All Forum Posts by: Jennifer L.

 At a minimum, I would call a contractor and verify the minimum width standard and go to the property to measure.  (I found the same building code - keep in mind hand rails/trim can't cut into the minimum by more than 3.5")   If it is close, you might want to send a professional out to measure.  If it is a non-issue, I would write them a formal response stating that the stairway was built to code, decline to reimburse them and remind them that they had ample opportunity to inspect and measure prior to signing the lease.  

I would be wary of these tenants. A tenant intending to stay in a place long term would deem the issue as annoying but not a deal breaker.  Also, they incurred expense before notifying you of the problem. Be firm but fair and put everything in writing.  Good luck!

 Unfortunately, Cozy does charge the tenant for debit/credit transactions and they are more than the rewards that can be earned.  If the fees were ever reduces to less than the rewards, I'd pay myself rent to get the miles.  ;-)

 Cozy is free to use, but it is much slower.  It takes 5 business days for the money to reach your account.  On the other hand, it goes directly into your back account, so you don't have a $3000 day limit on transfer of funds.  Also, Cozy will only accept the exact amount of the lease, the tenants cannot send less.

@Demetri T. At a minimum, do a background check on him, even if you don't add him to the lease. 

Good call staying away from the single divorcee.  It is one thing to have a credit score in the low 600s and quite another to be in the mid 400s.  Yikes!  

@Jd Martin- I switched my receiving account from a local credit union to Chase Business Checking and the ACH time was the same: 5 days.  When it is time to renew the lease, I may have my tenants switch over to Chase Quickpay, but I'm going to read up on that before I switch.

I think if I were faced with this situation I would offer to waive the late fee the first time in exchange for the tenant agreeing to automatic rent payments through eRentPayment.  (I use Cozy, but I think for your tenant's situation eRentPayment is a better solution.)  eRentPayment reports payments to Transunion, so your tenant can build up her credit. Conversely, she can harm her credit if she pays late again.  She will be more likely to prioritize her rent above other bills if non-payment or late payment will harm her credit.

@Christopher Giannino 

I think for long term buy and hold investors, a biweekly mortgage could make sense.  However, there is more than one way to skin that cat.  If someone wanted to have the benefits of extra payments without being locked in to an extra month of payments every year, they could just add an amount to their principle every month.  That way, if you get into a financial bind, you aren't locked into those extra payments.  Also, the rewards on extra payments diminish over the length of the loan.  An extra payment of $100 during year 1 of the mortgage will result in much less over all interest paid than that same $100 extra payment during year 25 or later.

I have a 15 year fixed loan on a rental home which I hold as a college savings plan for my children.  I also regularly paid extra on that mortgage.   My goal was to have that mortgage paid off as early as I could so that I could stash a sum of cash away for when my son begins college, have 100% equity to draw off of if necessary, and have a substantial cash flow from rent to offset his college expenses.

This summer, I crunched the numbers again and realized paying extra didn't make sense any longer and the extra money in my pocket today was worth more than continuing to shorten my loan.  The rental will be paid off before my son finishes his junior year in high school (he's a freshman now).

@Michael Mozie  Hello Michael,  I found Cozy.co about 6 months ago when my new tenants requested a way to pay their rent automatically.  For payments, it is a little on the slow end (I'll get this month's rent on 12/7 even though the transaction was initiated on the first.)  However, I find the convenience and cost (nothing) more than make up for this.  I haven't had an opportunity to use their tenant screening, but I intend to when my current tenants elect to vacate.

@Eli N.  The last time I rented, I had the applicants bring their credit reports and documentation to prove employment, bank balances and income. I didn't charge an application fee.  The tenants I chose both had credit scores over 800, verifiable employment, and glowing reviews from their former landlords.   I didn't do a background check on them, but have absolutely no concerns. 

When it was time to sign the lease, my tenants asked for an automatic payment option. I had checked with my credit union and they didn't have a way to do it. I told my tenants that I would look into it. That is when I found Cozy. 

Now that I have been collecting rent through Cozy, I'm even more impressed with what the website can do when it is time to find new tenants. I will have my potential tenants apply through Cozy and pay for their own credit and background checks through them.  I'm not sure what the turn around is on getting the reports, but I'm guessing it is fast.   I'm simply not interested in collecting money for application fees.