All Forum Posts by: Nathan Gesner

@Peter Ceo it's hard to answer the question without knowing your market. Is there demand? Is the PM marketing the property correctly? Are they communicating with you about why it's not renting, what efforts they are making, etc?

Our market took a turn and single-family homes are almost impossible to rent. This has never happened before so I'm explaining to owners why their properties are not renting. If an apartment sat vacant, I wouldn't be able to justify it because they're still renting like crazy. You have to communicate with the PM and see if it's justifiable.

As for the late rent, I hope your PM has policies and procedures in place to deal with the non-paying tenant quickly, professionally, and efficiently.

Do you need a new PM? You can start by going to www.narpm.org and search their directory of managers. These are professionals with additional training and a stricter code of ethics. It's no guarantee but it's a good place to start.

1. Ask how many units they manage and how much experience they have. If it's a larger organization, feel free to inquire about their different staff qualifications.

2. Review their management agreement. Make sure it explicitly explains the process for termination if you are unhappy with their services, but especially if they violate the terms of your agreement.

3. Understand the fees involved and calculate the total cost for an entire year of management so you can compare the different managers. It may sound nice to pay a 5% management fee but the extra fees can add up to be more than the other company that charges 10% with no add-on fees. Fees should be clearly stated, easy to understand, and justifiable. If you ask the manager to justify a fee and he starts hemming and hawing, move on or require them to remove the fee. Don't be afraid to negotiate!

4. Review their lease agreement and addendums. Think of all the things that could go wrong and see if the lease addresses them: unauthorized pets or tenants, early termination, security deposit, lease violations, late rent, eviction, lawn maintenance, parking, etc.

5. Don't just read the lease! Ask the manager to explain their process for dealing with maintenance or problem tenants. If they are professional, they can explain this quickly and easily. If they are VERY professional, they will have their processes in writing as verification that it is enforced equally and fairly by their entire staff.

6. Ask to speak with some of their current owners and current/former tenants. You can also check their reviews online at Google, Facebook, or Yelp. Just remember: most negative reviews are written by problematic tenants. The fact they are complaining online might be an indication the property manager dealt with them properly so be sure to ask the manager for their side of the story.

I hope this basic guide helps. If you have specific questions about property management, I'll be happy to help!

@Brandon V. start the eviction immediately, even if they were already given 30 days. If they don't move out after the 30 days, you could lose another month of rent (possibly more) while trying to start the eviction process.

Starting now puts them on notice that you're not playing around.

No, you are not obligated to tell him what's in the other unit. Would you feel obligated to tell him she eats Peanut Butter if he has a nut allergy?

He has the severe allergy so it's his responsibility to mention that and see if the unit fits his needs.

There's a very good chance this is someone creating a false claim in order to break a lease. My recommendation:

1. Make the tenant prove they have a severe allergic reaction to something. If they can show medical bills, prescriptions, or something PRIOR to contacting you, then you may want to let them go to avoid any issues.

2. Stop communicating with friends, family, etc. Your tenant was capable of signing a lease so they should be capable of handling their own communication. Your communication should be directly with the individual, not through anyone else that is not party to the lease agreement. This could be a violation of privacy and get you in trouble.

Luxury Vinyl Plank looks very nice, is durable, and can handle getting wet. Be prepared to pay much more initially but it will reduce wear-and-tear, cut down on cleaning costs, and you could even learn to install it yourself to cut costs.

@Anthony Wick haters gonna hate.

I use a one-year lease with termination fees. I just had a tenant break their lease with seven months remaining. They gave 30 days notice (actually 37), they agree to let me market the home during their final 30 days tenancy, they paid a termination fee equal to two months rent, and they remain responsible for rent and utilities until their termination date.

If they leave and it still takes 60 days to find a new tenant, I've lost almost nothing.

If they leave and I place a tenant right away, I made an extra two months of rent.

I actually make more money on the vast majority of early terminations. You can't do that with a month-to-month lease.

You can do all the paperwork necessary through a local Title Company or an attorney. Call around, explain what you're trying to do, and they should be able to help you.

This is a great opportunity to jump in, but you also need to understand you are buying a problem. It's bad enough that grandma is getting out of it after all these years so you need to be prepared to kick these tenants out immediately, clean the place up, and then find new tenants. For this reason, I recommend you hire a property manager and/or an attorney.

This will cost you money before it makes you money. If you do it correctly by hiring professionals, this will be a much better experience.

Yes, you can have her sign one. 

It appears you don't really know what you're doing so my best recommendation is for you to hire a property manager. A good PM will ensure you are at market rate and that your income and property are protected.

If you prefer to risk your financial future by gambling on your own abilities, at least go to an attorney and get a state-specific lease agreement. You can get one from an attorney for a couple hundred bucks and use it over and over again.

Yes. Go to www.google.com and type in "move out checklist" and you will find hundreds of samples that can be viewed, printed, or edited.

We are either the weakest people on the planet or the greatest fraudsters. I'm hoping it's the latter.

If you can't handle living in the privacy of your home (or rental) without an animal, you probably need to be a psychiatric care unit. If you can't handle stepping in to a grocery store or attending Sunday church service without a dog in your pack, you may need to be medicated and under constant supervision.

I'm prior military and a combat veteran. Even the PTSD animals are a farce. Our ancestors fought much harder wars an managed to live their lives without taking dogs in vests everywhere they went. Now we have people with PTSD after one bomb goes off in their vicinity and they're incapable of working or even shopping for toothpaste without a dog?

We are encouraging weakness and, like an untrained emotional support animal, it will come back to bite us as a society.

@Alicia Gates you approach it by looking at the numbers, not the people. If market rent is $850, you need to charge $850. If they can't afford $850, give them notice to move on so you can get it rented for market rate. You can be nice, professional, and even compassionate while still running it like a business.

If you keep rent $200 below market, you are essentially paying the tenant $2,400 a year to live in your rental. Do you really like them that much that you are willing to supplement their rent?