All Forum Posts by: Ray S.
Ray S. has started 33 posts and replied 122 times.
Post: Renting to tenant with history of bankruptcy?
- Investor
- Miami Beach, FL
- Posts 123
- Votes 19
They show 7x income to rent, with proof of income, don't have any evictions or late payments. Overall they seem like a good tenant. Their bankruptcy was for personal, poor money management reasons from a prev marriage, not anything business related, it was actually just under 10 years ago, so it will probably be cleared soon. Did smartmove reject them solely for having an open bankruptcy?
Meanwhile I have another tenant I screened which came back as accepted. They have only 2.3x income to rent, but have strong credit and nothing else on their record. Should I consider a tenant with a low income to rent? And if so, are there any other qualifying questions I could ask?
Thanks!
Post: Renting to tenant with history of bankruptcy?
- Investor
- Miami Beach, FL
- Posts 123
- Votes 19
I used SmartMove for a credit/background check of a tenant. They filed for bankruptcy 10 years ago, but it is still showing up on their credit report. They have a very high salary for how much they are renting for though. The website recommends I decline them, but they seem like a good tenant otherwise. What are some other factors to take into account, questions to ask, or other ways to protect myself in this case? Thanks!
All of them allow you to rent out your condo, they just have restrictions on the frequency and duration, usually 1 rental a year, 30 day min. Finding a multi-family on the beach right now is very hard, almost no inventory. There aren't many duplexes on the beach, most are at least 4-plexes. Are you looking in North or South beach? What's your budget and how many bedrooms? I've pretty much seen everything out there.
Sorry, mixed up the two..
Post: Best floors for rental?
- Investor
- Miami Beach, FL
- Posts 123
- Votes 19
Originally posted by @Michael Herr:
Originally posted by @Ray S.:
I looked at vinyl plank. It looked and felt just fine, but is much more expensive than laminate, and doesn't look or feel as nice. The salesman said the laminate is just fine for humid conditions, and is more durable. They also said vinyl is more prone to pealing off.
Well that salesman was being a salesman.
I disagree with that opinion on laminate vs vinyl plank durability. For damp areas it's not even debatable.
The thicker click-together vinyl plank at Home depot is indestructible and $2/Sq ft. The mechanics of the install are the same as laminate, but it's a bit easier.
Well the vinyl was far more expensive, so had they wanted to just make more money they would have pushed the vinyl on me. Which ones do you consider indestructible? I got some samples of the more expensive ones from Home Depot and was able to very easy scuff and scratch them.
Post: Best floors for rental?
- Investor
- Miami Beach, FL
- Posts 123
- Votes 19
Originally posted by @Roy N.:
Originally posted by @Ray S.:
Are you saying you don't have any of these issues? I got some samples of some good quality vinyl and was able to easily damage them in the same ways.
The installations in our student houses are not showing any such issues. There was a local restaurant who had installed a poorly finished commercial vinyl plank (dark expresso in colour) and after a couple of years they had white lines everywhere from chair legs. In that case the vinyl colour did not permeate all the way through - at the very least the manufacturer should have used a dark coloured base.
It appears from your above posts that you do not care for vinyl and do not wish to use vinyl plank. In that case, you should not use it.
There is nothing wrong with using a quality laminate as long as its not in a wet area. One of our recent student houses had a new laminate (a mediocre 8mm product that was not AC rated) floor installed in the foyer and central hallway when we acquired it. By the entrance the laminate is already bloated and cupped from snow melting off boots. We plan to cut an area out of the laminate this summer and replace it with linoleum or tile to prevent the damage from spreading (the water will continue to wick along the laminate).
There is no one-size fits all flooring; each has its own strengths and weaknesses and there are poorly/cheaply made products of all flooring types.
I'd prefer the vinyl if it were more durable, and appreciate you bringing it to my attention, but from what I've noticed in my own unit it's far less durable and very hard to clean. Maybe it's just this type, but the ones I've seen in the store don't seem any different.
Post: Prevent unauthorized parking
- Investor
- Miami Beach, FL
- Posts 123
- Votes 19
Originally posted by @Matthew Paul:
The towing companies around here would JUMP at an opportunity to hang their sign on your property . Its BIG money snatching cars . You wouldnt have to call , the tenants would have a sticker on their front and rear window , When the tow company cruises by and sees a car without the sticker . Its gone , no phone call necessary .
I didn't realize you could do that. I'll have to check with the local tow companies to see if they will tow cars that don't have a sticker. That would be a great solution though. Thanks
The other issue though is that I sometimes have unrented spaces, and I want to make sure those don't get used, since I'm not around all the time to check on them.
Post: Best floors for rental?
- Investor
- Miami Beach, FL
- Posts 123
- Votes 19
Originally posted by @Roy N.:
Originally posted by @Ray S.:
I just realized that the floor in the apartment I'm currently renting is vinyl plank. It's got a great look and feel, but it scuffs so easily. Anytime anyone wears dark sole shoes over, the floors are all marked up after they leave with black marks that are very hard to scrub out, and I have new abrasions on the floor practically monthly. It's also very hard to clean, you have to really scrub it very throughly to get the dirt out, and some dirt really sticks to it and needs a product like Goo Gone to get out. I'm the first tenant the installed it for, and it's very worn now after only a couple years. It also seems to be a lot more expensive than laminate.
Ray:
Yes, there is junk vinyl out there just as there is junk laminate.
Are you saying you don't have any of these issues? I got some samples of some good quality vinyl and was able to easily damage them in the same ways.
Post: Best floors for rental?
- Investor
- Miami Beach, FL
- Posts 123
- Votes 19
I just realized that the floor in the apartment I'm currently renting is vinyl plank. It's got a great look and feel, but it scuffs so easily. Anytime anyone wears dark sole shoes over, the floors are all marked up after they leave with black marks that are very hard to scrub out, and I have new abrasions on the floor practically monthly. It's also very hard to clean, you have to really scrub it very throughly to get the dirt out, and some dirt really sticks to it and needs a product like Goo Gone to get out. I'm the first tenant the installed it for, and it's very worn now after only a couple years. It also seems to be a lot more expensive than laminate.
Post: Prevent unauthorized parking
- Investor
- Miami Beach, FL
- Posts 123
- Votes 19
Sorry, let me clarify, I'm not worried about my tenants parking there, but guests or neighbors parking in their spaces and them having to deal with calling a tow company every time. I'm also concerned about any spaces I don't have rented out used by other people in the neighborhood and since I'm not on the property every day I have no way of catching them. By retaliation, I mean someone in the neighborhood parks there, gets towed and then vandalizes my property or worse. The folding, lockable, bollard seems like an ideal solution, and was wondering if anyone has installed them before?