All Forum Posts by: Jon Q.

Now I think, they are very suspicious. They contacted me on Zillow before they came to California. The woman is very eager to sign the lease contract with me before even seeing my house. They never come to the house. We never meet each other. The guy plays the bait and switch at the last moment. I have a bad feeling. If I let them into my house, they will give me bigger troubles later.

Does the tenant have to pay for the lawsuit? I thought this type of tenant can extort the landlord for free. I don't think the lawsuit cost him any money. I also think he had done this to several other landlords before.

Just closed on my first deal last week-- a duplex househack. I was planning on starting to advertise for the vacancy this week and have it available within a few weeks. I was moving in over the weekend and the next door neighbor and his daughter (mid twenties) came over to introduce themselves to me. They said that she wants to rent the unit and asked me not to list it. He's older, retired, and lived there 15+ years, so I believe so he'd like to have her close by. She is a single mother with two daughters no pets. The only problem I can think of is that it is a higher end rental for my local market and I'm not sure if she'd qualify making 3x income to be able to afford rent. However, my agent told me he thinks her dad would be willing to help her on the rent if she can't afford it all herself. I know this contradicts basic landlording 101, but due to the fact that he's literally next door and wants her to move there as well, should I make an exception due to the circumstances if this is the case? This obviously would be contingent on her meeting my other minimum standards, passing a background/credit check, and getting good references. Any thoughts? Thanks

Thomas, if you have 10k-20k in cash reserves then $150 cashflow is fine. If you have little to no cash reserves then the investment becomes significantly more risky. As you hold the property the property will appreciate overtime. If you can add value through a rehab this will increase cash flow. Over the years rents have typically increased by 1%-5% each year. Again, if you have solid reserves then you should defiantly pursue this investment.

duplex for 400k price, profit will be $3250 a month, cost $3100 a month. Is $150 cash flow worth it in anyone’s opinion? 

From what I’ve gathered most tenants are all bark. I’d be surprised if he followed up with that. 

 You already lost, that's why you will loose, your documented in this, you approved then denied based solely on the service animal, DONE. 

Feel free to fight it, I only ask that you come back and let us know what all the fines totaled and how much time they gave you to pay. Serious question, I don't know anyone who's ever gotten themselves into such a pickle. But I have heard the reports of how many they fined and nailed on such. 

Hi, fellow rental owners,

Recently got a disabled rental applicant who applied for my house on Zillow. I specifically mentioned on my listing no pets. They also wrote no pets on their application. They are a marine veteran couple who moved from the east coast to California. They were very eager to rent my house. Even though we never meet each other. They only send a relative to my open house to a video showing my house. They have 600+ credit scores and a decent income. They claimed that they can work remotely and live close to their family. So their company on file is in Maryland. Once I send them the lease contract to sign, the guy finally told me he actually has a service dog because he is disabled at the last moment before he sign the lease, and asked if I can change my contract since I wrote no pets on my contract. 

I have a bad feeling. It is very obvious that they used a trick to set me up. Because both my listing and their application indicate no pets. I declined their application and canceled the lease signing. He got mad right away. He said I discriminate against a disabled veteran. His service dog is not a pet and he doesn't have to mention that. Now he is threatening me with a fair housing lawsuit.

Does anyone have a similar experience? The fair housing department can't just take his word for this. They need to have evidence to prove that. I didn't even ask about his disability and gave him the lease to sign after he shows me his disability income from the military. I just don't like that he hid the dog's information till the last moment. He planned this and clearly knows what he is doing.

Now I rented my rental to another family with no animals and a better credit score.

What should I prepare if the fair housing department reaches out to me later?

Thank you all.