All Forum Posts by: Yvette M.

@Art Maydan, I think @Deanna McCormick answered your question.  With a M2M you can give the tenant the boot and not sweat out a year lease.  

I like #1, however, I would be concerned about the temporary son. Can he be added as an occupant?

In my opinion, they are close enough to the end of the lease to let them go without penalty. 

Cats cause terrible damage, so be prepared for that when the tenants vacate. Fostering a pet or pet sitting IS having a pet.

You can advertise on gosection8.com

I only market to S8 voucher holders, VASH & housing our heroes.  There is a 10 year waiting list to get a voucher, so in my experience the tenant isn't likely to muck it up with unauthorized pets, guests, etc

You can eliminate 3x rent since the applicant will have a voucher.  

You set the payment terms.  You can force anyone to pay online though.

I have more problems from my non-S8 tenants.

Screen S8 tenants as you would a regular prospect.

I would say zero.  An eviction usurps a lease and tenant is no longer bound to it.  Try to re-rent ASAP.

Tenant is responsible to replace light bulbs.

I belong to an apartment association and I can run my own background check from my desktop.  Prospect tenant pays for credit check.  I think the max you can charge for a credit check in CA is $45.99, but you have to provide the applicant with a fee breakdown.  I charge for the actual cost of the report and the rest is admin fees.  I also do drive-bys to previous residences listed on the application to talk to neighbors.

I phone screen applicants then out of that group I invite them to an open house for a one or two hour window.  I don't stagger appointments; it's y'all come.  Prospects see the competition.  I don't give paper applications at the showing, but I do take e-mail and phone numbers of those who wish to proceed.  I email an application to my number one pick and then go from there.

I review the application and get as much free information as I can -- calling references, prior LLs, search property records, etc.  If that goes well then I do background/credit check.  It takes me about a week to get through the process.  I tell prospects up front of the time frame, so anybody in a rush to move in can look elsewhere.

M2M is best.  However, if you do a 9 month lease that will end in the summer months re-renting may be easier.