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All Forum Posts by: Cliff H.

Cliff H. has started 29 posts and replied 562 times.

Post: RentRedi multiple applicants?

Cliff H.
Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Nashua, NH
  • Posts 568
  • Votes 458

Never used RentRedi, but if the system doesn't allow for a group application (common in many areas) maybe look into another system. Last I checked, even free apartments.com rental application allowed group applications. 

Post: Responding to a Rental Inquiry

Cliff H.
Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Nashua, NH
  • Posts 568
  • Votes 458

100% @Stephanie Gledhill.  Every interested party follows exactly the same process and answers exactly the same questions: fully automated and as a requirement of requesting a viewing on the property. 

There's no need to charge an application fee to ask interested parties basic questions. And equally no reason to waste your time showing spaces to applicants that that do not meet your written minimum rental criteria. 

Post: Tenant application with low credit score - how to reply

Cliff H.
Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Nashua, NH
  • Posts 568
  • Votes 458

As part of the written requirement for specific credit score, you can also leverage additional security deposits if an applicant’s other written acceptance criteria is great. The percentages are ultimately small, but there are plenty of folks who have a bad score based on low credit usage and/or one or two poor choices, but whom can have a great renter profile with landlord references, employment income, and co-signers or deposit guarantees. The key as others have said, is to ensure that all of these things are written down and formalized before you get going.

Post: Tool to detect fake paystubs?

Cliff H.
Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Nashua, NH
  • Posts 568
  • Votes 458

Any long-term landlords will tell you to never call the current landlord, far better to call the one just before the current one who has no vested interest in handing off a bad tenant.
Additionally, employment checks should follow a standard processes  Many larger fortune 500 companies have very specific employment disclosure processes that must be followed meaning you increasingly cannot simply call someone to confirm whether someone works there or not, but rather work through an intermediary or specific request form. 

Post: Showing process, do you show property first or have credit/employment ran

Cliff H.
Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Nashua, NH
  • Posts 568
  • Votes 458

There's screening and there's pre-screening: have a written and consistent process for both that you follow every single time. 

The concern over wasting time is also fixed by reducing the "cost" of your showings - mine are all automated and self service which makes them infinitely safer and more scalable. 

Post: STR upcharge opportunities?

Cliff H.
Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Nashua, NH
  • Posts 568
  • Votes 458

Looked into services like TheHost and others that offer a “free store” but many are basically a pretty Wordpress site with a 30% sale commission. 
I’ve had better luck automating comms around for fee early/late check-ins/outs. If you’re like my rentals where you’re looking at weekend only bookings for specific times of the year, any expansion of weekend stays is just "free money"

Post: STRs - can I be convinced they are a good idea...

Cliff H.
Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Nashua, NH
  • Posts 568
  • Votes 458

You're not wrong, but consider that there's always a gap between market reality today and the time it takes to flush bad or overleveraged investors out of the market. And that many of us here got in before these crazy prices and have the equity to put 50-60% down.

Post: Airbnb, how to keep pipes from freezing during winter?

Cliff H.
Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Nashua, NH
  • Posts 568
  • Votes 458

@Justin Wood 

As @Paul Sandhu says, you can always PEX your pipes. Otherwise, why not electric heat tape built for this exact purpose?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Fr...

Post: Are Hotels Better than Airbnbs?

Cliff H.
Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Nashua, NH
  • Posts 568
  • Votes 458
Quote from @Dave Stokley:

Is your question really "are hotels better than Airbnbs?" If so, the answer of course is "it depends." As a host with nearly 5,000 reviews I still stay in hotels sometimes. Just depends on the situation. I think there's a place for both.

As for the reports of guests fleeing STRs, like everything you see in the media it's mostly a case of sensationalism and click-bait. STR demand, per AirDNA, is up 20% YOY. There are way more new users and repeat users than there are people leaving.

https://www.airdna.co/blog/air...

Equally important to read the full reports, while keeping mind that any company like AirDNA's business model is based on continued STR growth. From the same report:

"Occupancy levels in 2022 have fallen throughout 2022 as listing growth has outpaced rising demand... Overall occupancy ended the year at 58.7%, a significant drop from the 61.3% in 2021."

Post: Support resources in Fairfield CT

Cliff H.
Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Nashua, NH
  • Posts 568
  • Votes 458

Thumbtack, Angi, or contractor referrals from other investors you already know in CT. Fairfield's the epitome of "the two Connecticuts" and tenants, regardless of term-length, will have sky high expectations.