All Forum Posts by: Rich Cavanagh

Just got back from lunch with a flood of new posts from you guys. I appreciate it. I will definitely look into a new property manager. It's a bit tough starting out and not having experience with another PM to compare to.

Also, Alfonso Villafuerte, Do you find that flat paint is a bit harder to clean vs something with a little more protection? Does it scuff much more? Less durable? I may have to look into that.

Good news is that only the 4 bedrooms are carpet and I had every intention of replacing the 3 smaller bedrooms with tile after the lease expired. The master had brand new carpet prior to this tenant. I'm hoping I can clean it because if I need to professionally repaint the house it will eat up the deposit on its own.

My concern is justifying the costs to the renter. Has anyone been in a similar situation? Did the renter try to contest withholding the deposit?

Thanks for the feedback.

So... a little personal background. I'm rather new to the REI game and hire a property manager. I have 2 rentals and just recently ended a lease with a family on a pretty large family home. (2000 sq ft, 4bed/2bath).

The renters were are really nice family and did a great job at cleaning and leaving the home in good condition minus a few major issues below...

1. They smoked which was prohibited.(smell is noticeable and burn marks in the carpet)
2. They did a very rough job patching small holes from pictures etc and touched up the paint incorrectly. (lease states no painting without permission)

*Also these aren't just a few scattered patches. Some walls have 10-15 baseball sized touch ups. So its almost requiring a full repaint.

I can tell they had good intentions with the patching of the holes and touch ups but they used a different enough color that it is noticeable. The worst part about the touch ups is that they used flat instead of satin so the patches are VERY noticeable at any angle. Especially with all of the natural light that comes in.

The walls were also just freshly painted prior to me leasing it to them.

My property manager is hesitant to take the entire $1200 deposit. I can personally repaint most of the walls and touch up the rest but that only takes care of all the patches. What about the smoke smell? I've heard repainting the whole house may be necessary as well as carpet cleaning.

I'm interested to hear how you vets would handle the same situation so I can get a different perspective.

Appreciate it!

Hide the pitbulls!

Awesome. Thanks again for all the good input.

Ahh ok that makes total sense. I wasn't considering p/i as a portion of the expenses since its usually viewed bundled with your debt.

Thanks for the quick replies guys.

Ok so I know not to live too strictly by the 50% rule and it is used in order to give a rough/quick analysis of properties.

That being said... I've seen some explanations of the 50% rule that doesn't quite make sense to me. The idea is to get a quick estimate of profitability but why is are taxes/ins left out of the calculation? Maybe I am missing something.

The way I've seen it calculated is 50% of the rent goes to maintenance and the rest goes to the mortgage(minus taxes/ins).

Taxes an insurance could be pretty substantial when doing the numbers. Why is it left out? It is still a cost that is eating away at your profit and in some cases into the other 50%.

Good stuff, Appreciate the quick replies. Looks like I'm the outsider playing down here in the hurricane zone! Going to have to call around to a few local PM's and see what the standard is.

bump

I've read a lot of threads that list what to look for in a property manager. What they take care of and how they take care of it basically. There isn't a whole lot that I have found on how PM's and their owners handle natural disasters...

For example.... I live/rent on the pan handle. Is it common for a PM to take care of boarding up windows if a hurricane is incoming? or does that rest completely on the property owner?

What about the aftermath for w/e disaster it may be? (earthquake/tornado/flooding etc)

I have 2 rentals at the moment and am looking to grow but trying to juggle damage assessment for 10-15+ rentals (especially when I might have damage to my own home) after a hurricane seems like it would be a nightmare.

Anyone out there that has experience managing scenarios like this?