All Forum Posts by: Linda S.

@Jill F.,

You have a nice, affordable clean apartment including heat and sewer-- you better believe people will be lining up!    If you don't rent it within a week, your applications will likely be over 30, with like 150-200 inquiries-- just be ready! 

That being said, I feel for anyone looking on the market for a rental.   The market has changed, it's VERY competitive.   It's the perfect crap storm for tenants.. everyone who wanted to move in 2020/2021 is moving, plus regular people now in 2022.   The eviction moratorium screwed a lot of landlords-- so they just sold their houses completely because of bad tenants, and even good tenants-- landlords are selling now because the market is so hot!    You throw a huge pool of people into the prospective tenant mix, and add a housing shortage,  it's very uneven.   People are moving, thinking it will be easy/smooth, but  it's absolutely not!   

That being said, pick what makes most sense.    Good people might be in a hotel because they didn't expect it to be this hard.. they might be in a hotel because  they just started working again, it's a slippery slope.  They might also be in a hotel because they were a tenant from h*ll and trashed the last place, you gotta figure out who is who.    Hope this helps!

@Alex Ballesteros,

Check the owner with the property owner per the tax records.     

If you've seen the house in person--  that means  someone has to know the owner and have access to grant you rights, or they broke in and changed the locks to seem legit.     I'd guess the first, normally scams say they are "out of the country and you can peek through the windows."

 The fact it shows the owner on zillow means NOTHING, anyone can claim a property is theirs and post it as the "owner" that's common for scams.   I hate posting ads on zillow, because normally within a day or so, it will come up on FB with someone commenting "contact the owner at X/Y/Z" they are always creepy, because they copy everything identical, except the contact info.   

I would not hand over cash until you verify and feel more comfortable and have the keys, and a full lease, first month and deposit is very normal.   Do your homework, and investigate and make sure it's legit!

@Shawn Stiteler,

We had a power issue with a house in the middle of December,  and of course it took like a week to fix, and FYI these tenants are 70-90 age range.     

1) Call every single HVAC company you can find, offer to pay a premium, also check FB marketplace, you can sometimes find independent people who like to do side jobs!

2)  Give them space heaters, decent ones, not the tiny crappy ones, but ones that can potentially do the job. I also like @Zee Abbas suggestion of a window unit with heat, not a bad idea-- and if it has cooling can help in the summer when an AC unit dies.

3)  Regarding actual heat, find a local motel that you could put them up, and offer to pay that they go there (ours was like $50/night),  as if they are paying rent -- they are paying you to make sure  they have a livable/habitable place.     The other option is instead of paying the hotel, tell them you can pay them instead that $50/night, or  whatever pro-rated rent per day off is when they have heat.   That's IMO the fairest and best option, and watch them start having more patience and understanding when they know they aren't paying rent.    It's all about money, and at that point-- it's THEIR choice.       

Our tenants picked the 2nd option and stayed with a friend, and enjoyed the discount.  Don't stress yourself out, do it step by step, document everything and you'll get through this.   As long as they know you care, and are dealing with the situation the best you can, it will be fine-- but make sure they are getting  $$$ pro rated rent back for the inconvenience or put them in a hotel.

@Bronson Simmons,

We always give our tenants  at move in  we give them a bug spray  (if you see ants, spray.    If you see them again, spray a 2nd, 3rd time-- if that doesn't work call me), and a thing of GREEN GOBLER.   This stuff is amazing,  and safe for toilets.    I explain to people to do it overnight, and then boil water pour it down-- it works WONDERS.    Also make sure to add hair catchers in the bathtubs, it's $5, but if it saves you from a plumbing call--it's worth it!

A few people also say that they leave them plungers.   The more tools you can give the tenants the better, as they can fix it themselves first before needing to call you.  In our lease it clearly says-- nothing other than TP, and if they cause a clog it's on them.  Hope this helps!

@Joe S.,

I do C/D properties, so I know it wouldn't work for the fancy A/B people.. but the absolute smartest thing  I did about 4 years ago was doing EVERYTHING the exact same  white-- Du Jour - semi gloss-- by Valspar at Lowes to be specific.   

 If everything is white, you  can quickly repaint, do touch ups, it makes life soooooo easy!!!!!! No painting tape, no prep work-- nada!   Fresh clean white is classic.  Unless a house was like $2K+/mo in rent, no chance I'd ever do anything different... even my outside-- if I do white trim-- guess what-- it's Du Jour color so I can use it inside if needed.. it minimizes waste!   We can do turnover much quicker, minimizes vacancies, everyone is happier!

@Cameron Mitchell,

1) Personally, I would list it as a house-- put a picture of the house, and then in the ad state "DUPLEX  House" --- in caps, so there is no question.    When you respond to people through zillow, make sure you mention it's duplex house-- this way there is no confusion.

2)   Removing the curtains = Free... it doesn't need to be expensive, sometimes you just have to be CREATIVE!  Check out CL/FB Marketplace for used vanity!  Toilets are $90, well worth the $$$... youtube will teach you just about everything!   Even if you just add drywall to the garage, that will make a world of difference, it's not that hard--  again-- youtube it, get an experienced friend and do it yourself for cheap!

3)  Used stuff is your best friend with rentals!    Used light fixtures that look fancy,  you can paint cabinets too, to give it some pizazz!

4) When you change the add--  switch the organization of pics, take a pic of the FRONT of the house, curb appeal is huge!   If someone hasn't clicked on your house, they may with a new pic.    It makes it almost look like a nice listing, and drive  more clicks!

5)  Price dictates everything.  Drop it to $1000  and you'll get  A LOT of applications, if you're on the higher end people expect higher quality rentals.    I'd say drop the rent to $1195 ($105/off) (to capture $those under $1200),  change up the pics, and watch the applications come in!

@Alex Forest,

I was actually just talking to a friend about this a few days ago!   All that $$$ is getting pushed down,  people in DC are selling their houses, making hundreds of thousands and coming to Richmond and doing cash offers, driving prices up!  We just got some new neighbors, and guess what-- they came from DC!

If you think it's bad now... wait until the get the high speed train going from Richmond to DC!   Then it's going to be insane!

@Cameron Mitchell,

I found the ad, and first--without a doubt-- you need new/better pics!    

Second-- you have it listed as an apartment, people who search for HOUSES-- will purposely uncheck apartments to narrow it down, so you've shot yourself in the foot already by not getting to those people who see the value in a HOUSE! 

 The bathroom sink looks dirty, what's that a box of, and why is trash on the counter?    Put the lid down on the toilet, it looks dirty-- no wonder people aren't applying.    Add a new light bulb too, it's obvious one is out.   

 Clean out that garage, it again looks dirty--  and absolutely you need to add drywall or fix the insulation, it looks like BAD, and honestly like a safety hazard for little kids.   Huge turn off, it makes you think -- if he cut corners here-- he's cutting corners elsewhere!  I showed my husband and he's like "why would you post that picture!?"   Also-- remove those green curtains, it makes it instantly look outdated.   People want to find a place that's a blank CLEAN canvas to make their home.   You have a solid house, you just need to show it in it's best light!

Some will say you have to hire a professional, i disagree-- take nice pics, natural light is your best friend, and so is the lighting features on your phone!   Make it pop!  I did a google image of the outside-- AMAZING!  It's cute!  lots of curb appeal!      

@Account Closed,

I totally understand the frustration, but think it may be an uphill battle.   Do you have key fobs or logins, so that way you can quickly identify who uses what?     If  not-- if you find someone in a hoody, average height, average build, how are you going to identify which tenant?   If it's not super obvious, how will you prove it's them?     Have you ever thought that the people doing all the shady stuff aren't your tenants, but maybe non-residents?    

I'd definitely say do a key fob thing to block non-residents, and then after that you can do a lot of fake cameras (or real ones!)  with tons of signs.    You should absolutely send notification to all your tenants of the problems  and the new security measures-- that right there should block like 50-70% of the problems, good people don't want to get caught.

@ anna

@Anna Flores,

The blinds won't arrive until about a week after she has moved out?  ....... that sounds like convenient timing for when she blocks your number after she moves out...   yeah.... unless you've seen a receipt or have tracking, I'd bet she hasn't ordered the blinds.

Do you have pictures of what it looked like when she moved in? Can you prove that she was the one who destroyed the blinds? If the answer is yes-- you can take off for that 1 blind, the fact it doesn't match cosmetically isn't the tenants problem. I'm 100% on her side with this, cosmetics of the house aren't her problem. Check your state law, and tell her what the law says regarding her deposit-- VA is 45-days as an example.

My words of widsom/advice-- only take what you can prove to a judge with pictures, and nip it in the butt quickly-- give her back what is her deposit ASAP, I normally refund the deposits within about 3-5 days of the inspection.  This was never your money, and she sounds like she will be a drama queen, not worth the annoyance IMO-- refund the deposit - minus wear/tear ASAP

Hope this helps!