All Forum Posts by: Tom V.

Don't hold your breath for printed houses.

One of the best funding sources you have as a landlord is your "I'm sorry" wallet. It's never empty and it's free to refill.

You want to pose yourself as on the same side as the tenant, "I'm really sorry those jerks at the HOA are making me take out the laundry. I feel badly about it." Show them a copy of the HOA rules so they understand it was your honest mistake and you pulled a bonehead move by putting in the machines.

You should lower the rent, and $100 a month doesn't sound unreasonable. One 'play' for apartment flippers is to ADD in unit W/D and that bumps rents by about $100 so it seems like a reasonable value.

If you can't work it out with the tenant, you will have to find a new one, but again, if you can say "I'm sorry" enough times and demonstrate that you feel badly about the situation, it will go a long way. Empathy is free and buys you all kinds of goodwill with your tenants. Don't come off as a jerk.

Ask your real estate agent.

Insurance sometimes covers lost rent in the event your tenant had to move out. Depending on how much your tenant is paying it might be cheaper to pay them the rent back rather than hire a lawyer. Think long term and get the problem corrected. Any tenant who is sending you lawyer letters is not a good long term partner. Did your tenant agree in writing to the rent reduction? Without something on paper, the lawyer could harass you on this for some time.

You should have on file written criteria for renting in case you are ever challenged, but it should be fine to reject the application by e mail.

Advertise on craigslist.

Ask for a resume and desired pay.

If you pay cheap prices, you will get cheap work.

Put something in writing before the person starts.

Treat the person you hire right. Pay on time with no games.

I bought the entire state of Michigan for a ham sandwich in 2011.

If the house makes you uncomfortable, walk away. There will be other houses.

My experience with auction.com is that it is a waste of time. I try do due diligence before bidding on something. There is no guarantee the seller will sell the property to anyone. I wasted time researching properties. IMO if sellers are serious they will list the property at a realistic price. My experience was with residential and commercial properties in Northern California.

Auction.com is a no-cost bet for sellers. As I understand it, you pay almost nothing to list the property and if you get a good bid, then great. No cost if you don't get a good bid.

Your property is the best indicator of the tenants you can attract. If you buy something junky that presents junky in a D neighborhood, nice people won't want to live there.

If you pay more for a nice property, you will get nicer tenants.

Take good photos and list the place on Trulia, Zillow, Craigslist. Post signage out front with flyers. Make yourself easy to contact.