All Forum Posts by: Tamara R.

I always just use Rustoleum Cabinet transformations and paint the cabinets white. You'd be surprised at the difference it makes--and you don't have to sand them. White is always in style, but if you want to be trendy you could just paint them a dark espresso color. The cabinets all look to be in OK condition, except the color. Pictures sometimes lie, however.

My sister married a guy that sounds like you. He wanted to keep everything separate—so they did and they split all their bills right down the middle. Sounds romantic doesn’t it? Now he is divorced, friendless and has been unemployed for three years—but he has all of that money:) Not trying to beat up on you, but if you are concerned about this already I see a tough road ahead for you and your future spouse. Nothing wrong with planning ahead, but marriage should be a partnership. If you marry a decent person with good values and whose goals are similar to your own, I think everything will work itself out even if you do get divorced because you will have each other’s best interest is mind. Full disclosure—when my husband and I married we discussed if we should combine our assets. Our goals and assets were similar, so we did that and I put his name on the title to the house I owned and he put me on his. Through our discussions, we decided there was no point in getting married if we didn’t trust each other.

I have had successs with doing 2-3 hour Open Houses on a Sunday and putting out lots of signs all the way out the main roads (with balloons attached to increase visibility). That way you get people looking who live in the area (for the most part) and already know they like it and are looking for something in the neighborhood. This works well in areas with HOA's that don't allow you to keep signs out all the time. I also advertise the open house in my on-line ads to increase traffic.

I include a list of standard charges for things not cleaned and items commonly broken/abused by the tenants and have them sign off on it (i.e. drywall repair, holes in carpet, broken doors/locks, broken window screens, oven/tub not cleaned). I also include standard hourly charges for cleaining/repair. In addition I include a list of what is expected of them at move out. This way they have agreed to everything and signed off on it, so there can't be too much argument.

@ Theresa K.--that could be. We have owned this property over 15 years.

ALso, they absorbed the entire cost--the only catch is I have to pay them $500 if I close the account before 2 years is up.

I was able to get a HELOC on a rental property from Wells Fargo a couple of months ago. However, I own the property free and clear and they would only loan me 60% of the appraised value.

Just came across this posting and am curious--what was the outcome of this?

@Steve Babiak: Would you mind sharing your lease verbiage where you build in the increase? Thanks!

Going month to month doesn't necessarily mean they are going to move. I have a tenant who has been on month-to-month for 2 years. Some People don't like committments, and they prefer the comfort and flexibility of having choices-- even if they don't exercise them. If it was me I would prefer the month to month even with a higher rent because I don't like being locked in for very long. If a person is backed into a corner, they are going to feel as though they have to make that decision right now and it won't always work out in your (the landlord's) favor. In any event, I wasn't thinking about it in terms of forcing them to sign another lease--I would just want more money monthly if they could give notice and leave in 30 days.