All Forum Posts by: Chris Allen

@Haseeb M. Thank you. 

@Zack Howard Yeah, I understand that as well, that's why I am okay with him staying, just want to do it right and make sure my tenants are protected as well as myself. But I am doing a new lease anyways, because they are still under the previous lease since I inherited them with the purchase of this property and would prefer for them to be on a my lease. They have already agreed to this and said they would sign as long as I don't change anything major; so adding this person to the new lease wouldn't be difficult, especially if he really is staying for a full year. 

@Zack Howard So would you say just sign the new contract with them and write him in as an accepted guest via addendum and that the tenants are responsible for him?  Would I not worry about a deposit from the friend? My tenants deposit is only $500, and with this guest there will be three dogs total, two of which are a husky and an Akita... so I would think the only right way to get a security from someone who is bringing another animal into the property and will be staying there an entire year would be to just add him onto the lease? 

@Judy Parker But it will still be a military spouse living there, so the housing allowance shouldn't change. And the friend going through a divorce is also military, so I can't imagine the pay would be an issue. But like you stated for the addendum, would I still be able to request a deposit if I went this route? 

@Theresa Harris I guess that does make sense, but either way they are both in a hard situation, one going through a divorce, and one's spouse is leaving for a year. If two parties can prosper from a bad situation why not?

@Judy Parker Can you explain how you feel they are taking advantage of him in this situation? They were wanting the friend to stay there for a couple of months originally so he could get back on his feet after the divorce. Now that my tenant's husband will be shipping out, they want this guest to stay for the remainder of their current lease so my tenant is not living by herself while her husband is deployed. Also, by putting a guest in as an addendum, would I still be able to collect a pet deposit/fee from this person as well as potentially request a monthly pet fee? 

Thank yall for the input! I am not quite as worried about the wear and tear on carpet and things like that, when they move out I am already planning on flipping that unit; new flooring, paint, fixtures, fixtures, etc... but obviously I don't want the property to become in any worse condition, so I guess a significant deposit increase would be good to have. I am aware that they can break lease anytime with notice and papers, but I am okay with that, just means I can flip the unit sooner and raise rents more, but having another person in the unit could definitely make things more difficult if things go south. 

@Marc Winter I should definitely pitch this idea to Hallmark, I could use the pitch money to go towards a new property haha. 

Background: Just closed on my first househack duplex where I inherited tenants. The tenants are a married military couple who had just extended another year prior to me closing the property. I have already talked with them and they are okay with signing a lease with me as long as they can still keep their current terms, i.e pets, rent, lease term, etc...

Problem: My tenants have a friend who is going through a divorce and wanted him and his dog to move in for a few months while he gets things figured out; I told them I am okay with this as long as he passes a background check. Now they are wanting him to stay there for the full year, as my tenants husband just got orders to ship out for a year and she will still be living in the property. She does not really want him added to the lease. 

Question: How should I handle this? Assuming the friend passes my screening; should I draft a new lease for my tenants and just add him to it? Should I draft a new lease for my tenants and just give a written agreement for a long term guest? Just add some sort of addendum for him or what? Also, since he also has a dog, which will make 3 total, tenant has 1 service dog and one "pet" dog, should I make the guest give a security deposit and a pet deposit/fee? I want to protect both myself and my tenants, so that if my tenants decide they dont want him there anymore, he has very limited "rights" to the property, while also making sure I am protected.  

@Dan H., that is awesome what you are doing! I didn't come from money and was tought the value of hard work and I WANT to do most of the work myself, although I don't expect to have to do much, so I commend you for instilling that in your son at an early age! I know I am not going to get rich of of this deal, I just hope to not lose any. Using this as a stepping stone into bigger and better deals. 

@Terrell Garren, I like the idea of that, but dosent that increase your risk for high vacancy rates? So you have found that the risk of long term bad tennants outweighs the possible high vacancy? I am buying in Killeen TX, so we have a lot of millitary from Ft. Hood, Central Texas College, and only about 45min-1h from Austin. We have a strong rental market so I guess the vacancy might be worth it for the better tennant control.