All Forum Posts by: Deborah Smith

I had this issue, too.  I have a habit of forwarding mail the day the property closes to my PO BOX, but it never fails that stuff still gets delivered to the property.... one time, including a check from the title company for a correction to the settlement statement (despite numerous notifications to them that NOTHING is to go to the property).  Tenant didn't call me about THAT piece of mail (she was subsequently evicted for a variety of reasons).

Point being - forward the mail, but it's pretty much impossible to stop it entirely, unfortunately.

I tried this with a couple lower income rentals.  I felt like I was wasting my time and breath.  If they aren't going to take the time to read what they are signing, then they don't really listen when you're going over it with them anyway. 

I followed the majority of the points in that book as far as suggestions, and tailored them to my tenants. 

Didn't really prevent any questions down the road, or get better results from the tenants.

I won't be doing it in the future - just covering the basics as mentioned earlier in this thread:  Rent is due on X date, late after X, pay me here.

Personally, I would focus on rebuilding your credit first.  I know that isn't necessarily in-line with the bigger goal, but focusing on that will help you more in the long run than probably that first deal will (unless you're really good/lucky and hit a home run?).

6 years of credit is PLENTY to get a good loan.  So I would re-look at why it's bad in the first place, make sure you took care of everything detrimental, and work on building good credit in whatever way you can.

Agree on all points with @Jeff S. 

Regarding the 2% rule... it doesn't always work out to 2%, but if it doesn't that doesn't necessarily mean it's not a good deal.  In Phoenix I have generally been around 1-1.5%

Like any other metric suggested here, or anywhere else, consider it as only one facet of the deal as a whole. It may not reach 2%, but maybe the cash flow/ROI is acceptable to you in the way the deal is structured. Or maybe it doesn't meet the 50% rule, but is fair enough in the other guidelines that overall the deal is good, and so on.

With only what we know discussed here, if I were in your shoes, I would probably look toward a good 3-4plex and do owner occupied FHA financing. It's easy financing, little down, provides income, doesn't force you to have room mates, and is something you can probably keep long term or sell fairly easily if you decide to move on later. Now the trick is finding the right one :)

@Andrew Warner 

That's a tough one for me.  One on hand, if you get closer to your upper range I think you'll get a lot more for your money right now.  Riskier though, of course, since your income fluctuates.  But it's a little harder I think to get room renters in better areas... you'll really need to focus on an area that's likely to have singles, perhaps near a school, or cooler area to hang out (tempe, uptown, etc).

And I probably wouldn't want room renters in a not-so-great area as I think you'll have a much harder time finding people you'd be willing to have be your room mates.

Maybe a small multifamily is the way to go?  Provides more separation from your tenants but you might be able to get in to something decent without having to spend as much?  Probably also better return on your money.

Are you planning to buy for your primary home or as an investment?  And what price range (not that you need to share, just think about it)?

I think it makes a difference.  The "cheaper" houses are still in short supply and for the most part, are hard to make good sense of rental wise right now.  Sure, there are deals out there, and ways to make things work, but from a general perspective it's hard to do.

In the more expensive houses - I think now is a fairly good time to buy.  Prices have been pretty stagnant or declining in recent months.  I don't think they'll decline like we saw 8ish years ago, but if you're buying as a primary residence with a long term hold in mind, then it's not a bad choice right now.

I haven't researched higher end houses as rentals, because for the most part they're simply out of the range I'd consider paying for a single unit. 

Not sure if that answers the question?

Check your laws here on that, too.  I discussed this with my insurance guy (I didn't research further, as I figured his interest was to sell more policies, and it wasn't a huge deal to me) a while back and at least here in AZ I was not able to require renters insurance, only strongly suggest it. 

However, I COULD make it a stipulation of something else.  For example, if you would like to house a dog on the property, you must have renters insurance.  I could do that because that was optional - the option was to not have a dog.  I didn't go that route, just stating for illustration purposes.

Anyway - just check on that before you push it just in case. :)

Depends.  What does your lease say?  What is permissible in your area?

I always include in my lease that landlord is not responsible for the loss of food due to failure of an appliance. 

She should have told you sooner.  But - how much money is she talking about?  If it wasn't much and otherwise things are good with her, I might pay it or split the difference with her if it wasn't in the lease, just to keep a decent tenant. 

I also use erentpayment.com.  Good experience.  I have had the tenant pay the $3 fee if they chose to pay their rent that way.  Never had anyone question it or complain.

It is easy to set up, easy to use.  Sends out nice reminders and copies you. 

I had only one tenant say they had difficulty with it - claimed they couldn't sign up.  But, they also were the same tenants that stuck a screwdriver into a live electrical panel, so I take that with a grain of salt. :)

Welcome, Justin! 

Are you planning to invest in Tempe?