All Forum Posts by: Henry T.

Definate no.  If the couple have a profession of refinishing floors, then its a maybe worth consideration.

Quote from @Scott E.:

It's awesome that you were there for your tenant at this hour of the night. I'm sure some of those tenants were in a complete panic to see water in their homes. Plus you acting fast likely helped to avoid further damages.

I agree. Add to the fact that this PM may not even be the owner. Above and beyond call of duty. I try to avoid those after hours calls, but sometimes, especially if it's doing damage, you gotta go.  If I ever innterview a PM I may have to ask..."If it was 12:30 am, and there was a flood, would you etc, etc, ??"

No experience. But I believe there's an excise tax of 4.5 or 5% on your income. And you must maintain a local rep agent. I heard of a guy building an adu near Hilo (with intent of STR) and by the time he was finished the city council ruled STR's in that area illegal. Kehau I think? This was in a out of city area where everyone has to catch their own water(from rain). Kailua Kona of course has all the utilities until you get out of town, then its the wild west. Not to get off topic, but I've always thought once the nukes start flying, the Big Island might be a good place to be. You can get land pretty cheap near to the volcano. A friend of mine had a house near Hilo, he went on vacation, when he came home he found someone had stolen all of the siding off his house. Neighborhood matters.

Those "woody stemmed plants" are blackberries aint they?  They should have been sprayed first with blackberry killer, let die fully, then cut. Read up on pulling blackberry stumps and get yourself a good pick axe to pull them up. Rototilling is only gonna spread the roots and seeds everywhere and you'll be doing this forever. The roots must pulled completely. I would  spray the heck out of them with glyphosate full strength, then wait a month or two (agree with the post above-Michael Radney) before pulling them. But if you can kill them dead, you could just cut them later at the stump and not worry about them. They'll disintegrate in about 15 years. If that price $4500 includes pulling the stumps completely, (not just chewwing the stumps) but assuring removal and NO return of blackberries, thats a fair price in my opinion. It looks like a big yard. Still, get more  estimates, and make sure your agreement is DETAILED in your specifics. A landscaper that writes "clear backyard" is worthless.

How cool, for once a tenant can see what it's like being a landlord. Let them have their fun.

Stay out of it, you would be liable to any injured party.

I would try to find some other task to automate. Screening is the most important step, and if you don't pay attention to all little details of the applicants, you will be sorry. State your requirements clearly in the ad, then field the calls asking the proper questions again for those that can't read or follow instructions.  

As an alternative, you might try lining up four mexican laborers from Home depot, pay them each $50 and have them dump everything quickly on the parking strip. Once you have it all out, take some pics and send to the junk haulers for bids. Bring a friend to film(for your protection) and help you keep things moving.That's a lot of activity for one person to manage in that short time. Good luck.

Quote from @Jay Hinrichs:

Quote from @Henry T.:

In any town USA other than Seattle, I would gather up all 20 applicants and pick the BEST/HIGHEST qualified tenant. In Seattle the law, by city council,  requires the 1st qualified tenant. PM's claim over 60 percent of Seattle landlords have quit. Seattle now has a very serious availability problem. Many rentals have been sold and are now owner occupieds.

 same thing has happened in Portland .. with their rent control on top of rent control.. 

Seriously? 1st in rule? or are you talking about their anti-landlord legislation in general? I know the west coast states are all messed up. I've read the Portland landlord/tenant laws, but I guess I missed if they also have a "1st in" rule.  I'm sorry. Right in line with Seattle for places to avoid. As much as I miss Calif, I could never go back there either. I'm in process of liquidating all my Seattle interests.  I feel sorry for any new investor that is not aware of these 3 states' anti-landlord  pitfalls.  Seattle in particular is really damaged.

Something is really wrong here. I know the details are scant, but it seems you're making some really poor choices.  Who spends 200k on a rental remodel? Or, Is this Mara-lago and you're an ex-pres spending someone else's money? I wish I could offer some advice, but I'm kinda speechless.
All I can think of is the Badfinger song "Come and get it".

I had the same problem.  Add a bunch of new pictures of Dogs, city scapes, and beaches. Then go back and delete your old photos. It worked for me. OR post a run down shack for the local assessor to see. (they do use Zillow for their tax info). Never show your updated kitchen or bathrooms, your valuation only goes up more.