All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

It sounds like it could be your niche.  You'd know what the tenants were looking for, and what matters or doesn't matter to them, and how to spot a good or bad apple.  

I'm not an investor, but was a manager.  Knowing your market is important in getting and keeping tenants.  And it sounds like you could get around the SCRA abuse, possibly, by being military yourself - knowing who to call and when to call BS, etc.

Good luck.

After drinking a lot of wine one night with a roommate, we began discussing the colors things turn in the fridge after they go bad, and thought a fridge magnet would be a great seller.  Something like this:

If it's long and fuzzy and pink - it used to be a cucumber

If it's lumpy and fuzzy and green - it used to be macaroni and cheese...

Care to add to our list?  LOL!

Wow.  What a thread!

To those who don't want to rent to people on fixed incomes or low incomes or unverified incomes - just buy high end properties with no rent control, with really high rents and require 5 times the monthly rent in verified income.  Problem solved.

You could market it to people who are considering building or buying a tiny house.  "Come live in a tiny house for a week and see if you really want to do this!"

Put a video on YouTube.  Check out all the views on the tiny house videos there.  It's a huge movement.  I watched a documentary about a young man who built one. It was interesting.

I was an apartment manager, so from my perspective, if I was to manage this building for you, and you gave me the choices above, I'd say, empty that building and do the renovations, and then let me find great tenants of my choosing, to be moved into freshly renovated apartments, who will be happy to pay the higher rent.

Why?  Because you will likely have at least some problems with the existing tenants.  First simply because they will be afraid of a new landlord.  Next, when you start kicking tenants out to do renovations, the ones left behind will be unhappy campers, knowing they will be next and/or the rent will be increased significantly.  Then, you may have some you have to evict.  Odds are good, they won't want to stay and pay higher rent, or move out and back in to pay higher rent.  And you'll be dealing with all of their security deposit issues, and any small claims court actions that rise up out of that.

I could be wrong, they may all happily go into the sunset or move out and want to move back in and pay higher rent - but that's not likely.  

Plus, they will be saying things like, "My old landlord did things like this...or my old landlord didn't require that..."

It would just be nice and easy and clean to get all fresh tenants who are happy to be moving into your freshly done units and paying the rent you asked.

From a financial standpoint, you'll have to ask an investor. 

On principle, no way.

I suggest you call your insurance company and see if they'd cover you for liability.  That may answer your question right there.

The owner I worked for in CA just put them all in his operating account, which is legal in CA - at least in Santa Clara, CA.  It was also not required to pay interest on the deposits.

If you want to target grad students, advertise on their housing websites, or ask them if they have another means you can advertise to their students.  I had an agreement with the law school next to the building I managed where they would put my vacancies on their facebook page.

Otherwise, Craigslist is really where people look for rentals.  I wouldn't be afraid to use it, and it's free.  The trick, in my experience, is to put your criteria in the ad, in hopes you don't get bombarded with phone calls of applicants who won't qualify.  But, if you do, then when you speak to them on the phone, run down your list of criteria and ask them if they believe they would qualify before making an appointment to show the unit to them.

Just make sure your criteria and the ad meet fair housing requirements, because fair housing does send testers out, at least they did where I managed in the SF Bay Area.  All they did was waste my time with fake applicants, but I was in compliance so no worries there.

Honestly, I wouldn't go the route of no business allowed in the unit.  So many people sell stuff online, etc., and I don't know that you'd really be able to get away with that.

BUT, you can sure enforce your rule about 1 big dog and 1 small dog.  And even in rent control, you can kick them out for breaking the lease.

I'd give them a 3 day notice to comply with the lease or quit.  And stick to your guns that the lease says 1 bid dog and 1 small dog is allowed in the apartment.  End of story.  No other dogs, other than the dogs they own - that are 1 big dog and 1 small dog are allowed in the apartment.  No visiting dogs, no exceptions. 

(And if they bring up service dogs, I can get you a link to a document that explains the laws about service dogs and emotional support dogs for California.  But, even if they are service dogs, they wouldn't be allowed to have 3+ service dogs.)

I would really just make it that simple.  Ask them, "Which big dog are you keeping?"  And get a photo of that dog.  And they have 3 days to get rid of the rest.  If they later want to get a small dog, or they want you to allow 1 more dog that is big instead of a small dog, then you have to approve the dog and get a photo of it.

I don't think I can post links yet, but just Google "rent control housing authority los angeles" and you should get the contact info you need for the department that handles rent control.  I've looked the info up for other people before, and the rules are all online, but I wouldn't be afraid to call them, either.  

 You're absolutely right and I apologize if I wasn't clear, and you were including me in your statement.  My point was that you can legally turn down the family of 7 based on bad credit.  And because you would be renting to another family, you can't be seen as someone who won't rent to families.

If fair housing comes knocking, all you have to do is show that you denied them based on credit.  People with bad credit are not a protected class.

You are not required to rent to a family, just because they are a family, no matter how many members there are.  They still have to meet your other (legal) criteria.

And there's nothing wrong with being secretly relieved when you get to legally turn down a family of 7, in favor of a family of 4 :-)