All Forum Posts by: Steven Pressey

I didn't want to get into a drawn out legal battle. Fortunately the tenants were easy to work with. I ended up giving them 30 days to find another place. The HOA ended up fining me $700 which is half of what the original fine was. It's definitely a battle that needs to be fought eventually, but I didn't feel like I was in a position to be the one to fight it. Reached out to HUD but they said they would only help if it was a section 8. Reached out to DORA and they were months out on being able to help out or even offer advice. I even talked to a reporter with a local news station. The lawyers will always want to fight it because they usually get paid either way, my pockets don't run deep enough yet.

Two weeks ago I selected a tenant with an ESA 70lb dog for one of my properties in Colorado Springs, CO. The ESA letter met all the legal requirements I could find so i accepted them even though my policy was no pets. The HOA has a policy of no dogs over 30lbs and is now threatening to start fining me $50 per day until the dog is removed. The HOA says the ESA letter is bogus because it is not from an in-state therapist, though the therapist is licensed in the state of Colorado. If I kick out the tenants I'm subject to a lawsuit from them, but if I keep them I'm subject to HOA fines. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

This is my first time using Zillow for applications.  I've recieved many applications,  but very few qualified applicants.  Do I need to respond with a denial reason to every applicant that I haven't selected and if so can it be through the Zillow messaging system or is there another way I should do it?

Thank you for the wealth if information and variety of perspectives you have all offered.   I've decided to go the typical route on this property and look for better section 8 properties for future rentals.

I'm hoping if I go section 8 that I will have an application process that weeds out those that would "destroy" my home. Patti's blog led me to the FMR chart https://www.huduser.gov/portal... with my zip being 80925 the FMR is listed at $3k for a 4 bedroom. My area is primarily homeowners with very few rentals so there aren't a lot of comps that I've found. What I have seen though leads me to believe I'd be lucky to rent it for $2200 to a typical renter. The difference between what HUD seems to say and what I believe to be accurate rent are very different which leaves me more confused with the whole Sec 8 process. Should I ignore what sites like rentometer and Zillow say and market to section 8 based on the local HUD charts?

I'm moving out of my primary home in a class A/B neighborhood and am considering renting to section 8.  Fair market rent seems to be $1900 according to rentometer and zillow, however sec 8 voucher for my zip code 5 bedroom is $3105.  Can I include utilities and charge $3100 for section 8, or will I be required to stay closer to fair market rent?  

I'm in the Colorado Springs Area and my single family home is a well maintained 3 car garage,  3k sq ft, walkout basement on a 3rd acre lot with kids play set installed.