All Forum Posts by: Nancy P.
Nancy P. has started 8 posts and replied 316 times.
Post: Is your rental " pet friendly" ? if no why not?

- Naperville, IL
- Posts 329
- Votes 348
I agree, but you have to be careful. If you choose the "easy" every time, the potential exists for you to be sued for discrimination since "disability" is one of the seven protected classes. And it certainly isn't easy to tell immediately who is easy to get along with. I'm all for allowing REAL service or therapy animals, as I said, as soon as I state my requirements they go "poof". Problem solved.
ETA--Forgot you are in British Columbia, different rules apply to you!
Post: Is your rental " pet friendly" ? if no why not?

- Naperville, IL
- Posts 329
- Votes 348
Originally posted by @Nicholas Layton:
I do agree that the internet stuff is just a scam to make money, but I don't think landlords can dictate who tenants can and cannot see for their own personal "health" providers.
My Illinois attorney advised me that I can indeed demand that they provide proof from a local provider BECAUSE the stuff on the Internet is fake. Now, HIPPA laws mean I can't ask what exactly the potential tenant's mental health issue is, but I can ask for a letter from a real doctor saying s/he prescribed a therapy animal. Now, if the person has a letter from a doc in California or something because they are moving to Illinois, I would accept it after verifying the letter. STILL, the dog has to be a breed my insurance will accept, and well trained and well behaved.
Still it hasn't been an issue...it's just a trick people are pulling and they go away as soon as you say you need proof. My own personal opinion is that EVERY pet is a therapy animal. My grandma knew petting a cat lowered her blood pressure in the 60's. It's not new. What's new is the attempt to get around reasonable rules and restrictions.
A dear friend trains dogs to be companions to autistic kids. It's fantastic. I love dogs, (cats, too, but I'm allergic), I do my best to accommodate them, but I won't be tolerating B.S.
ADA rules say RELIABLE documentation.....
Post: Is your rental " pet friendly" ? if no why not?

- Naperville, IL
- Posts 329
- Votes 348
Originally posted by @Marie Tai:
I haven't had much luck with finding good tenants with pets.
For some reason, I have only had applicants that call their pets "therapy animals" and they always argue that these animals are not pets so they refuse to pay the pet deposit or the pet rent because they argue that it doesn't apply to them.
Do they not have to prove that in British Columbia? In Illinois they do, and my attorney advised me I could ask for LOCAL paperwork as the Internet stuff is just a scam to make money.
Post: Is your rental " pet friendly" ? if no why not?

- Naperville, IL
- Posts 329
- Votes 348
All but one of my nine properties are condos, the association generally limits size and breed. My personal limit is two four-legged pets. (You can have all the fish you want.) Had one dog destroy the carpet, but this was an FannieMae rehab -they put down cheapest carpet WITH NO PADDING. She lived there 4 years, this dog would get shut into a room and try to "dig" out. But seriously, carpet without padding doesn't have four years of life in it anyway. I replace living areas (and some units the whole place) with true vinyl plank that snaps together. If you unit floods, or dog pee is in there, you pull it up, wash it, clean and dry the subfloor (or replace if ruined), put the vinyl right back down. I charge $300 per pet deposit but no pet rent. Have never kept pet deposit. I think having a dog or cat makes people give more of a damn about everything. I too, have in the last year been getting the "service animal" inquiry. When I say I need to see paperwork NOT generated from the Internet, they quickly vaporize......
Post: Learning to buy from owner - no realtor

- Naperville, IL
- Posts 329
- Votes 348
OK, last December 26 a neighbor who was renting knocked on my door and said she'd like to buy my house. (She'd heard we were thinking of downsizing.) We struck a deal and each had an attorney. This is in IL. My attorney charged only $500, his usual fee, but guess what. Only Realtors have the disclosure form. A couple of things came up during the review period after inspection. My new Realtor (last one retired to Vegas), has sold us three things in less than 2 years. Because of that alone, she helped me with that stuff because my attorney kept saying "I'm not negotiating for you." I have since met an "hourly" Realtor here on BP. If you could find one of those I think that's your best bet.
Post: First Deal DONE! - Miami SFH - BRRRR - Before & After Pics!!

- Naperville, IL
- Posts 329
- Votes 348
Originally posted by @Jason Brown:
@Account Closed thanks! YEAH the pedestal sink in the bathroom was something I actively contemplated! The vanity, which i picked up from home depot, was the option i went with only because I had "tried to put myself in my potential tentant's shoes" and thought that with the small size of the bathroom and no medicine cabinet where would my tenants put their bath things and would the rental be less appealing without any real bath storage. Obviously its manufactured wood so i know its going to take a beating but i guess that's just something I've got to work on and mature as i try to evaluate decisions more from a business stand point and not from the perspective of living there myself.
For the kitchen i did actually go for real plywood cabinets because i didn't want to invest in something that I would have to then replace in two years after it got wet and started to swell and break down like the IKEA and other particle board options so that wasn't so bad.
Now for the issue of bandit signs I can't lie they are definitely NOT allowed in my area. My 2 am bandit sign adventures were definitely exhilarating partly due to the fact that I was looking behind my back then entire time to make sure I didn't get caught placing them. The reason i wasn't particularly concerned is because my target area is a popular investor / small business owner area and you can see bandit signs on every street corner from wholesalers, lawn services, tv internet services, junk car removal services and others. I did receive an automated phone call from a local inspector to come and take them down after a period but once i did and alerted them to that they stopped calling me. Its all a calculated risk and understanding what you can and can't get away with in your own farm area.
Lastly as for selling I did actually receive a few offers but unfortunately none of them ever panned out. I had initially started this journey to create a rental portfolio so i guess I was just working from the perspective of creating equity in the renovation and using the refinanced funds as my "doomsday egg/next deal proceeds" if that makes sense.
Thanks for your insights I'll take them any way i can get them.
It's never a mistake to consider tenant's needs! I have two properties with pedestal sinks in the half bath and immediately tenants complained...we put in cabinets over the toilets. Everyone needs somewhere to stash the toilet paper. You did a good job.
Post: Should I keep a good tenant or raise the rent to market rent

- Naperville, IL
- Posts 329
- Votes 348
@Merritt Steinbach
Very well said. Even if you're only about the numbers, this is something to consider.
I feel compelled to say...it's OK to not just be about maximizing profit! That is truly a U.S.A. phenomenon, and fairly recent one at that. I happily live in Germany right now (Husband's job brought us here) because I am more comfortable here where the social contract is very strong. Not right or wrong, just different.
Post: The Possible Gold Mine Known As Tax Delinquent Properties

- Naperville, IL
- Posts 329
- Votes 348
Wondering if this latest Milwaukee flood will change any of that.....
Post: Should I keep a good tenant or raise the rent to market rent

- Naperville, IL
- Posts 329
- Votes 348
Originally posted by @Mike W.:
I have 2 houses on the same block. One moved in earlier this year and pays $1620 the other moved in about 7 years ago and pays $1460. I typically do a ~3% increase every 1.5-3 years for long-term tenants unless rents are trending down.
My longest tenant moved in 1984, I inherited them in 1999 at $675 and now they are at $850. They are in their 90s, so I am having a hard time justifying an increase as I feel a bit of extended familial responsibility after all these years. Market rent for the unit is around $1000 maybe $1100 with some remodeling.
Keep doing the ~3%($50) increase each year. Eventually, it will catch up to the market or they will move.
We also have elderly tenants (mid 80's) paying $200 below market. But they were are neighbors who had to sell due to the husband's health, and we love them, so we're OK with it. I know BP is generally about maximizing income but my H is blessed with a very high paying W-2 job. We see how hard it is to make ends meet for many of our tenants. We do increases, because dues and taxes go up every freaking year, but we don't jump the rent because the market says we can. Everyone is different in both what they feel is right and what they can afford.
Post: Starting out with Class C/D MFR rental - would you do it ?

- Naperville, IL
- Posts 329
- Votes 348
Originally posted by @Ray Reed:
1.) Put up camera system and internet connection so you can monitor remotely.
2.) Put bright external dusk till dawn lighting that the residents cannot control
3.) Do not collect rent personally. Have it deposited, electronically transferred or mailed to PO box (no personal checks)
4.) put durable material (i prefer LVP instead of carpeting)
5.) screen hard.
I assume you mean EXTERNAL monitoring? I don't know of any state where it's legal to spy on folks. MAYBE the yard and outside. Maybe. Or maybe they agree to that?
Your other factors I agree with. I agree with (mostly women) saying everyone wants a decent safe clean home. Provide that and you can make money. But personally we are on the other end of the scale. We own in an affluent area and tenants have very high expectations.