All Forum Posts by: Taylor Roeling

@Nate Burgher It is very smart you are requiring renter's insurance to protect you, your property, and the renter! I think the verbiage sounds good. Maybe you can mention that renters insurance helps mitigate risks for every party involved and that it is reasonably priced, with plans that start as low as $15/month! Best of luck.
 

@Josh Miller Good question! There are lots of reasons to have renters insurance - mainly to protect you and your property that you most likely have spent a lot of money and time to invest in. While it is not legal in all places to require renters insurance, in the locations it is legal, it can be a wise decision. Insurance will help keep your home protected from tenant related accidents and it will also benefit your tenants greatly. They will be protected from theft, destruction, and loss of property, leaving both you and your tenants with greater peace of mind! Hopefully, this helps. It's better to be safe than sorry as a landlord!

@Mary Jay I'm wondering if you screened applicants online to get a thorough background check and credit report etc.? Also, many people have good points - selling might be a good option, or try as best you can to get the smell out through a professional cleaning service because it is not unreasonable for potential tenants to have asked that since they will be living there. Also, you can't discount someone just from what they look like - make sure you are educated about the Fair Housing Act!

@Eli Altman It is important to be upfront and transparent about why you are putting her down just as an occupant instead of on the lease and you need to make your current tenant aware of the situation. You can easily explain your policies and say she passed part of the background check etc., but you were concerned about her past evictions. Hopefully, this helps!

@Sarah Jukes Usually if renters are being wary about filling out an online application they might have something to hide. Like others have said, online rental applications through companies like RentSpree or TransUnion are actually safer for them. It is more of a liability for you to keep a paper form with their SSN! Not that you would do anything with it, but lots of landlords see it as a security issue and it gives them anxiety to keep papers with people's SSN on them. Because identity theft is a real threat to most savvy rental applicants, you can wind up limiting the number of potential tenants willing to apply to your property. When you are using an online rental application through trusted landlord software, you will tap into a greater number of potential tenants. 

@Ken Wang 670 is a very good credit score and, as a landlord, you should feel very comfortable with a tenant who has that score. The reason why most landlords look between 600-650 is because most renters don't have a history of mortgage payments to boost their score. Anything below 620 would probably be very questionable. Hopefully, that makes sense!

@Obed Bermudez Adding and paying for the separate meter seems like the best way to go to avoid future conflicts with your tenants arguing or getting mad at you. If the cost is reasonable I would say it's better to be safe than sorry - also, if the duplex is great in all other aspects then it is probably worth it as well! 

@Clark Michael People often run into this problem with property management companies. There are pros and cons to both. A lot of people are moving toward managing their own properties and using online software and apps to help their process! Usually they are free too. This way you are streamlining the applicants who are applying to live at your property, screening them properly, and you can manage them as well. DIYing the process to save funds and using online tools to save money seems like the best direction for a lot of people.

@Jonathan Oh Because we are in a heavy digital age, using online platforms will make the landlord/tenant process more efficient, secure, and ultimately better. There are a lot of PMs who like the old-fashioned way of doing things and don't want to switch from a company to self managing with using online tools. However, most of the online software for landlords is free and easy to use - tenants are the ones who will pay application fees. Doing online application fees and screening will really help you find and choose the best tenants for your property! I think the industry is still very outdated in a lot of ways, but online tools for landlords are trying to make the process better and more efficient.

@Polly Feeney Congrats on getting started! Always a plus to have people from Colorado on here too! Honestly, every area has different pros and cons. For example, if you are looking to invest near a college where this always a demand for housing and where a lot of parents are paying the rent (which means it will be on-time), then Fort Collins, Boulder, and Colorado Springs are great areas! There are also some more up and coming places like Commerce City which is close to the airport, Westminster, and Broomfield. Colorado has great areas everywhere and if you want somewhere closer to you then by all means go for it!