All Forum Posts by: Luke Carl

@Michael Dorey I would absolutely raise the rent. $50 would be my number. And another $50 in a couple of years. They won't go anywhere. 

@Anthony Wick the won’t apply. It’s  the ones that say “will you put a shelf in the closet” that’s who you want 

Zelle is the only way to go. Unless they’re low income then just give them your account number and make them go to your bank. 

@Paul NA

I use cozy. 

If this is a $1000+ unit just put in their email address and they can pay for it and fill it out themselves. If it's $500-700 you'll likely have to do it for them because they don't know how to use the internet. 

You can also call the city/county and find out if they have any evictions (a DW in my market). 

Call their employer and see if they have a job. Call previous landlords and ask a few questions. Again, monthly rent number is a big factor on how "good" the tenant will be. 

You're looking at totally different things in low income (600 credit is GREAT) vs something around $2000 per month (would need 650+ for me). BUT someone with 600 credit can't afford $2000 a month anyway. 

I always say hosts make the worst guests. We're always looking around thinking about what we would have done differently. 

Pricing rule #1.

If you're not booked you're asking too much. 

Pricing rule #2. 

If you're booked and the guests are a pain you're charging too little. 

The sweet spot is in the middle! 

Check out Beyond Pricing. More and more folks are going to pricing managers. 

@Mindy Jensen If you’re brand new with one property it’s best to let the cleaner do their thing. They’ve been cleaning cabins their whole life. A noob with one property is not a cash cow. Communication is key.

Again. Market specific.

@Pavel Shemyakin if you’re firing the cleaner after 3 weeks of the checklist..... the system isn’t working. Change the system not the cleaner. 

@Kim Feldkamp this makes a decent amount of @Avery Carl day. Perhaps she'll have a moment to offer her expertise. 

I would have a lease regardless of these goals. You've got no way to protect yourself. 

If you've got a signed lease a good lender can count 75% of that in favor of your DTI for the next loan if needed.

As far as taxes... Depends. Are you even reporting this revenue or are they just venmo-ing you and it doesn't show up on your tax return? I assume you're not reporting it because if you were you would want the lease in order to get all of the tax breaks that real estate provides. 

Read a book called loopholes of real estate. 

I would make them all sign a new lease with no deposit and have it be month to month just so they're not annoyed. Tell them it's going to help you get into your next property if they get weirded out. 

Often times people contact me. Luke, my cleaner is not doing their job I need a new one, can you suggest one? 

If you're having issues with your cleaner, look at yourself before you look at them. 

This particular person said their cleaner wasn't "following the checklist." Well there's your issue right there. My market is NOTHING but vacation rentals. The cleaners are cleaning vacation rentals all day long. Yours doesn't get cleaned any different than the rest of them. I know my cleaners would be annoyed if I made them check boxes on a sheet of paper every day. Let them do their job! 

This is just one scenario of many in which I find it's the HOST that is the problem, not the cleaner. 

Read a book or two about running a business before you point fingers at your cleaner. You are running a BUSINESS. You must have SYSTEMS! Firing your most important employee is not a good system. 

Book suggestions: The E Myth Revisited and Traction. 

Thoughts from other pros?