All Forum Posts by: Samantha Klein

You prorate the carpet. It has a usable life of 5 years I believe. The painting is normal wear and tear unless they painted and didn't return it the original state and you have it documented. Your in Chicago and probably should have collected a move in fee instead then you wouldn't have to worry about withholding. 

I had a tenant recently move who was smoking in a bedroom with the door and window shut. I had wipe the walls down with vinegar and water solution then I ran my ozone machine for an hour and then ventilated the room. I replaced the ccarpet and painted and the smell was gone. It's really not hard to get rid of it at all if you know what you're doing .

Hi all, 

I purchased a duplex in July and gave both sides notice to vacate. They both vacated Aug 1st. My question is since it was already in service on the day I took ownership, can I expense the costs to fix it up? I know bigger items such as new cabinets, flooring, carpet and appliances are depreciated but what about things like painting, replacing toilets, new vanities, countertops, ect?

Check crime statistics, drive the neighborhood during the day and at night, if you don't feel safe getting out of your car and walking  then you have your answer

Keep the deposit and send a letter with itemized invoices to their last known address aka your rental. Make sure it goes certified mail and when you get it back, do not open it.

Well if the landlord documented the move in condition correctly with the tenant and there was no mention of bedbugs which I doubt there was otherwise the tenants would have complained so I would certainly charge them. 

You should not have to eat the cost of the bedbugs. Document it and if the pest guy says you have bedbugs, charge the treatment cost to the deposit. 

@Mark S. 5% Capex, 8% vacancy, and 10% repairs/maintenance. I own multi-family and a few single families.

I have a folder for each property on the computer and when a purchase is made, it gets recorded in Excel then the receipt gets placed in the coordinating rental folder. This has worked very well. I use a rewards credit card for most things mainly for the extra money savings. 

I have a property with a 5.5% rate but it doesn't bother me because it cash flows $300 a month. The tenant pays the interest and I get the write off. 5% is still very cheap money and we should be very happy to be able to get funding at a low rate like this.