All Forum Posts by: Rob B.

For the person on the second floor you're probably going to need to wait until the end of the lease (lease renewal to push their rent up); since the person on the 3rd floor has a lease that is up for renewal then that means now is the time to do it. A lot of this depends upon your current state laws (re. rent control). @Denisse Nunez

Thank you for sharing, Jhoana! @Jhoana Olarte -- I have a friend who is currently looking at Houston (might need to move down there for work and instead of renting is considering buying a SFH). I'll be sure to share this information with him!

Hi Ryan -- I'm sorry to hear that you're dealing with that issue. Generally, I'm of a similar notion as Andrew; if the tenant's door was kicked in they should have filed a police report. That is a great way to put them on the spot -- otherwise, there's not much else that can be done because as others have noted, the deductible will probably be higher than the cost of repair. I hope you're able to get things figured out; maybe inquire with a neighbor if they have a camera facing the property -- might be able to get a clearer idea of what actually happened. I hope this helps! @Ryan Nodurft

Recreation is coming to Illinois in January 2020, and I've seen a lot of people asking this question. Having said that, most landlords are treating it the same as if they have a no smoking policy within their lease -- as long as it doesn't violate state law, you can still set those standards for your rental. 

Ralph is spot on! I will say, this is definitely one of those instances where it really takes consideration of the type of student (ie. graduate vs. undergraduate) that you want to rent to. Thus far I'm of a similar notion as Ralph though, in that you want to make sure that you get that parental guarantee, and a year lease; move-in/move-out checklist process, and frequent check-ins. A very close family member is located in the Hyde Park area and it has proven to be a great market for graduate students at the University of Chicago. Usually, their rent is covered by the program that they're in and with it being a top university (and one of the most challenging) you're dealing with a different type of student. It all comes down to the amount of risk you're comfortable with assuming (as far as damages to the property). Probably putting the property at higher risk when dealing with undergrads. But again, students can be great for cash-flow and as long as you set your standards (I would follow that list Ralph has included above) you should be good! @Eddie Starr

@Jeremy Goodman Hi Jeremy! This is great to hear - congrats on your successes thus far but also welcome to BiggerPockets! If you're interested in getting things moving with your education in this industry, BiggerPockets is a tremendous resource. There are so many established industry professionals who are willing to share helpful, proven advice; but also the BP resources/tools/podcasts/webinars are always there to help you grow into your business as a rental property owner. 

Unfortunately, you have a very good point @kevin m strong -- so many people use this as an out and it doesn't help in the event that a future tenant actually has a genuine health issue. Definitely no misconceptions around ease or difficulty level when managing low-income tenants. One thing you can do is offer to report their on-time rent payments to the credit bureaus as a way to help them improve their overall credit score. A credit score increase of up to 40 points could be a great way to positively incentivize them to make their rent payments in full and on time.  @Beary Bowles

@Ginger Schmidt Hi Ginger -- I'm sorry to hear that you're dealing with that issue. Generally, property managers can charge anywhere from 6 - 10% and there are other more cost-effective ways to get the most out of your rental property. I don't want to knock Craigslist or Facebook if you decide to post your listing there, because a lot of landlords have luck finding tenants there. In fact, my sister found her last rental via facebook and it has worked out tremendously; however, I will say, it could be worth considering a still listing via a landlord software tool (1 - 15 units) that helps you to automate your own rental process and can help to get a renter in there fast (ie. compared to other tools, one that helps you to actually build a single listing and syndicates it to 10+ major listing sites, allows you to schedule showings, provides you with super thorough tenant screening options, online digital leases which can be customized and help you by breaking out those fees, automated maintenance tracking, and fast rent collection which also offers your tenants the ability to report their positive on-time payments to the major credit bureaus; just another positive reinforcement/added incentive to get them to make those payments on time). I'm hoping it will rent soon and I think you have the right idea thus far; it is still early enough in the fall so don't lose hope/steam just yet!

Hi Cynthia, I will say it is great that you're going through the process of thinking through leads and I don't want to knock Craigslist or Facebook for posting your listing because a lot of landlords have luck finding tenants there. In fact, my sister found her last rental via facebook and it has worked out tremendously; however, I will say, it could be worth considering a still listing via a landlord software tool (1 - 15 units) that helps you to automate your own rental process and can help to get a renter in there fast (ie. compared to other tools, one that helps you to actually build a single listing and syndicates it to 10+ major listing sites, allows you to schedule showings, provides you with super thorough tenant screening options, online digital leases which can be customized and help you by breaking out those fees, automated maintenance tracking, and fast rent collection which also offers your tenants the ability to report their positive on-time payments to the major credit bureaus; just another positive reinforcement/added incentive to get them to make those payments on time). I'm hoping it will rent soon and I think you have the right idea thus far; it is still early enough in the fall so don't lose hope/steam just yet! @Cynthia B.

I know that in my building (condo), tenants will be evicted if they try to list their rental unit on Airbnb because the HOA specifically outlaws Airbnb listings. Usually, it's an issue of risk/damage to the property that many landlords or HOA's are looking to avoid by outlawing Airbnb listings. There are countless horror stories about Airbnb guests causing significant property damage to owners' properties. I would recommend speaking with the tenant directly about this and if they continue, when is the lease set to expire? I'd move on with a new tenant once that lease is up; or, at the time of lease signing raise rent AND include a clause specifically banning it. @Mei Yoki