All Forum Posts by: Phil LoCicero

I wouldn’t have any interest in owning investment property in Washington to begin with. Idaho is relatively landlord friendly. 

I have no real problem with taking the first qualified tenant as I tend to screen thoroughly. I would just hate to invest my capital in a place where I know I’m hated and unappreciated. One thing for sure is all the hatred towards landlords isn’t going to have the intended effects. It’s going to drive mom and pop operators out, reducing the number of available dwellings. Those who remain are going to want to be well compensated for the abuse. Corporate operations are going to jam rents right through the roof. Ought to be interesting. 

Welcome to free America. The real estate market here is hotter than I have ever seen it. There are absolute seas of apartment complexes being built to try to accommodate the massive influx of people moving in from outside the area. Good luck with your move and possible purchase 

He has no business renting anything other than a bedroom right now. Probably a nice guy but you aren’t in the business of subsidizing struggling renters are you?

I rented to a felon exactly once. That’s the end of that. Great guy. Friendly. Made more money than me and couldn’t pay his rent on time to save his life. He had tons of warnings. I told him that I would not renew his lease if he kept it up. He did and I didn’t renew it. He came to my house a few weeks before having to move and tried waving a few months rent under my nose to renew. It wasn’t hard to say no. He acted like that with a wife, two little kids and a newborn knowing what would happen. That’s how they get to be felons- habitually making poor decisions. 

Second mistake- when I rent to someone I make sure that ALL adults are on the contract and can pay independently of each other. Yes this significantly reduces who is able to rent from me but I can afford to be picky as hell in my area. I’ve gotten chewed out by men with stay at home wives for my refusal to rent when they had great jobs. My response is always, “Well, when you run off with the secretary and I’m stuck with your wife on the lease and no ability to pay, what do I do then?” They get my point then even if they aren’t happy. 

Welcome to free America. I’m a semi retired contractor and active landlord of a few SFHs. Hopefully you’re leaving Oregon politics in Oregon. You chose a difficult time to buy in the Treasure Valley. Just know it’s kind of a free for all out there in the Boise area right now. Political refugees from California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado and points east are driving prices through the roof. It’s been great for me but hard on buyers. Since you’re only in Bend you should really try to come to town and see for yourself how brutal the competition is. I expect that you’re not too late to the party to get in on some hefty appreciation as this place grows exponentially. 

https://www.weknowboise.com/bl...

In addition to being a landlord, I also happen to be a drywaller- as in that’s my day job. I do not see significant sagging nor staining. I’d caulk it and maybe touch it up with the wall color (It’ll be easier to cut a straight line in paint with the smoother texture)

If there’s slight sagging, you may have nothing worse than a few nails popping at the nearest joist. Look for evidence of nails/screws failing- little circular holes in a line. Push the ceiling gently back against the joist and put a few new screws in and put a little drywall mud or spackle over them. 

Worst case scenario: old water damage that someone hid with a stain blocking primer. Cut back from the corner to the nearest joist and replace the drywall. Match the texture after taping. That texture is a sponge texture- usually done by do it yourselfers. Most drywall guys won’t do it unless matching existing texture. 

Price: low end- $3 for a tube of caulk

High end: $350-400 to cut back, replace, re-tape and match texture. PAINTING NOT INCLUDED

Greetings from next door in Idaho. I brought this very subject up a while ago and some big shot on here said, I quote, “The sky is falling.” That knucklehead’s lack of wisdom notwithstanding, for many the sky really is falling. 

I only own a few rental properties and They’re fully paid off. So I can’t afford to have someone, backed by the federal government, thumbing their nose at me when rent’s due. We’re fortunate in Idaho to not have as unfriendly a state government with respect to landlords. But I do have one sitting vacant as of this month while I wait for the moratorium to end. I may turn it into a short term rental. Some local people I know are doing just that, making more money and not allowing anyone to to stay long enough to establish residency. 

If I was in your shoes I’d be looking to get out unless of course you have tens of thousands of dollars you don’t mind losing to pay the bills while Inslee decides how to screw you next. 

Good luck in whatever you decide. 

Nothing is stopping me from buying my first. That was done years ago. Same with my second. Want to know what keeps me from buying more?

This:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/r...

I sort of had this problem solved or so I thought with a high credit threshold, employment verification that involved me showing up at the place of employment, and using a commercial screening service as well. But the problem is that I lose tenants after a year or two usually because they buy a house. The trade off is I get paid on time always and I generally get my properties back with no or minimal damage. I live in a place where rentals are very hard to come by so nothing stays vacant. 

With all that said, I only own a few rentals but I own them outright. Because I only own a few, each rent is an important part of my income as I’m slowly easing into retirement. I don’t have the luxury of having a non payer sneak in. It won’t likely result in losing the property but could easily chew ten to twenty grand out of my savings. I can weather it but should I have to? 

I have exactly zero confidence in any government entity to protect my non- existent constitutional rights. I have a great tenant leaving next month in my most valuable property. I think it’s gonna stay vacant until the early summer and I’m gonna sell it. I can’t chance getting it wrong with screening. I’ll probably do the same with my next lease up in August. And so on. 

Maybe self storage, who knows. It's not like I trust banks with accounts larger than the FDIC insurance cutoff either. It will have to go somewhere.

One thing I’ve been thinking about is moving into building spec homes. If I build no more than two at a time I can do it without leverage. I happen to work in the construction industry already. The only thing I see as a problem right now is the shortage of subs. Most guys are scheduled months out. That could slow me down considerably although there isn’t much I can’t do on my own. But one man is no substitute for an experienced crew in any trade.