All Forum Posts by: Mike Franco

I wonder if there's a place where you can review how terrible these PMs are. I would plaster their crappy photos all over the internet, yelp reviews, etc.

the threat of bad reviews and lawsuit can help the LL end this arrangement without additional loss, regardless of what the contract states. Everything is negotiable.

Just going through the motions (suing for miscategorization of house as apartment, costing lost rent) can strong arm these PMs into annulling the agreement and perhaps even refunding the reserves.

I would raise hell and try to get as much leverage as possible. Play dirty.

is there a get out clause in the contract?

because it sounds like the PM is in breach of contract by doing such a chitty job and causing the LL to lose a bunch of money in vacancy. Maybe the threat of lawsuit and bringing all photos to a judge to show incompetence.

What is there to be scared of? You don't get a jail sentence for breaking a contract.

What kind of nonsense- photos of cracks in driveway, broken fence... even a monkey could take better photos.

i don't think any PM's want to be babysitters.

people have recommended jacking up the rent and including a maid to clean and vacuum common areas biweekly, because you know these kids are all the same. No one likes to clean their room. And when it comes to group responsibilities, every kid plays the game of "NOT IT".

A neglected kitchen situation can quickly turn into a pest infestation. 

$100 says she pulls the ESA trick.

college kids scare me. Even though you can charge and deduct more, they easily have the capacity to trash your place.

and with most kids these days, mommy and daddy never let them do chores in their whole life, so plenty of them don't know how to wipe their butts, much less vacuum and mop.

on the plus side, mommy and daddy are willing to back their kids up as cosigners. I've had these parents call me before, begging and trying to persuade me to let their kid + 3 other classmates trash my house.

Let me show you how these recent 22-23 year old college grads lived. They were only in the house for 11 months. Piss and shiet, holes punched in door, massive spills on carpet.

Yeah, they had the money, but they were pigs.

I firmly believe if I had brand new carpets, they would be trashed...

even that isn't fool proof. I already have the fans linked to the lights. But if they turn off the light, it cuts power to the fan too, and the moisture maybe not be fully evacuated by then.

So I educate the tenants- fans remove moisture, prevent mold. So if you ever have mold, you will be responsible for the cost of remediation.

Now I use that as a scare tactic... everything will cost them an arm and leg, and I'm just helping to prevent them from losing an arm and leg.

put your foot down and demand money owed.

You might have to be their financial advisor/accountant. "I see you bought all these items, but you are $2200 behind on rent. Let's see what expenses you can cut out so you can pay off this debt faster. I am requiring that you pay $500 extra per month."

so maybe you can get your money within 5 months.

if you decide not to evict, no matter what, you gotta recoup this debt before the lease term is up.

They're acting selfish- they should not be indulging in stupid gazebos and pools when they still have $2000 debt.

I just brush off these kinds of comments.

You tell tenants WYSIWYG. Tell her to put the dog in the dog run. 50x6 is PLENTY of space.

I totally understand what you're going through. I have 29 year old tenants as well, and they don't understand home ownership and how to work with what they're provided. I have to train them.

For example, when they cook, they don't use the stove hood exhaust fan. I tell them they gotta use it while cooking so smells don't end up all over the house, and grease doesn't stick to walls.  Until now, they didn't know bathroom exhaust fans help prevent mold.

bathroom is a good cheap cosmetic improvement worth doing. 

renters are irrational, so even a good condition dated bathroom will deter a good number of them.  

I like to believe that the best tenants are also the most picky tenants about superficial stuff like this.

I monitor my competition on zillow, the amenities they have, and observe how long it takes them to rent out. Zillow has a pricing history for each house.

For example, this home i found took 6.5 weeks to rent out. I suppose this bathroom is in "good condition" if you wipe up the cabinets. But it still took 6.5 weeks.

I found a qualified renter within 2 days of listing mine in the same area, mainly because I updated it with new flooring.

Of course, price the rent appropriately. But if you can recoup your remodel investment in a few months and make it much easier to rent out, it's worth renovating.

if your demand outstrips supply in your area greatly, then maybe you can get by without updating.

next time they ask, I'll ask, "why do you want to know?"