All Forum Posts by: Krystallin Baker

@J. Martin Also brings up a good point. If you are already a dog-friendly home, you could add an extra draw to your property by allowing other friendly dogs. I have stayed at AirBnB's that have stipulations about your dog being friendly and getting along with their dog. It's always been a great experience for me and my pup. They just required my dog meet their dog when we arrived.

As a dog owner myself, I actually might be drawn to your Airbnb because of the doggo! :) I would echo Michael in the fact that as long as you are upfront and keep your home clean, it shouldn't be a deterrent. 

The only way I can see this going horribly is if you weren't upfront in your listing or if your dog is aggressive. If you are honest, then those who are allergic or adverse to dogs can avoid it. Does your dog bark a lot? That's the only other thing that might annoy guests. 

I would definitely include that information. It not only helps you as the landlord from wasting time with people who will never meet your criteria, it also saves the applicant from wasting their time as well. I know I always appreciate, as a tenant, having the most information possible about a rental so I don't waste anyone's time!

I love that this conversation is happening in Fort Collins for the creative community here. Wishing you the best of luck in all your endeavors! 

Definitely, call in a professional. I have dealt with bed bugs before and they are basically indestructible, awful, awful pests. Tackle the problem ASAP or it will only become a worse and worse nightmare. Are there occupants in the home with the bed bugs? Make sure extreme measures are taken not to spread them. They spread insanely easy!!! 

I am a renter and I have a dog. He is good about not damaging the property. He doesn't chew walls, he's fully house trained, etc, but dogs, by nature, do add extra wear and tear. Almost every rental I have lived in I have been required to pay a pretty hefty dog fee that was non-refundable. I personally think you should stick to what you have set.

As a pet owner, I calculated in the cost of extra deposits and rent fees when I adopted my dog. That's the reality of owning a pet and not owning your own house. When I find a landlord that is dog-friendly, even if it requires me paying fees and deposits, I'm grateful that they are allowing me to bring my dog into the property. So I say, good work on being willing to provide housing to dog owners, but stick to your guns. Those four extra feet will add extra wear on the property. :) 

I'd make sure you cover some of the basics, such as the following:

• Number of bedrooms
• Number of bathrooms
• Square footage
• Cost of rent
• Pet policy
• Cost of deposits
• Date available
• Location

If you leave out basic info, you can wind up wasting time with interested parties who are not actually interested once they find out it doesn't have the xyz they actually need. If you use a platform that lets you create one property listing and syndicate it out across numerous channels, you can focus on creating one killer ad and then you can reuse it every time the property is vacant. That will save you tons of time and hassle!

Be sure to include high-quality photos too! Pictures are worth more than a thousand words when it comes to rental listings.

Hope that helps!

As a tenant, I appreciate when my landlord offers an online payment option. I pay a small fee to use online payments, but it makes my life so much easier and my landlord gets her rent on time.  I have the option too of writing and mailing her a check or directly depositing into her account, as well, if I want to go the "free" route, but for me the time it takes to do that is worth just paying the processing fee to pay online. 

As a renter, that would add value to me for sure. In fact, I know a couple here in Fort Collins that chose a rental with a unit just like what you are describing because of the studio office. I'm not sure what your demographics are like where it is located, but with the increase in people working remote jobs off laptop, having a separate office space is fantastic. In the case of the couple who chose the property due to the disconnected office space, he ran his own software engineering company and didn't like feeling like his work and home were mixed up together. 

I would be sure to highlight that feature when you are marketing your property! Could be a big draw for remote workers or even artists. :) Good luck!

@Jenny Gremillion there are a ton of options out there that can help you manage your rental business. Picking the right one really depends on the needs you have. Some programs are free, others cost money. Some have a min number of properties and some don't. So look around a bit to find one that fits your needs and the budget you're trying to work with. Good luck!