All Forum Posts by: Chris B.

Your rental agreement is between you and the tenants on the contract.  Don't speak with anyone else as it provides no benefit.  Only the people on the contract are financially responsible for rent, penalty fees, and by abiding by the contract.  Document everything.  It would have been good to snap a picture of the sleeping bags.  Get a signed letter from the neighbor stating what was seen.  Document all of the conversations and what was stated and dates.  When they mention talk to their lawyer, I'd laugh at it internally as they can't even afford to buy a bed let alone a lawyer.  Maybe smile and say ok, whats the telephone number.  Just kidding, don't loose your cool.  However, with the non-eviction Covid nonsense at the moment, your best bet is to probably consult a RE attorney of some sort.  The steps you have taken so far sound like a good start.  Don't back down.

People can have their political beliefs, but posting them in public in an inappropriate way would get my attention and concern also.  Most people who have those kind of traffic violations do not get arrested so perhaps there was a bit of an attitude?  No proof but a possibility. I would ask him why there was the unusual event of an arrest for these minor violations and see if he starts going off aggressively about the officer.  Regarding steady income, how did you decide that?  I find it hard to call income steady who has moved and just took on a different job.  I have rented to a family in this state recently, but I saw an offer letter for substantially more money, my tenant had excellent credit, and owned their last residence.  Did you take his word for sufficient cash reserves?  Most applicants that I don't feel comfortable with fortunately disqualify themselves as they frequently don't meet one or more of my requirements. My suggestion is if you do continue to consider this applicant, make sure you see proof for everything and not just a conversation.

We will need someone with knowledge of the Indian market to help answer.  Different countries have vastly different metrics.  If everyone is borrowing at about the same interest rate, then you have a somewhat fair chance.  You still need to do the numbers.  Use this site's calculators or do a Google search for investment property rental investment calculator.  There are many factors you need to consider.   My wife is from another country and we have looked into possibly purchasing land or a home there and to my surprise, land costs more there than near me here in suburban Phoenix, AZ.  Homes are a bit cheaper, but a home may only rent for $400 a month so there's no way I'm investing for a rental over there.  Studio condo rentals can be as low as $100 a month.  No profit there.

If you charge a leaving tenant for damages, you need to do the repairs (painting / cleaning in this case) and have receipts to prove it.  Pictures to document it are suggested also.  Do you think it really is over $1000 worth of damage / wear?  Its your responsibility to judiciously spend deposits.  Consider a second quote in case you are ever challenged.  You can't just hold the money even though it is tempting.  Its the law here in AZ.

While I really appreciate the benefits Zillow has brought me as a whole, I have found specifically their application and background checks to be completely inadequate and would leave me legally vulnerable should I use them. So I don't use them. The application lacks swaths of data I need to wisely choose a tenant and the background check not only doesn't seem to properly verify information, but the information it does provide lacks personal information such as social security numbers and other essential data points. I do use Zillow rental management for the listing and most communications and would use the application and background check if it were sufficient. Zillow’s statements suggest they try to protect identity. I get the concept, but it goes out the window when I am assessing you to decide if I will be letting you move in to my expensive rental home.

I provide physical and email applications using a form that works for me.  I use a different service for background checks which does a significantly better job and provides more useful information.

I didn't encounter this issue as I could see the applications people sent me through ZIllow (it provided a preview and allowed me to determine if the applicant might be qualified and I could let them know they needed to fill out my form if they were.)  The issue I encountered after the last rental was filled is I couldn't get the posting text with the rental rates and information to go away.  I deleted everything and it was still there.  I finally discovered that adding new text was the only way to get rid of the old post.  No text wasn't sufficient.

Zillow, if you’re reading this, you are so close, but have more refinement to make this system fully functional.

I am unfamiliar with the 2018 Obama addition.  I tried a google search and can only find references to the news of the removal of the rule but no details on the 92 grading questions and how it worked.

Regarding any remodeling work in general whether it be painting, flooring, or otherwise, make sure what is installed is something you like and would pick out yourself if it were your choice alone. Here's my examples: I have a tenant who has rented for a few years. The rolled vinyl flooring in the kitchen had some gouges in it from before she moved in and looked bad. I promised her if she renewed for a year, I would replace the kitchen floor. I considered 50+ different tiles for the floor. I narrowed the choice to my 5 favorite. I took samples over and discussed the options with my tenant and we decided together and we are both happy with the results. I've had other tenants want things that would cost me money, add no rental value, and also increase maintenance costs and I politely said no because it wasn't required and not financially appropriate.

As stated, be very careful and keep the arrangement a separate business transaction from rent with a written agreement.  I've found transactions like this done over a handshake very frequently end up with different understandings of what the work was to deliver and what the landlord was to compensate.  Get a simple contract stating what will be painted, in exactly what color scheme with which paint and in what sheen.  Include what the compensation is and when.  Anything up front or all at the end?  Include time frames in which the work must be completed by and to what standard (Sounds like it should be a professional standard here).

Its not difficult to buy a ready to go property with no tenant and then hire a property manager to help get a tenant.  As such, never pay more than market rent for a property with an existing tenant.  In fact I would prefer to pick my own tenant or co-decide with a PM who my tenant will be rather than take a random person I know nothing about.  If the property did have a tenant, I would not be opposed, but I would make it my business to review the contract, view the background check, obtain estoppel information, and make sure I would be collecting appropriate deposit and rent.

It sounds like Will's comments clearly outline the options available but without a recommendation.  If the laundry unit in question is not attached to the tenant's residence... As in the residence needs a key to enter and the laundry area is not in this area, but rather outside and other residents don't need the same key to access, then I think you have some grounds to have it your way.  In hindsight, tenants spreading their stuff around in public areas are a red flag and need to be checked as this is now somewhat like a squatter situation where the tenant as formed an expectation that was not addressed.  They may now have a reasonable claim if they have continuously used the area as if it was their own then it should be their own.  In any kind of house hack or similar situation with shared areas, the allowed usage and responsibilities in these areas need to be clearly defined.  This goes for quiet hours, parking, and yard usage as well.