All Forum Posts by: Jon A.

I require it and it is written into our lease that it is required. With cozy, you can see that they have it. Whether or not they keep it or have it is up to them. I can give you two examples when it was needed. 

An upstairs toilet leaked onto a downstairs tenants bed. I replaced it because they were good tenants. If I had required it then, I wouldn't have felt the need to do so. 

One of my rentals had an electrical fire in the attic the day the tenant was moving in.  I told them I would see what I could do about getting them a place to stay because the house was uninhabitable. When I called my insurance company, they asked about renters insurance which I did require at the time of these tenants moving in. Their renters insurance would have put them up in a hotel but mine would not. Their friend also expected me to put him up in a hotel because he was helping them move from out of town. They were yelling at me as they were telling me to help them. Can you imagine the hotel bill I would have paid while the house was being repaired? It wasn't my fault the house caught on fire, I wasn't even there. But somehow , it is always the landlords fault. I am very glad that I required it on my lease. They didn't have it , and unfortunately, they had to find  place to stay after that, but I wasn't required to pay for it. I did have to pay the mortgage those three months though, which was difficult enough. 

I assume it is because your spouse has a marital interest in your property as long as you are married in North Carolina.

I really like to go fishing whenever I can lately, it takes my mind off everything. I also make pottery and was a full time potter for years. 

Damage comes out of deposit. After nine years of a good tenant, I believe I would take the hit. Can always give them 30 day notice that you are not renewing their month to month lease if they don't want to pay for damages and take it out of their deposit. 

Money and a job. Talk to a local lender and see where you stand in their eyes.

Security deposits rarely cover the expense from the damage a tenant can do. This would really depend on your cash reserves and your tolerance level. Personally, I would not do it. I would make the security deposit as high as my state law allows. If they cannot afford it, they are not your tenant. 

I am not sure if people still do this, but you could talk to the seller and try to do owner financing. There are pros and cons to this. Hopefully, more experienced people will chime in with more info on that. But I have to ask , if it is a great price in a great location in a hot market, why hasn't it sold yet? Something tells me its not what you think it is. 

I always put all occupants on a lease together and explain to them that they are responsible for each other. No partial payments accepted and absolutely no subletting or you will end up with 5 new tenants you have never met before living in your home. They all have to qualify through credit and background checks. The odds of all 5 of them getting along for any length of time is slim to none in my opinion. I would look for better applicants. 

Your dads subs may be too expensive but helpers and grunts may not be if they are willing to take side jobs. Especially if they are in between jobs. 

If it is not load bearing, then I would tear it out if you think it will help as a rental. It can always be rebuilt for resale value when the time comes. The flooring transition is usually the most complicated part. If it is load bearing , then a header must be installed and a permit should be pulled. Both of those things may make it cost prohibitive.