All Forum Posts by: Colleen F.

@Pete T. I have no rental history for this one the price is right as I have lots of candidates looking. I took 2 deposits but returned them. One decided to go back with the husband and the other had a job change. This time of year for a 4 bedroom people would need to move kids in the middle of the school year and the people you want are the same people that don't want to do that. Only in-district parents are looking at the place or people with little children.. I am also waiting on lead compliance cert so that has an impact. I can't rent until it comes in. (well , I can but I won't )

@Roy N. . I have not run a credit history but I know her numbers (where she works and sources of income) and can get recommendations locally so I am confident she will qualify but I would still do the check. I really want an 18 month lease ( I hate filling this time of year) so that is no problem. The mowing is just something we included as there is not a place to store a mower at the moment. For this candidate she would use our ride on but I don' t think that would be something I would offer to everyone. I was thinking when I get the lead compliance I would notify her and mention a willingness to lower rent if she mows. She did not ask for a discount only mentioned that she liked mowing the lawn and if we had a mower she could do that. I did note that her place wanted ad was about about $50 less then our current rent. In general a decrease in rent and requiring them to mow when we don't have a shed I am not sure how well that would work.

@Elizabeth C. I think lowering the price across the board right now might just result in more calls from borderline candidates but I could be wrong. I had one offer about one week in like yours and I just passed it up. I was getting good candidates at the time. I may get to that but I am debating going back to this one first.

Ok so notice it is December.... the saga of the beep continues.

I had the fire alarm company out twice--nothing wrong with the system, no beep, they go away... tenant says it is beeping again.

So I have a locksmith there one day and jokingly tell him let me know if you hear a beep. I come back and he says there is a beep behind the TV so I look and tenant has a Verizon box that I thought was in the basement. I call her and say its your Verizon box. So she calls me back can I take the battery out of the box that is what the Verizon Fios person says has to be done....now I don't work for Verizon and it is not my cable but I happen to be onsite one day the next week and she still doesn't have it out so I help her remove it because even though the beep is driving her crazy she has waited a week.... Ok so no beep for a bit

Then she says it is beeping again.. I am going to pull my hair out and I can't hear this beep.. So now mind you I changed the smoke alarm and battery too. Anyway today, my husband goes down to troubleshoot another issue and there are a bunch of people standing in the apartment and they hear the beep and collectively they decided it came from smoke alarm. I am going to replace the thing again and see where that gets us... All I can think is it is a plot to make me crazier then I already am...

Can you get a friend to do an outside photo? or can you use google streetview? And maybe you could photo shop them lighter. The best way to get it rented is to at least have a minimum idea of the whole unit, inside and out. So maybe those couple of things to fill the gap while you are still away will keep you on the radar of some good candidates so they dont' pass it up.

I have had a number of people look at a current rental and the ones that apply have been rejected so far. They are really borderline candidates, not terrible but with a couple of items put together smoker no rental history well they just weren't strong. I did have two candidates that looked good , one in particular that did not apply but I see is posting that they are looking for a place with slightly less rent. Would you follow up and feel them out on a negotiation? How would you do it? I know the post is her as it is a small area and she is a woman veteran with two kids and the details match. She wants to stay in this town. I liked this candidate and she suggested during the time she was there that she could mow the lawn (which is currently included due to no storage for lawn mower). I was thinking of suggesting less rent for lawn mowing on this and the adjacent property as we have a ride on mower. Since she only came not long ago I could just followup with an old email or call back which I normally don't do. I can wait for another candidate and the price would be better but I am tired of the nit wits,I think she would be a good candidate if interested, and moneywise if we she will mow I think I am about the same.

I have had a number of people look at a current rental and the ones that apply have been rejected so far. They are really borderline candidates, not terrible but with a couple of items put together smoker no rental history well they just weren't strong. I did have two candidates that looked good , one in particular that did not apply but I see is posting that they are looking for a place with slightly less rent. Would you follow up and feel them out on a negotiation? How would you do it? I know the post is her as it is a small area and she is a woman veteran with two kids and the details match. She wants to stay in this town. I liked this candidate and she suggested during the time she was there that she could mow the lawn (which is currently included due to no storage for lawn mower). I was thinking of suggesting less rent for lawn mowing on this and the adjacent property as we have a ride on mower. Since she only came not long ago I could just followup with an old email or call back which I normally don't do. I can wait for another candidate and the price would be better but I am tired of the nit wits,I think she would be a good candidate if interested, and moneywise if we she will mow I think I am about the same.

Ok the initial change especially if unexpected can be a problem. The company I work for did this and it really messed with some of the workers reporting to me. They had a hard initial adjustment because they didn't have a lot of cushion to work with. You have worked with her for two months. If you can go to twice a month payment, you think that will solve it, and you can afford the change do it but for a modest charge. Make a payment agreement on it. Otherwise I think you need to charge late fees when she is late. Remember if she stops paying and you don't have a clear agreement in place it will be harder on you to claim non-payment.

You really need to check state law , here we cannot charge for labor. Other then that list all the items that were damaged and the corresponding charges for repair and return that list to the tenant with any remaining deposit minus deductions.

For the bathroom vanity I don't know what your agreement was but if she put it in without permission that is not your problem. If she put it in with permission then you need to look at what you agreed to at the time. If you were unclear I would go in her favor on this one.

People are never going to be happy if they think they should get the whole deposit back and they don't. However if you treat them fairly well it goes a long way.

We have properties in an LLC and also outside of one. The LLC property though has a personal guarantee on the loan so the bank will still go after us. It is more about liability for issues related to the property that we did the LLC. People sue.

@Jim Walker I am curious about the umbrella liability. When we looked at it the killer was the cost of the increased auto insurance we would need to have in order to qualify to get the umbrella not the umbrella policy itself. Did you run across the same thing?

@Sam Leon I figured you were waiting to look at all units.I just know roofs are expensive having recently done a big one but it sounds like you are already figuring some of those repairs. You mentioned it was next to some other buildings. Have you talked to adjacent landlords, or the property managers of these adjacent buildings to get a handle on this immediate area? or is that not a possibility? It is not my type of building but you know if you have rent paying tenants and you don't continue the bucket and board tradition I would rather have these tenants then drug dealers that I would associate with a slum anyday. They seem to have a community and that is also a positive.

Although I don't have section 8 tenants there is no premium in RI either. I think they may be right on or a little low for rent looking at their numbers.