All Forum Posts by: Rhonda Healey

i would do the credit too. You'd be surprised. I've seen 20 yrs olds file for bankruptcy and hide vehicles from banks. Bad credit doesn't start in their 40's. It is a way of life for some.

What do landlords think about renting to someone who has been at same job for 7yrs but main income is tips? There is no past rental info because applicant has been in long term relationship with a guy who owns the home but they have split up. Applicant seems emotionally stable, level headed and drives a nice clean car. We are getting background and credit check. But main question is the unknown income from tips.

I also love the green in the kitchen with the white cabinets. To me that is neutral. All a person would have to change to match kitchen is hand towels and potholders. But I would change the dark green in living room to a beige color so no one's decor will not clash. Furniture cost a lot more.

 That's a good idea. We actually are going to do something similar. We are going to knock off a percentage in Dec for tenants who pay by the 1st every month. Then increase that every Dec they are with us, providing that they continue to pay by the 1st every month. We felt it would be an incentive to make rent priority and give a break during the holidays. Hope it works. Of course the screening process cannot be overlooked.

It sounds like a great track record. What key advice do you have for us newbies who are just starting to acquire and rent out our properties? We are excited but inching along in the dark. We are fairly new to the area and don't know anyone to glean info from. We have one rented, one almost ready to rent and closing on a third single family home next week that needs some electrically work done but otherwise will be available fairly soon to market.

We only collected the prorated amount at beginning of month. As it turned out they did leave on date stated. But now I'm wondering if the full amount should be collected and then once tenant moves give the overage back along with any security deposit owed.

Thanks for the responses. We prorated to err on the more fair side but wasn't sure what others did. Love this forum. Lots of good ideas and advice.

We are new to this and actually started as a fluke. We bought a house in a different area before we even listed our house. Long story short we had the opportunity to rent our house during slow winter months and now own 3 rentals!! Our first renters were month to month as we didn't know what our plans were and then decided to move after 5 months. My question is, they have 30 days notice in middle of month, do we need to prorate the next month or do they pay a full month even though they vacated in middle of month? What are the thoughts on this? 

My husband and I are very new to this too. We have 3 properties. Never have we used Craigslist. That thing scares me. But we listed ours on Zillow and Facebook has many local forums. We have joined several of the yard sale ones in our area as well as, in search of, in our area on Fb  it's worked for us and it's free. Then we talk with them. I set a day up with all the appt and we have them fill out app and take it to real chek in our area to do the background checks we want. Both my husband and I meet with them and we insist that all adults who will be living in our homes have to be present. While we are with them we ask about their employment and if they receive any other funds and explain in detail our expectations. We also have a Dec rent discount for qualified renters. We explain to qualify tenant must have rent to us on or before due date every month. It is a little incentive. We start out at 10% for first year then 15% for second and go up to 50% as yrs go by. Hoping this keeps good renters. Good luck.

I actually used it in my own home when my kids were young. Lived there 5 yrs and the carpet looked the same as the day they installed it. It was stain resistant and I tried cleaning a small sample with bleach to see if it would fade. Nope!! So I would add a little bleach to my carpet cleaner when I'd clean them. Looked good and sanitized. Perfect. Make very good sense to use it in rentals. And it isn't soft. So renters can bring their own rugs!!