All Forum Posts by: Johann Jells

Bump. Anybody?

I'm going to try an open house for a place that will be vacant on the 15th to rent it for the 1st. I've gotten about 10 responses since Friday to the Craigslist ad. My question is about choosing a tenant among acceptable candidates. Usually I make appointments and go with the first application from an acceptable tenant, but in an open house that seems silly. Is it just just sorting them by desirability and working your way through the list till you get a lease? Or sort by desirability AND odds they'll actually sign so you don't waste time?

I must say the one thing I don't like about open houses, having had "virtual open houses" as scheduled people overlap, is that the showing is by far the best time to evaluate the tenant, and multiples interfere with that. I've often decided whether I want them or not just walking them through.

Once had a tenant complain about fly maggots. She didn't get it that maggots don't migrate from elsewhere, they were hatching in her own dirty apartment!

I constantly have to explain to people, once to a Harvard MBA, how investing in rental RE works. They always say "but historically RE has been beater by the stock market".  I reply it's all about the leverage to buy an an asset that then pays off it's own loan. Everything else is gravy.

But I will say it's cool to be able to depreciate a 120 year old building. Kinda funny.

 One of the things I like about the Cadet 3 is the 3" flapper. Makes a huge difference.

American Standard Cadet 3, ~$130 at HD. One of the rare case where the best is the cheapest. I have 2 in my home, and they NEVER need a 2nd flush. I've installed 8 I think. And it comes with a slow close seat.  I've never personally seen a 3 bolt tank connection.

My crappy, litigious, city agency calling tenant gave notice at the end of May and I was ecstatic, but they tried to hedge and say "if they found a place". They didn't. Now, in NJ the law says any tenant must be offered a lease renewal, and that any rent increase must not be "reprehensible". I assumed that the law also said they could basically change their mind, but as I was preparing a Notice to Quit and a new very aggressive lease I asked my lovely wife to look over the NJ State published "truth in Renting" booklet to see if I was stepping over the line. She discovers that giving notice cancels the renewal clause and if a tenant overstays after giving notice you can charge them double the rent!!! After I confirmed this with the City Landlord-Tenant Board I realized that note from them was worth more than it's weight in diamonds.

Lord what a relief, good riddance.

Preparing for the worst is not the same as assuming the worst. And turnover rate has nothing to do with evictions. My 1st 6 units are samll 1 bedrooms that are typically "starter" apartments for young people just out of school, often living with their partners for the 1st time. They usually stay from 1 to 4 years. Recently a couple was reluctant to tell us they were getting married and had an offer accepted on a nearby apartment. We were thrilled for them, we've had a number of marriages "incubate" here. And sadly just had our 1st breakup.

Maybe it all depends on your market, but landlording and slumlording are NOT necessarily synonymous!

Your assumption that you'll be doing lots of evictions is disturbing. Eviction is a failure of the landlord to properly screen tenants, or set the rent at a point where you get good tenants not someone desperate. In 17 years, starting with 6 rentals and now with 12, I've only had one eviction and he was inherited. All my tenants know where I live.

Problem is I inherited them, so I don't have SS#s. Brianna, that's mind blowing that it's not legal to keep security for unpaid rent. It's basically what every tenant would like to do. Can you at least get 1st & last at move-in?