All Forum Posts by: Marissa Mallamo

@Kevin Nalley would you mind sharing a copy of your instruction sheet? I'm not looking to copy it word for word, but more just to get an idea of how you structured it, and make sure I am not missing anything important in my screening/ application process. Thanks in advance!

Thank you all for the responses! Just needed a little positive reinforcement. I totally agree that I need to separate my emotions and look at it strictly from a business standpoint, especially if I want to successfully grow and scale a rental business. The fact that I am younger (26) and a female, I feel that this plays a part in the emotions side of things. I feel somewhat awkward when I am showing this property to people older then myself and asking them to show me proof of their income, etc. But I know a thorough screening must be done, and this is all just part of a learning experience.

On top of that, this was our home for 2 years before we turned it into a rental, so I have a stronger emotional attachment to it then to a property I never lived in. I also have this mind frame of feeling like the tenants are doing me a favor by living there and paying what I perceive to be a "high" rent. The rent is market rent that matches all other homes in the area. But since I myself have never rented, I am having difficulty getting past the psychology of everything. Again, I am probably delving way to deep into things, but as a newbie I am hoping it's just part of the learning process.

Lastly, do you ever offer to refund/ deduct the application fees once everything checks out and they sign a lease, etc? Obviously if they are denied, the fees are non refundable, but I was thinking of offering to credit them the fees off the first months rent.

@Fred Heller @Nathan Miller @Account Closed

Hi BP! As new landlords, we do not have enough experience with the screening process, and would like to get advice from others. We have a married couple wanting to apply and I am planning to use Cozy to screen them. Do I ask them to both fill out a separate application? As a new landlord, I find myself being led by my emotions. I worry that I might be offending or bothering them by asking them both to apply separately. I guess I just need to be reassured that it's the "norm" to require separate applications, so I can be more confident in my decision. Thanks in advance!

Dakotah Pena Question: you said your only expenses now are rent. So are you planning to continue renting for yourself and buy an investment property to rent out to others? Or are you planning to live in the property you purchase and then eventually turn it into an investment property? Because qualifying for a mortgage for a primary residence has less strict underwriting requirements then qualifying for a mortgage on an investment property, so take that into consideration too when making your decisions

We should be able to make it this month!

Yes @Brandon Turner that helps! Thank you! 

Hi BP!

I'm trying to use the rental property calculator on BP to analyze a few buy and hold properties I'm looking at. I'm confused on the ARV section, since I wouldn't be planning to sell anytime soon after buying. Some of the properties I'm analyzing need light cosmetic repairs and some are in rentable condition with no work needed. Either way, I'm confused on this section of the calculators. If I buy the property at fair market value and put between $1-3k into it for things like a new appliance, new carpet, fans, etc., this is not going to make the value skyrocket right away. Any insight is appreciated :)

Thanks in advance!

Dustin Heiner if you don't mind sharing, where is your property that you purchased for $9k cash?

Oops I'm sorry I meant to reply to Brian not nick as he is the realtor....I haven't had my coffee yet!!

Hi nick we are currently looking for an investor friendly realtor in the PBC area. We have 1 buy and hold right now and are looking for another or possibly for a flip. If you would like to connect further please let me know. Thanks!