoverage of Behrin marquee is incredible.  One coat on fresh mud and taped drywall. 

@Bryan Vince  Sounds like he maybe has some security concerns. Is it an area that warrants concern?  My other thought is cctv systems are not cheap. 

I agree he should of got permission from you to install. Most leases state you can't drill holes or change paint inside of unit. So mounting cameras outside would would be pretty brazen even at his own expense. 

Cameras are the norm these days with the exception of where there is an expectation of privacy ie bedrooms or pointing inside home.  It could be a good  thing for the security of that building  and you may need the camera footage at some point.  See if you can get a component of the system that might be helpful to you down the road.

@mike gurney The heat is separate it is a small single-family.  I am  adding a couple hundred dollars more to the rent to cover the oil. My thought was having a programmable thermostat would help mitigate abuse.

The other thing I have experienced when tenants have to pay for the oil is they let it run out or dangerously low which in turn causes a service call. It is also a tax write off 😀

Thank you BP for the rental screening how to. 

 I just had an inquiry for a listing that I listed on Postlets today.  The email had all the red flags that are mentioned in the How to Screen tenants guide. 

 1. Will take apartment without seeing the inside yet just did drive by. 

2. Needs to move quickly as his lease with current landlord is up this month. 

3. Has his own credit report already so I don't need to run one.

4. Asked if owner lived on site.

Last but not least he is an attorney.  Sorry to the attorneys out there :) 

A cursory google search showed he has been foreclosed on, his bull mastiff killed another dog in the neighborhood and he has been reprimanded by the bar.

Thanks again BP because of this site I dodged a bullet!!!

I have a trane programmable thermostat which I can control remotely in my vacation rental in Florida.that is on Wi-Fi which I would not obviously be able to do in a long-term rental. After two seized AC units it was necessary for me to not let the thermostat go below 72°.

 There are a few brands Chicago controls, Braeburn and  Honeywell. You can lock them so that they cannot go above or below a certain temperature.  In Massachusetts the requirement is 68° in the winter. Is there anyone familiar with the brand so I listed above?

Good Morning BP!  I am listing an apartment for rent and want to include heat which is oil and I am in New England.  What is a good programmable thermostat that can't be tampered with?  Any advice would be helpful.

@Terrell Sapp  I have never sold RE so can't comment on that. My take on being an agent is you really have to work it.  Much more work than I was willing/able to to do. If I didn't have another job I would def try my hand at it. There is so much technology evolution in the RE agent arena it seems it would be hard to fail if you put the time and effort in.  The 80/20 rule applies  as well. Out of the 100 agents in my office Greater Worcester MA only about 20 agents are producers. I am part of the 80 lol. 

@terrell Sapp I hang my license with them however I don't actively work as an agent. I did at one point think I wanted to be an active real estate agent and did a lot of training which was awesome however it just isn't for me.I use my license mostly for investing purposes.they have a good compensation package as well as far as commission splits go not sure what it is but it was attractive.