All Forum Posts by: Debbie C.

@Mike Korn

I have SFH in Scottsdale managed by American Associates, they are based in Tempe. My property manager is Cindy J. I have been with her for about 9 years. Great service, good maintenance dept., fair pricing.

Right now I have great tenants in my properties for 3+ years.

@John Hunter

I would pass on this tenant. How much money she makes does not matter if she is not a responsible person, which her credit report shows.

And I would not put more weight on the landlord recommendations, even if I checked them carefully and thought they were accurate. 

I agree completely with what the other replies above pointed out.

@Randy E.

Based on what you have said, I would consider everything that has happened over the term of the lease with your tenant. 

If you can turn the property quickly and increase the rent to market, and if these tenants have had issues, and are now being unreasonable (which it sounds like they are) then I would not renew the lease.

Only you can decide if they are more trouble than they are worth.

@Nathaniel Tant

Based on everything you have said about the area, as well as wanting them to last a long time, I would go with the plywood cabinets if you can do them in your budget. Its great you will be living there while doing your remodel so you can shop around for the best value.

I own sfh's that I purchased to keep long term, so when we remodeled the kitchens, the quality of cabinets was important to me. Some of the cabinets purchased are plywood and the uppers are 36" tall, this is in the better areas, we have had good tenants, and 10 years in the cabinets still look great.

Good luck to you.

@Nathaniel Tant

First of all congratulations on your first purchase. It would help if you tell us more about this property. What kind of tenants are you trying to attract and what do the kitchens look like in your area that have been remodeled and are rentals?

You can look on Zillow or Realtor.com etc. to see what other investors have done for cabinets. 

@Tim V.

Thank you for updating. Please let us know how this all turned out after your court date !!

@Yolanda W Cuevas

Your choice of the first couple makes the most sense to me and I would stick with it. Only you can decide if right now or at another time when you are looking for a new tenant what your policy will be on pets, like dogs over 50 lbs. For me it is a pass, even with higher monthly rent.

I do allow pets, but not any that big. I usually have more than enough qualified applicants so why take on more issues/risk/higher maintenance?

@Mark Ham

I do not have my property management company listed as co-insured on my policies for my rentals. I was asked to do so, and declined. 

I strongly suggest you speak to your insurance agent to decide not only what coverage is correct for you, but also to clearly understand what adding anyone to your policy(s) as an additional interest, or additional insured, co-insured etc. how that will (or could) add any liability or cost you any more money for your policy. Ask what is NOT covered, such as discrimination.

I will also add to this by saying that the management company and myself require all tenants to carry rental insurance, with a minimum liability of 100,000 and to list the management company as an additional interest. This way if the policy lapses for any reason, the management company is notified. 

@Anya Laur

I also self managed for quite a few years, but we knew we wanted a property manager at a certain point so we would have more free time etc. We have had our properties managed by the same company and person for about 8 years. It has been going very well for us and we are happy with our decision.

That being said I took my time to find a good fit with a management company. Anytime I was in the area of my rentals and saw a for rent sign I made note of it. I looked on Zillow for rentals in my area and noted who was managing the properties. I looked online for reviews of companies. Then I started to call the ones I was interested in to discuss how they managed the properties, policies etc. Finally I met with just a few of them with prepared questions to see if it was a fit.

I was not interested in the flat fee companies, they did not work for me. My mgmt. co. charges 10% per month for my first rental, 9% for my others. No charge to renew a tenants lease. 300.00 for a new tenant (My tenants have all been with me for at least 3 years). 

Some of the services they provide that are important to me are: 

Property inspections every 6 months, detailed with photos posted to the portal, no charge

Top notch screening for new tenants

Showing the property in person 

Competent maintenance department, quality work, fair prices

Very good attorney when necessary ( No I have not had any evictions) but we had a tenant pass away, and between the attorney who advised the property manager, they handled everything in a prompt and professional manner, at no cost to me.

Also very good procedures for move-in and move-outs.

Hope this helps

@Cody Murray

I have SFH in South Scottsdale Arizona, and as you say, rents have really been going up. I also did not raise rents in 2020, but have been increasing with lease renewals, about 100.00 per month.

I am still under market, but not by too much, and the tenants I have renewed so far this year have rented from me for 2 -3 years. 

As mentioned above I am taking turnover into consideration. Something else that I really watch closely is my inspections that are done every six months. If my tenant is taking care of the property, and no issues then I don't want to lose them. If the tenant is a problem for whatever reason, then either the rent goes up to full market or it is a non-renew...depends. Just something to consider.