All Forum Posts by: Christen G.

Not at all. We're off-grid and have a pretty unique almost niche rental.

I haven't done it yet, but at the last place I stayed they had a "$20 wine wall" - you just threw $20 in cash in a jar on the counter and could pull from their stock - which took up an entire wall. I like the idea for my rental b/c its remote (closest town is a 20 min drive) so if folks run out of booze they can just grab a bottle. The mark-up doesn't hurt either. :)

Agreed with @Matt P. - install some rods for them and write something into your lease that no towels, clothing, blankets, etc... can be used as window dressing.

Check your local laws, but if it were me/in my state: After I close, I would post notice and point out that they're in violation of the lease with the animals. Offer them a lease addendum wherein they need to pay $100/mo per pet if they wish to keep them + an additional deposit.  Hopefully that will be enough for them to want to break lease/move on. If not, your cash flow increases and you can not renew them next year and renovate then.

I've been interested in this, but never could find the right person who could contribute the sweat equity to run it. I'd love to hear any/all about it!

Congrats on your new place! Are they on a month-to-month lease or do they have an existing lease? I'd advise you to buy Brandon's book on managing rental properties and dig in. It's a quick read and super informative. It also comes with a lot of forms you can incorporate into your new business! You'll want to re-screen the renters and issue them a lease w/ an appropriate rent for your region. You can 100% charge "Pet Rent" - cats in particular can be super destructive to homes if they start peeing outside the box and on the floor, you'll have to replace subflooring when they go. Best of luck!

I'm from the school of manage yourself until you don't have to anymore. Learning how to do this will allow you to not only teach someone else, but will also set a standard for your company. Handing this off to someone else from the get go leaves yourself open to their systems, fees, etc... without really knowing how to manage them.

Establish your rental criteria, rent costs, pet rent, deposit amount, etc... and build the listing. Craigslist, Zillow and Apartments.com usually bring in traffic. List it now - with good (not iphone) photos, description and your criteria. You'll hear from a lot of "tire-kickers" for sure, but a piece of advice I picked up on the podcast that I love is to write back to them and say, "Thank you - please call me on XXXX (a few days from now) at XX pm for a phone screening." Then set aside an hour or so for calls. In my experience, you will get 1 call for every 6 that write you - tire-kickers. Brandon's book on managing rental properties comes with a lot of great forms/paperwork - including a list of Potential Tenant Phone Questionnaire which I used on all prospective tenants to help vet. Best of luck to you!

Congrats - wonder if you'll move into the Multis or stay in SF. Regardless, best of luck to you!

Busy this day, but please let me know if it happens again!

Would you have any insight on this conversation, @Nicholas Aiola?

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/61/topics/579547-so-many-llcs-some-advice-needed?highlight_post=3493087&page=1#p3493087