All Forum Posts by: Dustin Beam

 Yea,  I personally listen out most/all items I can think of that are "wear-able". Exterior paint,  water heaters,  AC/Furnace, roof,  etc are all items that will eventually need replaced.  If you download my spreadsheet (not saying it's the best,  just what I feel comfortable with,  link below) you'll see I have random items listed.  

Https://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/DustinB17/file/buy-and-hold-analysis-spreadsheet

You could customize your house/plex as needed.  I have a tab where some website listed average life spans for items like that.  I then average out the cost down to a monthly amount.  This hopefully makes the Cap-X fees more predictable and see how you are profiting over the long haul. Because you could make money every month and have it all wiped out by large Cap-X items if you don't at least consider it during your analysis. 

 Hi Aaron,  there have been ups and downs...  things I would and will do differently. 

Usually how I answer that question is a statement along the lines of "it would be a breeze if I could find a fair priced reliable maintenance person". I've used a few different people but I typically get charged $35+ per hour. Maybe that's fair, maybe not. I think $20/hr is fair haha. 

I also struggled getting them rented as quickly as I'd hoped. They are full now with a couple new tenants and I have a plan on how to greatly shorten the vacancy period, but won't know how that will work until I try it :). 

Thanks for asking! A lot of learning going on for me right now. Problems (usually pretty minor) I've never had pop up regularly so I just do what I can and evaluate the results. Lather, rinse, repeat. 

Hey Michael, I've got limited experience compared to lots of people here but I like to think of myself as a"numbers guy".  To me, the expenses I've experienced in fixing deferred maintenance affect two things :  cash on cash return and immediate cashflow. 

To me, cash on cash return  is almost the most important thing, so I hate that. Delayed cash flow is less important to me as long as you're capitalized enough to fix those problems. 

In that spreadsheet I have, I would put those repairs in the "immediate repairs" cell and see how it affects your COC. I would use that as a negotiation factor. He knows those costs are looming. His willingness to negotiate obviously depends on his motivation level, but he should listen to your argument as he would probably do the same if roles were reversed.

Good luck,I hope it works out! 

 I've long complained about how the American judicial system is more about punishment than rehabilitation. Requiring that info on job applications and such things as rental applications is hard for me to die with either way. Do you want someone convicted of embezzling handling your money at Company XYZ? Does a tenant in a duplex  with children want to live next to a convicted rapist or molester? 

For me,  I feel like I have an obligation to try and do what I can to keep my existing tenants safe from their new neighbors. I'd rather take the risk of making a felon's life harder than find out he raped (or worse) a tenant of mine. 

Certain crimes I might be willing to overlook. But I can't have any feeling that they are a danger to those they live next to. 

@jeremy h. 

I'm in the process of learning this process as I've got 3 empty units that all went empty at the same time.  And this is my first* time filling apartments.  So needless to say it can be stressful. 

But to the point,  I've decided to do it this way.

1. Show the apartment in open house setting.  Why? I had an appointment with 5 or 6 people last weekend,  one person showed.  I will only spend 30-45 minutes there now.  Whoever shows,  shows. 

2. If they are interested,  I will give them an application there.  They can fill it out then or mail it to me.  

3. If they are really interested,  I will offer them a background check (currently through mysmartmove). I now will give them 24 hours to complete that if they want it.  I've had people say they want one,  but then just don't fill it out.  I won't wait around anymore. 

4. After all that,  I will follow up with past landlords and employment,  along with proof of income,  etc.  I simply won't do any legwork outside of showing the apartment until they submit a background check.  I am up front about what will get them disqualified,  so if they were honest with me,  it shouldnt' be a problem. 

5. If everything checks out,  we can meet to sign a lease. 

Hope that helps,  it certainly isn't the only way,  and I'm sure other people with far more experience could offer conflicting advice.  Good luck! 

*I have placed a tenant but he came to me without me advertising or anything, so that was easy. 

 Actually I was going to say something about doing that. I'm considering them calling me though. Makes my life easier and a chance to show they can follow directions and keep appointments. 

Hello Beautiful People of BP,

Being new, I'm always learning and trying to learn. Some potential mistakes were saved by what I hear and read right here. Others, I have to learn the hard way. And for the record, I knew not to do what I did this past weekend because of what I've read here. So maybe I learned two lessons: 1. Listen to experienced investors on BP and.....

2. Don't schedule apartment showings for individual times. Schedule open house viewings.

I scheduled 5 (or was it 6?) showings yesterday. One person showed up. One. I wasted far too much time waiting on people that flaked out. Won't do that again! haha. Certainly not the worst mistake I can make, but one I made nonetheless. 

Happy Renting, everyone

My first and only online payment has been through Cozy.  I like that there are no fees to me or my tenants.  So far so good (just 4 months).  My only thing I would like to change is if you could add an auto late fee if they didn't make payment on time and that there was a minimum payment. 

My rent is "due"  the first,  but there's a grace period of 5 days.  At 12:01 am on the 6th, I wish it would tack on the late fee and not accept anything less than that.  And generally I wouldn't want anything less than normal rent available for them to pay so you don't get caught delaying an upcoming eviction because a savvy tenant deposits $20 into your account. 

But overall it's been great,  has a good interface and isn't "clunky".  It's a well planned website IMO. 

Screening of additional room mates after the lease signing maybe?

I'm new and my list of "wants"  when I was deciding my lease beyond the typical "pay on time"  etc things were:

1. No businesses ran out of apt.

2. No smoking

3. No pets

4. They are responsible for pest control (assuming pest free when they move in,  which it should be) 

5. No painting/alterations

6. No unknown tenants

7. $50/month if lease expires and they go month to month

No video,  but I had a line snaked at my personal residence for about $100.