All Forum Posts by: Brent Rieman

Since her credit is the sticking point, you could run her credit a second time with a different vendor and see what comes up.  For example, if you used a credit check on a PM software program like Buildium, your second check could be with TransUnion Smartmove. It might pick up things the first credit score missed to explain the score below 500

I call travel nurses "psychotic mutts".  Someone else on here calls them "borderline mentally ill".  It's 2 different terms, but it describes the same kind of person.

Bruce I havn't seen to many with good credit personally, i guess good being a relative term. So i've never ran an ap and had a tenant come back over 800. Very few over 700. Snapshot in terms of say, divorce, plant closing in a single industry area of the nation, or major medical issue. All of which I have rented to remnants of in the past with both favorable and unfavorable results. One thing that seems to be a good constant in my selection process is I will not rent to someone with a violent criminal history. I do look at job history and I make them give me a very detailed list of where they have been living. I also am working on the website the underground landlord to help us warn one another about the really bad ones. 

Brent, I had several tenants over the last few years that did not have great credit scores. The younger ones were all right, but didn’t take such great care of the place They did not have long work histories, nor did they work great jobs.

My latest tenant in my Nashville house not only had low scores, but did not have the 4x rent income your prospect has, but they were an extended family that wanted to be under the same roof. I insisted on speaking to the two landlords, and also a visit to their homes, on short notice. Ultimately these were extremely valuable as the landlords were positive (one party had a few latenesses of a few days, the other was stellar) and their homes were immaculate, and children well-behaved. They are my favorite tenants and have taken better care of my house than anyone else ever did. I think they buy a lot of furniture and electronics on credit, and it’s easy I think for something to get missed. Their furniture is nicer than mine, and the have eight televisions for the house, one in each room, and one more than the number of people living there!!! Me, I have one old crappy tv, not even a smart one! But I own four properties now on a pauper’s income from music, with very little debt. Some people buy stuff, others invest.

If you are not certain about this tenant, why not propose a short-term lease of, say, a few months, and let them know that if it doesn’t work out, you don’t have to evict because she will have no lease. If it does, you may be very happy you gave a working person a break. And the tenant will be grateful you took the chance, and be on notice not to mess with you. Certainly, a conversation about her low credit seems in order.

My experience with furnished STR was it was an awful lot of extra work with a lot of extra expenses that for me, did not make up for the increase in daily rent. But that's just me. I know there are companies that will manage it for you, but they have no incentive to keep your costs down. Some people and companies love it, but it's not for me personally.

Let us know how it turns out!

Hi all, I'm a commercial and residential realtor. I have a 5 unit Multi family pocket listing however the sellers did not disclose to me that one of their tenants is a registered sex offender until we were about to sign contracts with a buyer (also a client of mine)

When this was disclosed to the buyer (a newish investor), the buyer backed out of the deal. I suppose my question is does anyone have experience with this kind of situation? Would this always be a brickwall for most investors out there or would it depends on the terms of the deal ect. 

I was just interested to get different investors takes on this kind of situation and whether this would always be a run for the hills type of thing or if it wouldn't faze a seasoned investor?

I started 2 months ago renting out two units for mid-term rentals in my 6-unit building. So far so good. I live in Pittsburgh and there are plenty of hospitals in the area. Here's what I have learned so far.

* I bought Al Williamson's course and it was helpful, but not required in my opinion. If you search YouTube / podcasts you can find channels dedicated to this niche.
* Being near hospitals and universities are great for traveling nurses, patients undergoing therapy, grad students, and/or remote professionals.
* Having extended stay hotels in the area are a good indicator there is demand for mid-term rentals.
* I furnished both units using Cort furniture to buy solid, matching, used furniture at a discount. You can finance the purchase if you don't want to lay out the cash up front. You can decorate a 1 bedroom apartment (living, dining, bedroom, TVs, art, desk, etc) for under $2000 delivered. I probably spend another $2k on kitchen appliances/essentials, linens, smart devices, etc. 
* I've added wifi and smart devices (thermostat, keyless locks) to help manage and be touchless.
* Items like wifi, desks, smart TVs, blackout curtains are important to those interested in my units.
* I get interest from furnished finder but all my bookings so far are via Airbnb. I understand 1/3 of Airbnb bookings are 30+ days. My minimum stay is 30 days to avoid taxes for STR and extra work involved in a turnover.
* I am booked pretty solid thru the end of the year. YMMV, but I expect 10-20% vacancy max in my area.
* My rent is 50% more than LTR units and I'm looking to increase it since I'm not having any issue keeping them full. Professional photos definitely help.
* I'm probably going to convert more units next year if the strength in mid-term rentals persist.

Hope that helps those interested in this niche.

Why the big concern about other tenants being PO'ed? This should ideally never happen, and even worst-case it should only happen once a year.....

I've never had an issue (knock on wood :-) All you need is to have strict requirements for your guests and adhere to them. No last minute reservations, no short stays, no one under 30, etc, etc.....

@Brent Rieman

I tend to be a "nice guy" landlord..  I've had it work out with some poor credit applicants.  They really mean well, but just can't do better than "scraping by..."

Did she say anything about the credit card deliquencies?  Are they more like department store cards indicating that she is splurging on clothes?  Maybe her car broke down some time, etc. basically unexpected expenses.  I'd be trying to get  feeling if she lives beyond her means.

I have a client whose credit started around 480.  It was some delinquincies early on, some she claims were wrong, and she is mainly a cash person now.  So, the poor credit score is more so due to LACK of credit history.

You say you've been having turnover every couple of years?  So, could you do any worse with this applicant if you have no other choices for some reason in this market?  Food for thought...

Good luck.

It does. Several other places are doing this up and down the lakeshore. My concern is pissing off all my other tenants in the building if I went true STR. I was hoping to go half in with a MTR and then maybe try STR next summer. Im sure i could fill it as a STR in the summer but im not sure about the winter. This unit that is open is a end unit and would be the only one I might get away with as an STR and not piss off all the other tenants, but probably still a few. Its 8 townhouse units. I was thinking to really maximize the cash flow on this id be ideal to do like 5 Long term rentals on the west side and the other 3 as Mid Terms/ STR's and try to put a Mid Term in between the Long terms and STRS. Maybe im over thinking it, but this property too unique to not start making some real money.

@Brent Rieman Does this place have any potential as a true STR? It is furnished and near the lake......? Maybe that's another option?