All Forum Posts by: Debbie C.

@Joshua Dombal

If you put the turf combo in you should see a good return on your dollar with higher

rent as well as possibly better tenant quality. I have sfh's in South Scottsdale and having

nicely landscaped, usable backyards has really worked out for me.

However, not knowing what area of town your property is located in, I also suggest

you look on Zillow at other rental properties in your general area and see what your competition has done.

@Chris B.

My property manager uses Hull, Holliday & Holliday attorneys. They are very quick and good at handling tenant issues/evictions. 

I just had my first non-paying tenant in 9 years at this one location. After the property manager sent the 5 day notice and tenant did not pay, it was turned over to the attorney. Tenant responded as soon as they received the letter, and went in and paid.

The lease was up and we did not renew. Tenant moved out, no damage.

Get them out, follow your improved screening method and find a good tenant.

@Suzanne Player

I do have granite in kitchen and baths at sfh, after installation high quality sealer was applied. It has been about 7 years and the original sealer is still as good.

I did have a repair on a granite vanity this last turn, the tenant dropped something on it and it had a chip the size of a nickel out of it. I had a professional come and repair it, cost was 200.00 and looks great, you cannot see where the repair was done. The tenant was charged for the repair. 

I do inspections on my properties every 6 months, and encourage tenants to report any issues. I would pay for any re-sealing/maintenance for the granite, however, I would charge the tenant for damage they caused.

@Joel Betances

Another thing to consider when looking for a new tenant is do you want to offer a 1 year lease or something less. Check out the laws for your state/area. 

I always started with a 1 year lease prior to all this covid and the issues that came along with it. Now I am only offering a 6month lease, then month to month after that. I am sure many landlord's out there are only doing mtm. Just something to think about.

And I agree with the comments above. Give her notice and move on.

@Ken George You state that a well qualified applicant was turned down. That they had a child might not have had anything to do with it. 

We recently had a sfh ( 2 bedrooms) available for rent in a good area and slightly below market and we were flooded with calls and e-mails. We had many people submit applications without having toured the house. We had some applicants that did not qualify, however, multiple people met or exceeded our listed requirements. We ended up renting to a single person who was the most qualified applicant. Nothing else entered into it. 

Without knowing how many other applicants there were and their qualifications including the person with the child that was turned down, I can't say if discrimination took place. I sincerely hope not.

@Sean Todd I just had turnover in my South Scottsdale, Arizona sfh's. One house I went from 1450.00 to 1650.00 (smaller 2 bedroom house). The other I decided not to renew the lease, went from 1700.00 to 2195.00. Yes, I have new tenants, but I still would have raised rent at least closer to market if I had renewed the lease.

Like @Greg M. said, if rents were to go down, tenants would want rent adjusted or would probably move. Consider everything and then do what is best for you.

@JD Martin

I really like your " Tenant Barometer Scale" works for me !!

  @Ryan Heywood       I have lived in the Phoenix area and have had sfh rentals here for years. Its true that rents have gone up very quickly here, however, some areas are getting more saturated with rentals and are taking longer to rent out. (85037) for example, and others areas might have fewer rentals/ higher demand. This could be a factor if you want to keep this tenant and prefer not to have turnover. 

I keep an eye on Zillow when my houses are up for renewal and watch to see how fast they are renting and for how much money and how similar they are to my property. And I do factor in how good my tenant is. Your property manager should also have that information to share with you why they are recommending that increase for your property. 

@Elizabeth Schartman If you decide to change property managers and want a referral let me know. I have sfh's in the Phoenix area and have used my current company since 2012, with very good results. I have self managed successfully with some bumps in the road, which we all have and used other property mgmt. companies that were not any good.