All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Did you give them any money?  If so, then be sure you ask for your money back in writing, stating the above codes, give them a deadline to give it back and tell them you will take them to small claims court if they don't.  If they don't, then file a claim with small claims court as soon as you can (when the clerk's office opens up, if it hasn't yet).  

That's really all you can do.  AZ is what's called a "duty to mitigate" state, which means the landlord can only charge you for what they've actually lost out of pocket, due to you canceling the contract.  Anyway, you can just let the judge sort it out.  But, file the claim as soon as you can.  Technically, they should get a judgment before they can send it to a collection agency, but you want to avoid that possibility.  

If you can target just graduate students, it's way easier.  I discovered law students and they are golden - but - only law students going to a full-time program during the day, because I learned that part-time law students who have other jobs or kids, etc., aren't usually able to stick with the program, unfortunately.

Also, they will stay for 3 or 4 years if you get them their first year -and- you let them sublet their unit over the summer.  They need to go do summer internships somewhere else, and other law students want to come to their law school to do their summer internship.  If you allow this, you'll keep the original law student with no turnover normally until they graduate and if they intend to take the bar locally, they'll usually stay another year.

Also, I learned that there is no issue with a vacancy if you allow short-term rentals over the summer for the above reason.  Landlords worry about summer vacancies, but I discovered you can actually charge a premium - basically, be a summer AirBnB, but without having to furnish it.  They won't care, if you can make them the best deal in town - better than AirBnB or hotel rates, a decent, safe place and proximity to the university.  Their parents will pay for any furnishings, or they'll just put down an air mattress and only sleep there.  If you can also hook them up with students in your building, even better.  

I also offered current law students in my building a $100 rent credit if I rent to another law student they referred to me.

I also spoke with the housing person at the law school and she would post my vacancies on their facebook page, because students could walk to campus from our building, and they were always short of housing for law students.

I have heard that the same is true for med students.  We didn't have a nearby med school, so I don't have experience with that.

I detested renting to undergrads.  I avoided it after a couple horror stories in my building.  

I also did not have parents cosign, but I also only used M2M agreements.  The reason is because a cosigner has the right to know what's going on, to have a copy of every notice, yatta yatta.  I hated dealing with helicopter parents.  I just told them that I only speak with the person on my contract.  It's good for the students to get their own responsibilities, but the truth is, mommy and daddy will bail them out anyway, but this way, you don't have to deal with them.

I'll just say that duplexes are the worst option, in my opinion.  The reason is because if you have an apartment building with multiple tenants, it's easier or more accepted that when you're a tenant in that building, you expect to have the noises that are normal for living in a multi-family building and are prepared to kind of blend in - it's more anonymous.

In a duplex, it's more like having to get along with a roommate that you can't kick out.  

In a SFH, you have the best of all worlds, where you have your own space and worst case scenario, the property next door is a pain, but you also know your landlord isn't in control of them. They may still complain to you, but they know they're paying for their own little island, basically.

I think a duplex is great for a house hack, where you live in one side.  But, even then, that would be difficult for me, personally, to live right next door to my customer.

I was an on-site manager for many years, and I can tell you it really sucks to live with your customers.  You have to be ready to deal with them every time you come and go from your unit.  I was so happy to retire.

I had a lawyer once who said that having a partner was really great because she could take time off, go on vacation, etc.  This is great if you can find the perfect partner.

But, a perfect partner today, may decide to sell or move or whatever tomorrow.  It's one of those things that sounds and looks great in a Power Point presentation, but isn't very realistic long-term, because people change, their needs change.  Your partner may decide they want out for whatever reason, and same for you, and then what happens?  That great rental that's performing well enough, but you were really banking on the appreciation that won't be realized for ten years...but your partner wants out now.....

I like the idea of a perfect partner, but I just don't believe in it in the real world at my age - or for many years now - because I understand that people and their needs change and you can't control or anticipate that.

Are they still living in it?  They may just already be prepared for their credit to be trashed and to file bankruptcy - after they have lived in it as long as they can while it's in foreclosure.  If that's the case, you're going to have to figure out something to offer them that would be sweeter than them just staying put for a year or however long foreclosure would take.  

Before going into more detail, is the seller living in this place right now?

@Dan H.  Right.  Anywhere outside of the obvious high demand areas like SF Bay Area and LA, you really need to understand the employment situation, the culture, potential problems (like freeways that are possibly targeted to bypass towns that may no longer be good investments), etc.

Unless you can afford to make a profit in the major job areas, then you really need to know/do your homework on the potential to make money in a way or to a different market than you're used to.  For instance, towns that are mainly Republican cowboy types, or only have one real employer and whether or not it's likely for that employer to stay the duration, or can you handle renting to pot heads in the pot growing areas and deal with potentially really high water bills - you just really need to know and understand the affordable areas and the culture and job market or if it's realistic to expect to rent long-term to retirees, what's the healthcare situation, etc., etc., etc.

Now, if you do your homework, and spend hours and hours of time researching and traveling there to get a feel and understand them, and you have the ability to really converse with people who may not be the class you're used to, etc., or maybe they don't speak English very well or at all - then you can probably find that you can make a profit.

But, anyone who goes into this business expecting to get rich quick without having to do any work is probably going to fail anyway.  It wouldn't matter where they invested.

Whoa Nathan, we're talking about duplexes here.  I understand that people are on edge right now, but there is zero need for you to be rude to me for pointing out that a landlord can't charge both tenants of a duplex for sewage problems, when it is supposedly clear that only one tenant on one side of the duplex is to blame. 

 With respect, how can a tenant damage a light switch?  Really, by turning it on and off in any manner, and it doesn't hold up, it's got to be a cheap light switch that can't handle just being turned on and off, even with some gusto.  I can't imagine any scenario where a tenant is going to cause damage to a light switch that wouldn't be normal wear and tear to a piece of junk.

@Dan H. Nobody wants to give away our secrets on BP.

 Well, if you have proof that one tenant caused the problem, you can't charge the other tenant anything.