All Forum Posts by: Deanna O.

My brother manages a tenant who pays 1 year at a time and they are absolutely fine. The husband had just lost his mother when they moved in. They had cash, and were really not up to dealing with anything at all emotionally. As far as I know they have continued to pay a year at a time for quite a while now, and are absolute gems. They take amazing care of the house and their animals (it's a rural property), they pet-sit when my brother is out of town, and are all-around A+++ tenants. They just happen to be very, very private people, and like being left alone. One benefit for them is that there's no way a landlord raises the rent on tenants like that without thinking about it long hard ahead of time - if they decide to move the landlord KNOWS they have the resources to do so in a heartbeat!

All that said, screen EVERYONE (especially paying attention to SS#/address mismatches, since those can signal identity theft). Someone like the Hummer guy I'd check out on social media too--he does sound rather illegal-income-ish. 

 Ever hear the phrase "a word to the wise is sufficient"? 

If you are considering dealing with any of the people mentioned in the posts why don't you PM the OP for details?  Scammers need to be invisible to succeed, & tend to scamper like cockroaches if they get too much attention.

I DO absolutely understand those who want to only give a red flag warning. First of all, it's pretty darned embarrassing to admit you've been had (and Kudos to those who are gutsy enough to admit it and share with others), second, scammers aren't above threatening their victims and their families. Scammers depend on fear & embarrassment to keep their victims quiet, and to keep fishing in the same pond. Once the alarm is sounded (even if it's a vague one) they have to move on to a different fishing hole to keep scamming.  

IMHO, a legitimate experienced lender with a real track record and actual money isn't going to be such the delicate flower that they will disappear off of BP just because ONE person gave a vague warning about them. There have however been several threads on BP that started as "watch out for so and so" that turned into "uh oh!" "Me too" and "@X$%! I'm never going to see that $$$ again", along with some "Thanks! I almost fell for that!" posts. 

oh, and dishwasher space is PERFECT for a trashcan $10 for a nice white trash can and all of a sudden the space makes sense. We've done that with the "trash compactor" space where I live. Previously it was just completely dead space with a panel over it -- makes our small kitchen work SOOO much better). 

If this is turning into a real dog, maybe consider rent-to-own in order to get rid of it?

Post on Craigslist if you haven't already. IMHO Zillow is used by buyers, Craigslist used by renters.

That 2nd bedroom looks really, really tiny - maybe make sure your "2 bedroom" is comparable in sq footage to the other 2 bedrooms in the area, if not maybe price should be between a 1 bedroom & 2 bed. There are some other articles about ad-writing, maybe review those. Maybe a pitch that they are getting their "own house" for the same price as an apt, if that is indeed true ("Tired of thin walls and loud music at 1 am?  Move into your own cozy house with your own back yard at an apartment price!  Friendly neighbors, and a yard that is perfect for summer BBQs,  and gardening") (make sure whatever you say is true, of course).

Is Section 8 a reasonable idea? Here in CA it's a bit loaded (1 yr min lease, etc), but it definitely opens up a wider pool of tenants (maybe find out if other properties in the area are also Section 8 -- possibly even do research on the demographics of the area. If $1500 is a good wage for the region, maybe that works for your rental).

I agree on adding a fridge. Doesn't need to be super fancy (though stainless cost price is similar to plain white in many cases). Shop Craigslist & you can probably find one pretty cheap (but put $ aside for replacing appliances if you get $100 cheapies on CL).

Steve Vaughn,

 I promise, building credit works in real life, if not in your son's HS simulation (though think about it-- if the "student" in the sim scenario has no income, but is borrowing $ to buy a car..yeah, that sim person IS a bad credit risk, and the 300 credit rating would be pretty accurate!). 

In real life, I purchased a house in 2010 with a zero credit rating (private money loan). Since then I've worked my way up to almost 800 fico, following all the standard advice.(secured CC, etc). It went from 0 to 600 pretty quickly, then to up to the mid-700s in about 2 years if I remember right. NO late payments, & kept the balances paid off every month. 

The only thing that can't be forced is time -- the age of the oldest CC is always part of that formula, so it probably does make sense for your son to get a (small) CC that he uses only for small purchase and always, always, always pays on time.. True, it's a game, True it doesn't (entirely) show how responsible someone is, but it's not always entirely inaccurate either.

Spray painting a line on the concrete sounds like "crazy" to me, (actually, more like alcoholic/druggie behavior). Honestly,  you'll be lucky just to get rid of her, let alone getting damages out of her.

 Formal "fix or scram" paperwork & paying a professional service to send her on her way sounds like a really, really good idea. Glad you are in a landlord friendly area.

So, few thoughts;

a) "Higher end". Are you looking at tenants who are Doctors, lawyers & dentists & other professionals, or are you looking at teachers and bus drivers?

b) Fair Market Rent. Are the rents you are charging above, same as, or below the rates for similar houses in the area? If you are expecting top dollar rents for the area your agent is going to have to work a LOT harder to get a tenant than if the rent is a screaming good deal for the area. 

c) Curb appeal -- do these houses look top-of-the-line when you pull up to them? Just a tad better than the rest of the neighborhood? No peeling paint, nothing faded or broken, landscaping is attractive and well-maintained? Clean, newly painted, house looks well-maintained? Again, easy-to-rent vs just-another-house.

Outside the box;

As others said, approach other GOOD property management companies or realtors with the package and see if they are interested. Talk to friends with nicer rentals to see who they use.  

If these are truly exceptional homes for the area (Company CEO/heart surgeon/society entertainment home caliber) maybe approach the top tier realtors in the area & see what you can negotiate. There may be a market for corporate homes or short-term housing for relocated professionals while shopping for a permanent residence. Offer shorter/flexible leases in exchange for slightly higher rent &/or no placement fees (with the bonus that most CEOs looking to buy a new home have too much to lose to go trashing the place). In large metro areas insurance companies frequently have to relocate clients while repairs are being done. High end construction companies might have clients who need to relocate for major remodels. If you are near a hospital consider marketing to traveling nurses/medical staff. Universities have professors for short stints (think 9 months and CLOSE to university -- bike or walk preferred). 

They are probably expecting to be asked to leave if it was one of them or a friend who fired. Discharging firearm is valid, but heck, endangering your life is even more relevant (bullets don't always stop at walls).

If it was a random shooting (complete stranger shows up on doorstep) they may wish to move anyhow. Most of the other excuses (went off while cleaning or handling, arguing, etc) show carelessness, stupidity, criminality or dodgy associates you don't want next door to you. 

Since there was no death, there is nothing to declare to the next tenant. 

Maybe offer to "release" them from the lease to move immediately, maybe with the additional incentive that if they are out within 15 days you'll take care of the carpet & bullet damage?

Update. Owner did pass away. After some uncertainty the family of deceased decided to deal with the hassle of probate and keep the property. My parents were relieved, since rightly or wrongly the family members would probably regret it later if they had just let the property go in a foreclosure, since there was some modest amount of equity due to the recent market upticks.