All Forum Posts by: Paul Staszel

Easy fix.

1. Hit them with a late payment fee (check you state laws on what is allowed and appropriate)

2. Give them a notice (in my state its a 5 day notice for no payment) 

3. If they have been paying on time for years and recently something happened, and you are feeling nice, ask them to make a good faith payment and see what they can offer.  If your tenants are shady, I would stay away from this as in some states acceptance of a partial payment qualifies as a full payment if the tenant plays his/her cards right. 

Note: Usually when they get the notice it scares them as it states you can evict them after X amount of days.  

!!! Make sure your late payment fee is big enough to catalyze payments.  I usually add on to the late fee each additional day they are late.  

The CME Group offers Gold futures that can be used to invest in the gold market without holding the gold physically, these financial instruments can be used to speculate.  Holding gold is very dangerous and impractical.  If you physically have to invest in gold, then try putting it in a safety deposit box.  

Thank you for the replies!  Just an FYI, I do ride and I do love the hobby.  Maybe one day I will get into it and come back to let you know of my experiences.  

Word of advice, outsource lawn mowing once you grow. It's fine if you started off and want to save some money, but as you grow and build a portfolio it's not worth it. You can spend that time with finding new deals or more importantly with family. For the time being, cutting the lawn at 7 will be fine. In my area noise complaints can be only filed between 10pm and 7am, that's when I wouldn't cut grass.

Have you looked into a HELOC. My current Credit Union is giving 2% interest for the first year.

I know this is an odd ball question, but do any BP members have/own/run a Horse boarding stable? Is it worth it?  Or is running that kind of business a hassle? Here in the Chicago land area (1.5 hours away from the city) a 12'x12' stall runs $400 - $700 a month on average.  Let me know if any of you have experience or stories of trying to start one up.  

In regards to the lawn, Section 8 only pays for the rent and does not cover lawn care.  As such,  you can state that lawn care is a free service provided by the landlord and just raise the rent by the lawn care amount.  Also, stating it is a free service should theoretically attract more tenants.  

Remember that a big reason people rent (other than the fact they cant afford to buy) is because they want to live "maintenance" free, so advertise it that way!

In the Chicago land area I know of a lawyers who take $500 - $1000 no matter how many hours they work.  The rate is low because they are building their name. 

Call 911! You pay property taxes which pays for their service.  Use them over putting yourself in danger.  

Is more expensive paint worth the extra $? Also my tenant smoked, what should I clean the walls with? If I prime do I need to clean the walls?