All Forum Posts by: Dena Puliatti

Give me a call on this one.  I can help.

Long term tenants are great, and they tend to take great pride in the property.  The thing that worries me here is liability.  Let's say he's injured while cutting the grass or shoveling the snow.  He doesn't have insurance or workman's comp for his lawn cutting "business."  I would hate for that liability to come back on you.

Because you are out-of-state, I recommend that you work with a management company so they have eyes on the property. Yes, you are going to pay 10% of collected rents, but they can arrange for repairs.  I can't count the number of investors that I now work with who have been bamboozled by a contractor who claims he did the work, never to be seen again. A good property manager already has vetted contractors in place.

Congratulations!  You may want to check into trash collection (city? private dumpster service?) and common area/outside lighting, as well.  

Get in touch with Section 8, and speak to the tenants' case worker.  If your area is anything like Huntsville, there is a severe lack of Section 8 housing. The tenant may be having trouble finding another home that will accept a voucher.  The case worker will have more information and may be able to help the tenants find another home.

The investors that I work with always provide the refrigerator.  The damage to trim and floors is a risk you take by having a tenant move it in themselves.  Also, if you install it, you can choose to use the water line and have it hooked up correctly.  Water damage because of a leaking line is never fun.

I've done a lot of research on this.  The 1031s would tap out over 500K if this goes through.  Definitely still doable for lots of investors.

I would wait until the Tesla shingles are available. Those look awesome!

Renting a furnished home always seems like a better idea than it actually is.  Most people have stuff and want to use their stuff.  Even in luxury, furnished homes, the tenant is most likely not going to take the same care of the furniture that you would.  They may rearrange, put a good mattress in the garage, etc.  I would ask your attorney what your limits are on the couches, as some states may reflect those in the security deposit, and some won't.

 What method are you using now? 

@Kyle Damkoehler

Appfolio can raise rents by percentage or a flat rate.  Because it keeps up with lease dates, it allows you send the tenant a notice stating in 30 days rent will increase.  Do small, gradual annual increases annually for tenant retention.