All Forum Posts by: Jennifer L.

Peter Mckernan If you use Cozy, the tenant only has to go to the website twice: once to set up their account and the second time to verify their bank account. After that, rent collection is automatic and doesn't require the tenant to sign in at all. I get that it would be slick to have a link to Cozy payments from your own website, but given how it works, I don't think it would be a feature your tenants would need. Based on what I've read, erentpayment has the option for automatic payments or non-automatic tenant initiated payments. Their service costs $3 per transaction.

Cathy L. A tenant looking great on paper is only part of the screening process. In order to weed out problem tenants, make sure you talk to their last two landlords to find out of there have been any problems. You want to reach back two landlords in case the last one is just saying nice things to get rid of them. In addition to asking if they paid rent on time, you want to ask if there were any difficulties during the lease and if they left the property in good condition. The general question "would you rent to them again?" Is also a good one. Also, when you are screening, ask the potential tenant why they are moving. If all they do is talk trash about their former landlord, then chances are they are overly demanding.

I'd probably go with creating a trust for the children. Then the trustee could manage the assets in a way that is beneficial for the children.

I don't know why you would have to tell him.  I assume you will be raising the rent and when you open it up to applications, you can allow him to reapply.  You can even be nice and waive the fee for him since you are familiar with the tenant and know his payment practices.  Then, if you don't have any other qualified potential tenants, you can tell the tenant your concerns about his cleanliness and either reject him on that basis or work with him and accept him subject to new lease conditions on cleanliness.

Originally posted by @Account Closed:

Craigslist has one simple rule for avoiding scams- only do business locally with people you can meet in person...

At my rental showing two months ago, one applicant was talking about responding to an ad on CL where the alleged landlord said they were out of state and "just peek in the windows to see if you like it."  He suggested that if they were interested in renting, that they send him a cashiers check and he'd send the keys. People need to be careful on both sides of a rental transaction.

I'd treat this individual like any other potential tenant. I'd have have complete an application, along with proof of employment (pay stubs) and bank statements. I'd conduct a background check- You can use Cozy.co to accept an online application along with the credit and background check. It is free for you and will cost him about $35. There are other companies that perform this service for landlords as well. Make sure you get a copy of his ID to make sure he is who he says he is. With respect to the payment through his employer, will the company cosign on the lease? Will they expect to be able to replace this tenant with another employee? You want to make sure this is all legit and you aren't dealing with a professional tenant. Proceed with caution.

I'm not in Sacramento, but I rent a SFR in San Jose. I just switched from providing water on my previous lease to having my new tenants pay the water bill. I think in light of the drought, it is the only way to ensure responsible water use from our tenants. I had no problem leasing my home with this provision, though it is in a high demand neighborhood.

I hosted an open house and had interested applicants show up for that, rather than schedule individual appointments. I had a bunch of people show up and I think it helped spur my current tenants to act quickly to secure the property.

@Joe Doman I use Cozy.co.  This will be my second month of accepting payments which are facilitated through their website.  They don't take or hold the money, they simply initiated the ACH transfers from your tenants bank account to your bank account.  First month went fine, though it was slow.  The 4th of July weekend was partially to blame for this, and I'm also wondering if it was slower given it was the first month.  I guess I'll find out in a few days, though with the 1st falling on a Saturday, it may also be a bit slow.  

It is very convenient and you can't beat the price of free.  

I'm guessing it would be prorated so that the prior owner gets the first two days of rent and you get the rest, unless something else was specified in your purchasing contract.