All Forum Posts by: Michael Jones

Simply write it in your lease that they have to carry renters insurance and that the tenant must name you as an additional insured. The insurance company will notify you as the landlord if the insurance has lapsed. If they allow it to lapse it is a violation of their lease and begin the eviction process. 

The banks that i work with and have investment property loans through have educated me that credit score is third in line when they look at approval. They will first look at debt to income ratio. Can I afford to pay them back each month. Second, they will look at my actual bank accounts and how I handle my money. Yes, he keeps more than he makes and is building wealth or no, this guy can barely pay his electric bill each month because he enjoys spending all of his money at the casino. And last is credit score.

I will share that I have one American express card with a zero balance and no debt for any personal loans or cars. The only debt i have is on property.

here is the issue with credit cards and why they cause so many people so much trouble. We are conditioned to believe that to have nice things and enjoy life we have to have a credit card. As a result a person will have $5,000 on a credit card and paying 21% interest. At the same time they will have $5,000 in savings and the same bank will pay them 1% interest. The financial institution is making 20% by loaning that person their own money.

It is better to have an empty unit than a bad tenant. Move on.

And although the six months rent up front sounds good, what are you gonna do when she is violating the lease on month two and you have to evict.

She didn't follow your guidelines for approval so just move on to the next potential. 

Sounds like it is an older home. Why not just install a couple of window air units on each end?

why would you ever want to sign a 35 or 36 month lease on residential properties? Sign a 12 and then month to month. If you need to get rid of them you are not locked down to years.

Meet with your tenants as soon as you buy the property. Have new leases ready for them to sign.

Introduce the new rent amounts and the change is utility responsibilities. Let them know that they have _______amount of days (I would think 7 would be sufficient) to move the utilities into their names. If they do not it is a violation of the lease. Make sure that keeping utilities on is in their lease as their responsibility.

Pull the band aid off quickly before they know you and begin to get comfortable enough to push back.

They know there will be changes when the building is sold so make the changes when they are expecting them.

Take that 50k cash and go to a c or b neighborhood and find a fourplex. Use the 50 as a down payment and finance the rest on a $200k building.

If the rent is as low as this house at 500 a month that is a 2000 income amount. Your mortgage, taxes and insurance will run about 1,200. If you find a building that the tenants pay water then that is an 800 per month profit before maintenance.

And you can raise the rent here every couple of years and when you do its on four doors so your spread becomes healthy as the years go by.

Also, another positive is it will not collapse due to a basement wall caving in.

If you are a diy kinda guy, just go to marketplace on face book and find a used black dishwasher from a good home where they upgraded and pay $100 or less and slap it in yourself.

I have a total of 28 units in 6 buildings and that means 28 stoves, 28 fridges and 12 dishwashers. I will never and would never buy a new appliance. I simply shop for them used when I do not have any issues and always have a beer fridge in my garage ready to go and a stove and dishwasher in storage.

If a tenant calls and says my fridge is down and I will be there in an hour with a working fridge they are never going to be mad because it is a clean used working one and not a new one.

and I have never paid more than $100.00 for any of my used appliances.

He is a trespasser. Treat him like a stranger that entered your home.

I have found that it is easier and cleaner to just raise the rent enough to cover water and sewer. The tenant can take it or leave it. 

I would request a full deposit at a new lease signing as well. If they move and go to a new apartment they will have to come up with a deposit so why should you spread it out if they do not move?