All Forum Posts by: Chris B.

If you don't already have a HELOC in place, check to see if you can even get one. When I last looked into one right before the start of the current decline and prices were at their peak, I had properties with 40 - 50% equity. I was told by the bank that the HELOC they offered me would allow for up to 80% leverage and I have excellent credit. Reality is they performed a questionable assessment of the property and when combined with their other secret sauce, they only offered me a single HELOC of $15K out of the 4 properties I had applied for. I imagine its even harder now.

I'm just starting with Innago myself.  I'm too nice and that has led to many problems with late payments.  I'm going to let the software do the rent collection for me.  I'm content with all other aspects on self-management.  I looked into several platforms and generally found most to be lacking in my primary need: collection of rent and application of late fees.  That seems pretty basic but most platforms can't handle my pretty simple requirement:  Rent is due on the 1st of the month.  Starting on the 2nd and every day after there is an additional $20 dollar late fee.  Innago can handle this and even has a feature to cap late fees at a certain dollar amount which also works well in my state.  One of the other major platforms suggested I manually add the late fee to the next month's rent.  No, I don't think so!  I find the interface to be pretty confusing, but their tech support is A+  They support ACH and credit card payments.  You can't disable the the credit card acceptance so be aware of that.

I feel its bad form on your part to try to void the lease or look for loopholes to void the lease.  Especially for good tenants over only $300?  Really???  You made the mistake of accepting a 4 year lease or if you just acquired the property, you are responsible for the terms you have accepted.  This is a landlording learning experience.  We all have been through them and they have cost us many thousands over the years.  Don't try to squeeze good tenants in this way to make more money.

 Also, is there a way to remove entries from the tenants / owners section?  I apparently accidentally set up the tenants as owners and I have some duplicates also.

I haven't been able to find any sample Innago applications or screening reports.  I'm pretty sold on trying this system to collect rent, but before I transition my screening and applications over to the system, I'd like to see what it looks like.  I'm asking here before I email support because others will likely be interested also.

I have a property that I am listing for $2195 / month.  Its a 3 bedroom and the city's Section 8 guide states the "payment standard" for a 3 bedroom is $2839. With a difference of over $500, its possibly worth considering opening to Section 8 applicants.

https://www.chandleraz.gov/res...

Question 1: Is the payment standard the whole rent (tenant payment + city payment) or is it just the city's portion?

Question 2: Can I raise the rent to this amount and then open it up to section 8 applicants or is there some kind of rule that won't let me max it out?  Why would someone not want to max it out?

I've historically never considered this or even looked into S8.  I've heard landlord complaints about problems dealing with the government and also the general tenant quality.

As said, trust your gut.  95% of the time when I go against that feeling, I get burned.  The suspect employment status has already been covered... don't trust it.   Even more, don't trust anything on a Zillow application.  Zillow seems to very either nothing or very little.  They allow the applicant to omit information also.  Most importantly, if you have an issue with the tenant down the road, you have minimal information to go after them with.  I always use a 2 page paper application for all adults who will live in the home and use my own service for a background checks.

Thank you for the additional tips!  

I looked up the law in AZ...

https://www.azleg.gov/ars/33/0...

It appears that per section D.2, the landlord needs to provide the tenant with a notice requiring the problem be resolved (health and safety related) or the contract will be terminated on the date included (at least 20 days notice).  I have provided 2 prior notices in writing, but didn't state that I would terminate the lease if not resolved within those notices so it appears that those letters may not count in the same way this notice does count.  So at this point, I'll provide the proper notice and if the issue isn't resolved, then terminate the lease.  Termination date may align with end of year contract for convenience reasons and thus a notice of non-renewal.

Ah, sounds fun.  Thank you for pointing me in the right direction to start looking into this.  If it gets too complicated, I'll bring in a tax professional.  

A tenant damaged the house she rents from me.  Her insurance paid $15k to me via a check.  My repair cost was that much plus some more.  For tax purposes, it appears I report the insurance payment as some kind of income and then I can deduct my repair expenses to offset it.  Is this accurate and if so, where is the insurance payment reported on the taxes?  (TurboTax) Thanks!