All Forum Posts by: John Kunick

Like Jeff saids, those suburban areas are hot so you need to be prepared to move fast if you find a house that you are interested in.  Get pre-approved for loans and be able to insure closings in 3-4 weeks.  Those types of benefits mean a lot to sellers in those areas and often means you can get a house for a little less than they might otherwise settle for.

Yes, I routinely get 15%+. Jeff, I have a daughter that lives in Denver and she has tried to get me to buy rentals out there. But, I can't get nearly the same ROI out there. The housing market in Denver appears to have sky-rocketed so the people that seem to be do really well are those that have owned rentals for many years and have seen their rents just go up and up.

Daniel, I whole-heartedly agree with Deborah. She is offering sound wisdom.  I do not believe in furnishing ANY utilities nor cable.  IMO, you should work towards freeing yourself from this burden, but it will most likely be a process.

The longest starting lease is  a one-year term. 

Actually, I've done a couple of six-month "trial" leases if I'm not sure about a tenant.  In such cases, I have them sign a form outlining that this is a "probationary" lease due to concerns and outline exactly what they must do over the six months in order for it to convert to a one-year lease.  In all but one of these trial leases, we were able to convert to longer term leases.  One of my best and longest tenants started out this way.  On the one that wasn't working out, I just simply asked them to leave and explained exactly why it wasn't working out - and they left without any hard feelings.

If I find a tenant that is really good, I then offer a two-year extension with either no or minimal rent increase.  I have done a three year extension one time and am glad.  I only offer longer-term leases to valued tenants.  If I'm on fence about a tenant, I ask them what they think they can do better and also what they expect for us to improve.  I find this open dialogue will weed out questionable tenants.

Count me in.  May bring a couple others with me.  Like the networking opportunities.

Hey Ryan, I'm new to BP, but have been doing REI for quite some time. Can you tell me a little about this meeting? I will try to make it. Where at the restaurant will this be held?

BTW Callum, I like your idea of adding $25 per month for pets..  I may need to try that out.  I currently do a $250 non-refundable pet fee.  Have ever only had one issue with pet damage but it required totally replacing the carpet in the whole house - so the $250 did not begin to cover it.

Have you ever not had a tenant you wanted to rent from you not do so b/c of the monthly pet fee?

Damian, I agree with everything that Callum posted.  Like Callum, I have all but one of my rentals in the burbs.  The lease is your friend and I explain to the tenants that it is very thorough to protect both parties.  I review the lease in detail with them and also provide a move-in letter that in a non-legal manner lets them know what to expect from us and what we expect from them - and what the boundaries are.  They must sign both the lease and the move-in letter prior to moving in!

The other thing I've learned over the years is to handle ALL issues immediately.  I encourage my tenants to call me if they have any concerns about repairs - no matter how small.  It's easier and much cheaper in long run to handle small issues before they can become big issues.  And, you will be rewarded with loyalty if you provide superior customer service.  Believe me, turnover will drain your profitability - and keeping loyal tenants will dramatically reduce turnover.

Regarding getting out in front of issues, if you suspect a tenant is not living up to their end of the lease, investigate it and deal with it quickly.  Do not let a questionable tenant linger!  There are ways to get rid of them short of eviction.  But, should you need to evict, do it swiftly but kindly to avoid damage to property.

But, if you screen the tenants and keep an eye on things, your rate of tenant issues should be pretty low.

Best of luck.

Janet, I am a real estate investor here in Tulsa and would be glad to help answer questions.

Being an investor is Tulsa suburbs, we've seen this growth in rental demand from both the # of calls when get when a house becomes available and the rent appreciation.  Thanks for info!