All Forum Posts by: Ralph Miller

Okay thanks all!  I've looked into Cozy and AppFolio and Cozy seems like a great program for me to use based on where I am in my business.  Thanks everyone for the input!

I feel like the technology we have today should allow our tenants to pay using online methods. However, all the rental properties in my area still only allow check, direct deposit or a credit card with a service fee. What are your thoughts about letting tenants pay with some online app like Venmo or PayPal? I feel like tenants would appreciate that convenience. Let me know whether this is a bad practice or not! If so, why?

I purchased a property that was tenant-occupied.  The property was previously managed by a management company that I decided not to use because I decided to manage the property myself.

The tenant's lease is expiring in a few months and he wants to renew it.  I told him I will keep all the same terms as he had with the property management company.

 Should I create a whole new lease or can I create some sort of addendum that says "Following all terms from the [previous lease agreement], I hereby affirm to resign a lease from __________ to _________."  Obviously, not that those exact words but basically just using an addendum that's like one page long.  OR should I just rewrite a whole new lease with the same terms?

Thanks for the input!  

Thanks everyone! She ended up paying before I put an eviction notice on the door but this was very informative about the eviction process!

So I have my first tenant who hasn't paid her rent for the month yet. She is over two weeks late. Unfortunately, our contract doesn't say anything about evictions and it only says I can charge her a $20 late fee, but it doesn't specify late charges per day. She's blown me off for the last two weeks but giving me a bunch of excuses why she hasn't paid (I.e it was MLK day yesterday so the banks were closed and she couldn't pull out cash, even though she's always wrote me a check in the past). My question is: how much can I hound her for payment before it's considered harassment? And when I can I start posting eviction notices? And before I do that, are there any supporting legal documents I need before I can give her eviction notices? That might sound like a dumb question but I'm just making sure I am not breaking any law by giving her an eviction notice. Thanks so much! This is the first time I've been dealing with this!

Acquire.More.Properties!

Emmett McNulty amazing story! I'm currently getting my MBA at MIZZOU and I own 2 rental properties south of campus. If at all possible, I would love to meet up with you over coffee to pick your brain on REI in general and specifically what you look for in the Columbia area. I'm looking to buy my 3rd investment property in the next 2-3 months so I'm starting the searching process soon.

Hello to all and welcome aboard Denise! I totally use the keyword alert for 'Missouri' to snipe people in my area! I'm in Columbia MO and have 2 rental properties in southern Columbia. Looking to expand my little inventory of rentals! Glad to acquaint myself to you all!

Thanks for the advice! I figured that was the right answer! Since reading everyone's advice, I've called my bank and got a debit card and also separated my insurance so my rental property and umbrella insurance is paid from my business account and my homeowners insurance is from my personal account! That wasn't hard to do! Once again, thanks for the advice!

Hello BP Community!  

I recently started renting out 2 of the 3 rooms in my house to tenants.  I also created a business account for myself where I put their security deposits and monthly rent.  I calculate out the utilities and whatnot then I split it three ways and then my tenants write me one big check for rent+utilities per month.  I then pay off the utilities and internet using my personal credit card and then I write myself a check from my business account equal to 2/3 of the utilities and internet. I'm wondering if that is an acceptable practice or is that a conflict of interest by using my personal credit card to pay for the whole amount of the utilities...should I change my practice?  

Thanks for your future advice!  I love this forum!