All Forum Posts by: Lynn McGeein

If you are familiar with process and timing required to produce a clean and simple sale, research local attorneys and find out their cost for contract thru closing.  If their fee is less expensive than a good agent, then that way may be best, as long as you have someone or can be there, yourself, if/when any issues pop up.  I, personally, sold most of ours without an agent before getting my license, but I already had some experience through my father's investments, heavily researched the different rules in each state we invested, knew to look and cut out surprise costs built into standard contracts, free to travel if issues popped up, and I found a good local attorney that charged a reasonable fee. I now routinely handle sales for investors who have tried to sell on their own either to their tenant or another investor but found it's best to just have an experienced agent handle it to avoid as many issues as possible, and my broker will let me discount my fee if they already have a solid buyer.  

I help investors sell their inventory on our local MLS, vacant or while helping keep tenants in place! 1% Listing + 2.5% Selling Firm = 3.5% Total, no upfront fees! Call for details. 757-373-4454. Listing Discount only with Lynn McGeein of 1st Option Realty, Inc., A Virginia Real Estate Broker. www.mcgeein.com

I think it can help greatly to research local banks and see if any are best for your business.  Sometimes the smaller local banks can be more helpful than the big guys, especially if you establish a good business relationship with them.  

I verify income and previous rental history before having tenant pay screening service directly. It's on my application that the first applicant to complete income verification & previous rental history, pay for and pass tenant screening, then pay the security deposit, first month's rent and sign lease gets the unit, and that the application will be delayed if rental history and employment verification is not completed timely. When they present the application, I ask them to reach out to their prior landlords and employers to let them know to answer me quickly if they are serious about the unit. If they cannot provide me any prior history, I'd need to decide based on the other factors, but may require a higher deposit (if allowed) or cosigner.  All I usually get from landlords are dates rented and # of months late, sometimes # of violations, most won't give me more than that.  I can usually tell if it's a family member or friend based on the response.  I've had some disgruntled applicants but I feel it's an overall fair system that puts the effort mostly on them, not me.  

I used to do an additional refundable pet deposit and no extra pet rent, but due to the recent trend in emotional support animal letters, I no longer have an extra "pet deposit," just raised my total securty deposit overall for everyone, as you can't get a different deposit for an ESA or support animal.  When I was a tenant, it aggravated me to have to pay extra for my dog who was better behaved and cleaner than most children, and my tenants appreciate the fact that I understand that and don't charge them extra. I think it helps me retain long-term tenants, as well.  I let one add a dog door out to the back yard (at their own expense) and they've been there 5 years now.   

@Matthew Irish-Jones this is great advice, just wanted to add that it can take some time to find great management but worth the effort. Read their contracts in full, many sound great when interviewing but have hidden bombs in the management contract. Also, I found out the hard way that management needs to be a team of licensed managers as if it’s just one licensed manager with a team of assistants, if he/she stops performing, you’re screwed for months until you can sort it out. We’ve had a great management company and managers for over 10 years now and it’s made all the difference. You, of course, still have to put some time in but well worth the cost.

We do not ask them questions initially, just have a basic Typical Qualifications that we email to everyone contacting us.  It lists our Typical Qualifications including minimum income (like 3x rent or equivalent), minimum credit score, no record of eviction or judgments, etc.  Then it says, If you meet these criteria, we have limited availability for showings this Saturday noon - 3:00, please email your preferred time for an appointment and wait for confirmation. Attached is our application and employment verification form. Applications are not accepted until after you've viewed the property.

For those that actually make it through the appointment stage and want to apply, there are other hoops to jump through, but this tends to eliminate a lot of the non-qualified applicants without too much effort on our part.      
  

For our long-term tenants, we try to schedule certain updates around their vacations or ask them when it would be convenient, but those are for things you can do without moving furniture or a large amount of personal property, like new roof, a window or sliding door, replacing a deck, updating a bathroom, etc.   For major updates, we prefer to wait until vacant.

My pet addendum is dogs only, lists name, age, breed and requires copy of vet records showing up-to-date required rabies and any required state, city pet licensing info, states it is for pets listed only, no new ones allowed, no dogs under 1 year of age, breed restrictions, certify no previous aggressive behavior, and their renters policy has to have $300,000 minimum liability.  I've allowed 2 at a time, never more than that. I do not allow cats, fish, reptiles, hamsters, etc.  If you've ever walked into a house where they abandoned it leaving the aquarium full of fish, you'll never allow those again. And cat spray/urine is the worst.  Definitely don't want a hamster or snake surprising me after they're gone. For qualified ESA, nothing you can do, but I do not allow it otherwise.

You may want to research the conventional lenders now, start forming a relationship, as cash-out refi of an investment property is harder to find, may be stricter limits on LTV, like 70%, waiting periods before they'll do it and possibly rental history requirements if needed to qualify.