All Forum Posts by: Sergio Aguinaga
Sergio Aguinaga has started 15 posts and replied 121 times.
Post: Private/hard money lender aftermath

- Detroit, MI
- Posts 148
- Votes 38
Post: Private/hard money lender aftermath

- Detroit, MI
- Posts 148
- Votes 38
Post: Private/hard money lender aftermath

- Detroit, MI
- Posts 148
- Votes 38
Post: Private/hard money lender aftermath

- Detroit, MI
- Posts 148
- Votes 38
Post: rental steps questions

- Detroit, MI
- Posts 148
- Votes 38
Hello, I have some questions about the process for having the property rented out, so here we go:
1. How do you make sure they pay the water bill? I already plan to have it included in the lease and agreed upon but doesn't the water bill follow the owner of the home? Can they still change it to have the bill under their name?
2. For those of you who still do applications in paper, how do you collect the application fee and photo ID? When showing the unit, I will give them the application, but how do I collect the application back? It seems like I'd waste too much time going back to the property to collect every single application. The workaround is that they can just scan it and email it along with their photo ID but I need to collect the application fee before I process their application. So what's the best way to handle this?
Note: I am aware of online applications like cozy that makes sure they fill out and pay their background/credit check but the applications for those types of software doesn't cover everything I want to ask and Brandon suggested paper applications is the way to go so it being my first rental I'll follow his advice on that but I just need a robust way of doing it.
3. If an applicant gets denied because you think they're dirty or for any reason, and they do qualify for all your criteria, then how do you deny them?
Any help is appreciated, thanks (:
Post: Any advice for tenant screening?

- Detroit, MI
- Posts 148
- Votes 38
Originally posted by @Perez Leanne:
I have been using for several years and highly recommend RentPrep for tenant screening. They run criminal/eviction checks and call landlord and employer references. From a property management standpoint, I also recommend you require tenants to get renter's insurance and name you as "insured/interested party" to the policy. I also require tenants to pay via cozy.co (it's free for you to set up and free for them to pay) so I don't have to deal with collecting rent from tenants in person or dealing with rent being lost in the mail. Finally, use an attorney for evictions. They can get the process started and finalized much quicker than if you tried to do it on your own. Good luck.
When they use cozy.co, since it takes 5 days for the money to arrive, are you notified when it's on it's way? Does it allow late fees to be 50 after the 1st day, 10 additional after each additional day, etc?
Post: First Time Landlord Needs Advice

- Detroit, MI
- Posts 148
- Votes 38
Post: First Time Landlord Needs Advice

- Detroit, MI
- Posts 148
- Votes 38
Post: Buying an auction house in cash before having funding planned?

- Detroit, MI
- Posts 148
- Votes 38