All Forum Posts by: Andrew S.

As far as I know, it is not common in my area (but may be perfectly normal where you are located). One of my student rentals is a 1Bdr apartment and while I have only had individuals renting it so far, I would accept two people for the same rent. I really rent by "the place", not "by person" (although the latter is a possibility too - more like boarding houses). As long as two people can reasonably fit into the place, I'd be ok with it. For comparison, I also have 3Brd SFH rentals, and, at various times, they have been occupied by one, two, three or even 4 tenants. As long as they all pass background checks, etc., I don't really care. True, there is probably some more wear-and-tear with 4 people vs. one, but this is not necessarily a given - really depends more on the particular tenants, not the number.

One of my properties has this issue (duplex with one water meter) and I too considered all the options.  In the end, I decided to just take the chance and bake it into the rents.  So far, I have not had any problems with excessive water use.  I guess it only takes one bad apple to cause a problem, but I have not had an issue yet (knock on wood).

I’d leave it alone and reconsider later if it does become a problem.

This is a very common situation with college rentals, depending on the specific college (for one of mine, the rental and renewal season for the following Summer starts as early as November and is pretty much over by March). And yes, I always collect one month’s deposit due at lease signing.  This gives you SOME protection but it is still an inherent risk.  Realistically, if they walk away from the contract in July/August, you will likely suffer more than one month’s worth of loss because it is much more difficult to find replacements at that point, but at least you have a fighting chance.  This is why good vetting (and typically co-signing of parents) is a must for college rentals.

If you are in a A, B or even C type neighborhood, I would definitely consider losing the window units and putting in central air (or ductless mini units - they may be significantly cheaper, depending on your floor plan).  People who spend $800-1000 or more on rent, don't want to deal with window units.  If your place is at the bottom end of rents, maybe you can get away with it.  But yes, window units will definitely command lower rents.  When you do your rent comps, are you comparing to places with or without central AC?  

I think it’s best to look what is considered acceptable in your particular area.  Baseboard heat is very common in some parts of the country and not common in others.  In my neck of the woods, they are NOT popular and make it harder to find tenants.  Mostly because they can make placement of furniture more difficult and can pose a fire hazard (paper or clothes accidentally ending up on top of them and catching fire).  Also, people tend to knock their ankles on them, especially in small spaces (bathrooms).  I have had two such units and ended up removing the heaters and installing central HVAC in both.  However, if you are in a location where AC is not important, maybe leaving them in makes more sense.  Here in South, you pretty much need central AC anyway these days, so once the ductwork is there, switching to central heat is a no brainer.

Edit:  just noticed that you ARE in NC - I would replace them then, unless you are in a D area where window AC units are feasible

 I don;t really know, but I would think for less-focused bulk mailings (thousands of letters), a few pennies per letter are very important.  As I said, for very targeted campaigns I might be willing to pay a quarter per address?  

I don’t do direct mail, so keep that in mind.....  I do get a lot of yellow letters and cards targeting my rental, however.  I will say that I am much more likely to open a hand-written letter than a printed one, but this is only true for actual handwritten ones, not for those that use a printed “handwriting” font.

That said, I don’t think it would be worth paying for someone to actually hand-write each address, UNLESS you use a HIGHLY focused/targeted mailing list.

 Thanks, Andrew - yes, we ARE gauging neighbor's interest (I forgot to mention that), but in some cases those neighbors are in some distress themselves and just aren't able to buy more, or aren't interested in adding more to the 10 acres they already own.  Yes, there is road access as well as electric and fiber cable (for phone/TV/internet).  In fact, the road maintenance dues are what got these owners into default (along with the County property taxes, I suppose).  

I’m on the board of a property owners association in Wilkes County, NC (near Blue Ridge Parkway).  Occasionally, the Association ends up taking over parcels of land from owners who are delinquent with their annual dues.  What is the best way for the Association to sell these properties?  Listing of raw land with an agent tends to be expensive (commissions range from 10-25%) and is quite slow.  I know that Craigslist is an option, but I’m unsure how well that works in rural places.  Any other (more creative) ideas?

I know @Eric F. was into this for a while, but haven't heard from him lately.