All Forum Posts by: Phillip Austin

If you want to pay, RentRange is an option that's worked well for me. But, it's not cheap.

You can visit online listings for comparable units in the neighborhood. See where they're priced and how long they've been on the market. Also, remember, market rents are typically driven higher in the summer months and slightly lower around the holidays. 

On the front range of Colorado, 60% of tenants have a pet! So, you greatly diminish your tenant pool if you don't allow pets. I highly recommend allowing pets but, also, setting strict provisions in your lease to protect you from damages. You can even add a separate pet addendum.

@Corby Goade mentioned petscreening.com which I also highly recommend. They will do a thorough screening of each pet and ensure it's a properly certified ESA. They'll even review their medical records.

1. Check with your insurance provider to see what breeds are restricted

2. Charge a $200-$300 non refundable pet fee (per pet). Plus, $35/mo in pet rent (per pet)

 LOL! This is great and very true about ESAs.

 Eviction from beginning to end will vary greatly depending on your market. In CA, I imagine it's not a quick process. In Colorado, from the day you post the demand for nonpayment of rent until the day you actually do the eviction with the sheriff, you're looking at 4-6 weeks. Could be longer! It depends on quickly it moves through court and also, the time of year. Evictions will take longer during the holidays.

Although there is potential with these sort of arrangements, I've avoided them because they tend to require more management/time. 

Going up to $4K/mo is a steep increase and might result in a 'no' from the insurance provider since it sounds like it's ultimately being paid by insurance. However, I could be completely wrong.

For the rest:

MTM: increase rent 10-12%

SD: one months rent

Pet deposit/fee: $300 non refundable pet fee

Pet rent: $35/mo

Admin fee: $200

Cleaning fee: $500

Welcome @Ryan Lamothe! Congrats on selling the biz!

If you're interested in REI full-time, I highly recommend partnering with or at least starting a conversation with a professional Property Manager as well as a CPA who specializes in real estate.

Georgia and neighboring states such as Alabama, Florida and Tennessee are all GREAT rental markets. If you decide to go the Property Manager route, check out Evernest. They're a national PM company based out of Birmingham and they have an office in Atlanta as well. Great folks at Evernest!

@Maria Holodnaya The 'why' could be for a number of reasons. Regardless, you need to comply with the letters.

Once you fix those issues, I recommend calling their office and letting them know the violations have been cured. Be super friendly and try to get off their radar. In my experience, these types of violations come in waves. Whatever you do, don't make a fuss and make it on their radar or you run the risk of more frivolous letters. 

 Depends on your market but I would be comfortable pursuing anything over $5K if I knew there was a possibility of collecting from the tenant.

@David Sledge While others are correct in recommending small claims, I don't think is going to solve your issue completely. If the tenant caused significant damage in excess of $10K, good luck collecting from the tenant even after you win in small claims.

There are financial institutions out there that help landlords in your exact situation! I cannot recommend any here, however, a quick Google search should help you out.

Call the zoning office and start asking questions.

I had an occupancy issue at one of my properties in Denver, CO. My client was overly concerned and in somewhat of a panic. When I spoke with someone at the zoning office, they literally laughed and told me they don't enforce certain that specific restriction. A 30 second phone call solved a dramatic situation that went on for days.