All Forum Posts by: Thomas S.

Put a clear and concise/detailed business plan on paper to present to your lenders. Do some research on drawing up a business plan.

Your question regarding the reason being too harsh is irrelevant. When you have a reason to want to get rid of a tenant that is a business decision not personal. Considering a reason is too harsh is a emotional response. There is no place in business for emotions. Your question is unnecessary.

How many properties do you own and how long have you been a landlord.

I own B class properties and have a minimum score requirement of 650. Most of my applicants have scores considerably higher well in to the 700s. When screening for a B class property credit score is far more important than for a C class and should never be compromised. B class tenants are of a much higher quality and should be treated accordingly when screening. Any applicant with the income to qualify for a B property that has low credit is irresponsible financially and likely living beyond their means. They are not a tenant by choice and should be avoided. You want tenants with high scores that are tenants by choice, for example those saving to buy a home or those that prefer to rent.

Do not compromise when it comes to establishing high enough credit score requirements. It is a major indication of the financial responsibility of individuals. As a investors we all know the value of a high score and should never dismiss it when screening tenants. You pay your bills, all your bills, on time regardless or you suffer.

Never allow applicants or tenants to manipulate how you operate your business. There is no reason or need to cater to there issues. Always operate with a standard policy and when applicants do not cooperate you immediately reject their application. Never allow them to force you to work for them, your way or the highway.

My standard reply when a applicant does not comply with my requests is to simply say "thank you for applying however we are not able to accept your application at this time". If they ask for the reason they are never happy to here that I expect them to cater to my requirements not me to theirs.

Your state landlord tenant codes, which you should have a copy of, will determine proper notice guidelines for rent increases. Do not rely on the advice of others, learn your state codes, all of them.

The first thing you should have done is learn your state landlord tenant codes BEFORE you invested. What you do now is establish your strict screening standards before accepting any applications. Make sure all applicants are aware of the most basic standards like minimum credit score, income 3X rent, consistent employment record, no evictions, no convictions, animals/no animals etc. You also need to determine you own standards like no unrelated tenants sharing rent, no self employed or anything else you feel will make for the most suitable tenants. The purpose of screening is to find reasons to reject applicants not reasons to accept them. There should be little cost to you assuming you send them to a screening company that they pay for. 

You have plenty to learn before you begin interviewing applicants. Your first tenant can be make or break for your business. If you do not know how to screen properly you are entering into very dangerious territory.

You need to fully research and study how to properly screen.   

Serve her with a pay or quit notice and tell her you will be informing her handler you will be letting them know she did not pay full rent. The notice is simply officially notifying her she needs to pay. When her lease is up do not renew. You do not need the hassles of tenants that decide how much they are willing to pay for rent.

As a rookie landlord this is the exact sort of situation that if handled wrong will lead to further issues. It is always best to take a firm position and say no otherwise you are heading down a rabbit hole. Never cater to this type of behaviour. It does not matter whether the water bill was higher, although not likely due only to the drip, what matters is you can never allow a tenant to believe they can control your business. Say no and fix the leak. Moving forward do not allow yourself to get into this type of situation.

Some landlords do say stupid things which is why when you have a applicant claiming a ESA you do not ever make a issue of it. We also have human rights police here in Canada calling landlords to catch them up. As with your fair housing police they act on complaints and do random checks. Contrary to what some may think our human rights codes regarding animals and housing rights are the same and even more restrictive than your fair housing laws in the US.

When landlords choose to operate their business based on fear, which seems to be the predominant issue with ESA, so be it however I prefer to follow and use the law to my advantage and have never had to rent to anyone claiming ESA or a service animal. When you actually understand the laws and codes operation of your business becomes safer and easier to operate. Unfortunately most choose to operate their business with blissful ignorance allowing government to control their business decisions. 

Aside from states that require you to rent to the first qualified applicant (which also has go around tactics) there is no law preventing a landlord from choosing the most qualified. Service or ESA animals never take priority over most qualified. They simply should not be a issue for professional landlords. For amateur landlords however every fair housing code is a potential mine field. Beware or get out of the business.

Obviously the ring is a done deal, you can not sell it and it is only worth a fraction of what you paid for it. The cost is in the design not the material.

As for the car I would not even consider refinancing. Toys come and go, sell it. Having a practical need for the money to purchase a investment means you can not afford to keep frivolous toys. Toys are for people that have no other practical use or need for money. Priorities, toys or investments. Been there done that, no regrets.

Your market is best suited to speculators not income investors. If you do not have deep pockets it is not a investors market.