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All Forum Posts by: Matt B.

Matt B. has started 13 posts and replied 224 times.

Post: So, I Stop By One of My Rentals Today and...

Matt B.Posted
  • Investor
  • Bethlehem, PA
  • Posts 229
  • Votes 122

This is kind of funny although im sorry to say. I would imagine this is a violation of your lease. you should defiantly have a clause in there that says the tenant cant make cosmetic or structural changes to the property. if you don't have that, I suggest you put that in.

worst case scenario, you call your insurance and tell them you now have a pool and increase your coverage, maybe increase their rent to offset the cost of additional risk. I don't know about where you are but in NYC a pool costs like 10K and adds value to the home. so try to look at the positive, they increased the value of your home for free. Although not ideal for a rental property, it may make your property more marketable and command a higher rent.

is it one of those big pools that are just a think lining that you take down in the winter and is not permanent? maybe they just have it temporary and built a little free standing deck for it that can be removed when the tenant leaves. if that's the case then I would just call insurance and get it approved. then increase their rent to offset the cost of your insutrance premium.

I pick up a check each month which gives me the opportunity to check out the property and make sure nothing is out of order. guess im old school.

Post: Key Management - Lockbox Options

Matt B.Posted
  • Investor
  • Bethlehem, PA
  • Posts 229
  • Votes 122

I think the Master key will be your best bet.

Post: Low Income Apartments

Matt B.Posted
  • Investor
  • Bethlehem, PA
  • Posts 229
  • Votes 122

Good luck! im sure it will work out great.

Post: Bad living conditions, how to handle the rent

Matt B.Posted
  • Investor
  • Bethlehem, PA
  • Posts 229
  • Votes 122

not to sound heartless or cruel, but maybe the landlord can't afford to fix what's broken because the tenant hasn't been paying the rent. Think about it, if someone stooped paying you the rent and the house fell into disrepair, are you going to pull funds from another property or your personal savings to fix things for someone who is screwing you over? 

Rental properties are a business, I wouldn't pull funds from another business to fund a sinking business. Maybe it sounds mean but that's the business school in me talking. The tenant should be looking for more suitable housing and the landlord should have filed for eviction 5 days after the rent was past due. Both are wrong in my opinion. The landlord is obviously not a good one and the tenant is stealing from the landlord. 

Sorry if that sounds mean, nothing personal, just business. 

Post: Trouble Chosing

Matt B.Posted
  • Investor
  • Bethlehem, PA
  • Posts 229
  • Votes 122

DENY DENY DENY....both of them. 

Post: Credit Scores for Screening

Matt B.Posted
  • Investor
  • Bethlehem, PA
  • Posts 229
  • Votes 122

i just rented a unit in just a few days with a 780 credit score and income 4.5 x monthly rent, however this is in NY and supply is very limited. i wouldnt go below the 650 range on credit score unless it was due to something like medical bills not being paid. you may be better off waiting for the right person to come along and rent your unit. id rather have it vacant then have someone in there that i cant get out and thats going to trash the place. you need to adhere to the standard guidelines. a) find a person who has the ability and is willing to pay and b) have someone you can reasonably collect from. someone with below a 640 credit score seems like they may fail point number 2. good luck

I would rent it to someone else. these sound like the kind of people u dont want to have to deal with especially while your on the other side of the country. if legal in your area, i would have them pay rent up until the point you have a new tenant in place, or keep their security deposit and call it a day. good luck

Post: HELP....I HAVE THE TENANT FROM HELL!

Matt B.Posted
  • Investor
  • Bethlehem, PA
  • Posts 229
  • Votes 122

Sharon

One thing I learned is that stating "repairs under $50 are the responsibility of the tenant" is not a good practice. It's your home and your responsibility. It would really suck if the tenant didn't want to pay a plumber $25 to come over and replace a worn rubber washer on the kitchen sink drain pipe and that slow leak went down the walls into the basement under the rug out of sight and then your next tenant has an asthma attack because there is 100 sq ft of mold behind the walls. Now your going to pay a few grand to cover the cost of the clean up because you didn't want to spend $25 6 months ago. It happens quite often on here.  

Post: How to Collect Rent

Matt B.Posted
  • Investor
  • Bethlehem, PA
  • Posts 229
  • Votes 122

Maybe they can send you the check and you can do a mobile deposit from your cell? have a friend pick up the checks and deposit them for you? set up an ETF from your tenant's account to yours? thats really all I can think of at the moment.