All Forum Posts by: Ron Rohrssen

I have class B rentals. Two are newer with modern stylings, etc. One is an older home that has been mostly refurb'd and has a lot of woodwork on the trim, cabinets, and floors. I have window treatments on all of the windows, placing a premium on the common living areas or those that might affect curb appeal.

I've never had furniture present when showing, except for the occasional time when a home is rented and the current tenant has given notice. I do showings as soon as I can market the home and before they have moved out.

I make sure that I can have everything clean inside and out. I turn on all of the lights prior to showing and burn a fragrant candle. Typically, an "apple pie" candle that makes everything smell wonderful.

If I'm in the middle of any projects that might require tools, paint, etc. I put all of that away so that it doesn't give the appearance of clutter.

I'd agree with the other comments before mine. It's an issue between neighbors and they need to address it first with the neighbor and then with the police if the neighbors have not been willing to respect a reasonable noise level.

By the way, since everybody is a smartphone user these days, there are apps that will record decibel levels. Perhaps that along with a little video might help the tenant persuade the neighbor, and/or police with some data?

Noise is a relative term. What the tenant considers noise may be an overly sensitive ear to a form of music they don't appreciate.

Either way, I'd stay out of it as the landlord. It's disappointing and may even affect your tenants length of stay with you.

I would be very hesitant in allowing my tenants to do repairs on my property. As in, never.

I see that you tried to limit repairs to a dollar amount. How do you see that working? Is that a cost of goods? Some estimate of labor?

How would you be able to tell that the tenant didn't cause additional damage or setup a situation that would cause

@Steve S. I think it's pretty standard to have everyone over 18 apply and be on the lease.

I occasionally have groups with 4 or more over 18, and families where adult kids are still living at home or have moved back in with them. So, yes. I have everyone over 18 qualify and appear on the lease.

I'd definitely want to know of any criminal activity; especially in the case of sex offenders. I have occasionally had the [adult] child of a parent turn up as on the sex offender registry whereas the parent(s) are clean. That could have been an issue for me as one of my places is very close to a school. So, check everyone for criminal background!

Regarding criminal background check, I look at felonies (for ever) and misdemeanors for 2 years. For financial qualification I don't typically use [adult] kids credit scores even though it appears on the report.

I try to be very fair in situations like this. My applicants pay for the background check as part of the application process ($40/each). I take applications in order with payment up front. But, I will hold the payments for up to 24 hours of completing the first applicant's background check.

If applicant 1 passes and agrees to lease, I'll sign the lease immediately with a payment before letting applicant #2 know that the property has been leased. Ditto for #3.

I never cash application checks until the first in line has been checked and accepted or rejected the lease. I don't drag this out for a long time, 24 hours from the time I receive results of a background check.

I will sit on a check, cash, or money order during that process. It's how I keep applicants #2, #3, etc. in the queue. I also give them an option to simply get in touch with me in a few days to see if prior applicants have been accepted. But, if they don't give me a completed application and payment then they go to the back of the line.

I hope that makes sense. People have been very favorable of this, and appreciate it.

It sounds like you are on top of it.

Don't forget Craig's List for your immediate area.

I've found that most of my listings come equally from Zillow, Facebook, and Craig's List with just a small smattering of responses from other sources. My Facebook posts are under my business name. So, those have a fee associated with them and I'm not certain the fee is worth it since I have a lot of friends and colleagues that simply share the listings information all around. (In other words, I can't tell how many responses come from paid "boosts" vs. friends and colleagues sharing my listings.

On some of my properties I can post a sign in the yard. Where I can do that, I easily get the most responses from people that see the sign. That's roughly equal to the combined responses of Zillow, Facebook, and Craig's List. But, those responses tend to be less-qualified as they typically don't even take the flyer with listing information. They'd rather call and ask a lot of questions that are already in the flyer present in the tube on the sign. (I have some ideas about how I'd make this better in the future. But, for now, it's not that much of a bother.)

Definitely! I agree with @Krystallin Baker. I think this would be a positive aspect for a rental or resale. If it already has electrical and is insulated, it should be relatively easy to make it a bit more comfortable.

Would the window unit also add heat in the cooler months? You might want to consider one of the newer ductless AC/Heating systems. Definitely more expensive. But, an option to consider.

http://www.mitsubishicomfort.com/articles/ductless...

I'll be interested in watching comments here as well.  I use Quicken Rental Property which is specific to rental properties.  

It generally works.  But, the reports are not specific to rentals.  I can do a schedule E. I can't do performance reports on rentals.  This is where you can see the product came from Quicken for home. 

It's pretty flaky as well,  but I don't know of anything better.  I've learned to work around the issues. 

@Sarah Nguyen you're welcome.

I take a similar route as @Sarah Nguyen. I have a separate guarantor "cosigner" document for them. I uploaded a copy here if you would like to see one.