All Forum Posts by: Deborah Smith

Hi Greg,

Welcome to Phoenix.  SDSU Alum here... moved to Phoenix about 4 years ago. :)

Best of luck with your new adventure!

Oh - gotcha.  Missed the lease to own part. 

Well, I would definitely check him out.  If it's the same person, run, and don't give any personal info.

Why would you care who the seller is?  Unless you're doing seller financing or something like that?

I don't know Michigan laws, you should look it up.  Hopefully MI has a Landlord Tenant Handbook or something to that effect available online. 

But, you probably shouldn't have signed agreeing to be out on the 25th regardless of what she said.  If she wasn't going to kick you out early, then why wouldn't she have just changed the date to the end of the month?

She should also refund you for any days you paid and aren't occupying the place.  Pretty sure that is universal.  And regardless is bad business to keep your money.

Have you tried explaining the situation to her and seeing that you can move out end of the month?

Hi Matt, welcome to BP! 

I allow them on a pet-by-pet basis.  For dogs I require a dog interview prior to lease signing.  I take a picture, and write the name, and description of the dog allowed into the lease.  If the dog, no matter the size, is anything other than loving and friendly, then I pass.  I don't exclude "aggressive breeds" as it depends on the dog and its owner.

$200 non refundable deposit and $20/per month rent per pet.

Important to note also that I specifically sought out insurance policies that did not have breed restrictions.  Especially in my area, there are LOTS of pit bulls, and most of them are great dogs.  I didn't want to exclude all of their responsible owners from my rental base. 

I have found if I have a mess when the tenant leaves, it is more than a pet mess, it's because the people are messy too.  So it doesn't make that big of a difference to me.

Same as Kimberly.  Never had an issue with touch-ups being noticeable.

That said, it's a little plain looking.  If I were doing paint in a nicer unit, I would pick Woodlawn Gray in Valspar from Lowe's.  I actually used this in my own bathroom recently and it is beautiful and modern looking, but wouldn't go well in every house.

@Aly W. Sounds like we had similar experiences - stopped at 2 and invested elsewhere!

I probably would have kept my rentals there as the cash flow was good, but I had lots of significant life changes at the time I had a vacancy, and was having issues with another tenant.  I did attempt outsourcing the filling of the vacancy and to say I was disappointed would be a huge understatement.

To sum up my thoughts, I think the areas that aren't great but aren't scary (war zone) are a good place to start and build some experience/cash and then explore elsewhere if it isn't your cup of tea.  And if it is, then good on you :)

I do.  I had a couple rentals in South Phoenix near the airport - which isn't exactly known as being a great area.  Terrible schools.

There are, of course, pros and cons to this. 

PROS:

- Decent rent to purchase price ratio

- While I definitely took care of my properties, the tenants were less picky about little appearance things (i.e. - one house was painted pink by the previous owner, paint was good, I never redid it.  Or counters were laminate, a couple floor tiles had chips, one house had no dishwasher).

- Usually the neighbors were nice and would look out for the house while vacant, they just wanted decent people to move in next to them and would often refer friends as potential renters (this can also be a negative).

- At least in my market, easy to sell if you decide you want out.  The buyer pool for a nicer, lower-income level home is big and the homes sell quickly if priced fair.

CONS:

- Usually hard to find a qualified tenant.  Everyone has a sob story, you have to have thick skin and realize it's a business for you, even if it means evicting someone you really believe is on hard times.

- I often had to get creative with structuring move in as I rarely had an applicant that could afford deposit AND first months rent all at once.

- Potential vandalism is higher, especially when vacant.

- Higher turnover.  I found when I did get good tenants, they usually liked the house, but didn't want to stay in the neighborhood.  It was a definite stepping stone.

- Tenants are less sophisticated - don't expect that they will ever remember anything from their lease, including where to send payment.  Most paid by money order as they don't have checking accounts and could not pay online.

- Tenants will often NOT tell you if something breaks, for fear they will be charged or what not and will either let it be or try to fix it themselves.  Doing inspections is important!

I am sure I overlooked lots of things, this is what came to mind right away.

End of story - I sold mine in the lower income areas.  I did my own property management, and with other things in my life I didn't have the time to dedicate to filling vacancies or telling tenants every month what the payment address was.  I was able to sell for decent appreciation, so it was a reasonable exit strategy for me at the time vs hiring an outside PM.

What about tile that looks like wood?  I guess it would depend on your area if that is acceptable or not.

I have a nice laminate wood in my personal kitchen (open space, also wanted continuity) and it looks great and seems to hold up to the minimal water pretty well, but does NOT hold up to things (silverwear, cups, etc) being dropped on it.  It is thick - and it dents or chips off the finish.  Also little tiny pebbles and what not will scratch it - not great for moving appliances in/out.  So durability wise, I would not do it again.