All Forum Posts by: Curtis Mears

Sounds like you may have wasted the first showing by not having the property in showing condition.  Personally, it is rarely worth showing a property before it is in viewing condition. So all those early showing were wasted due to your impatience. You should have a process for getting tenants and follow that process. The process should include basic pre-screening because showing the property to nonqualified individuals wastes everyone's time, and could give you unrealistic expectations. 

This is for long term rentals so may not apply. I do allow dogs and cats. I don't discriminate for breed, but I do need to meet the pets before they no move in to verify training. I do charge a one time nonrefundable fee of $450 per pet.

Boy, I should have used this when I sold cars. Seems pretty shady to me.

I have self managed 12 properties with little issue. I don't do all the work myself so I call the plumber and hvac contractors when there is an issue. For year long rentals, it is not much day to day work. Main issue is getting new tenants. This generally take a week or so to prep the property, then several weekends interviewing potential tenants. After that, it is mainly doing minor maintanance and contacting contractors for larger jobs. 

You are correct this is weak background. First, verify previous housing as well as verify the stated income. Then, if all this looked good, I would ask for cosignor. If no cosignor, I would require additional sect deposit (amount can be determined by state law). 

I use the same process for all tenants.

1 all ads include the tenant requirements like credit score and income

2. any communication from a tenant regarding a property receives either a text or email explaining the requirements and asking for a time to meet if they meet the requirements. This eliminates many individuals who never read requirements in ads. My initial communication is the same for every contact so I simply cut and paste. I can respond to 20 people in a few minutes using this method. I never call or answer the phone, as this wastes time and eliminates my forgetting to mention all the requirements. 
3. I show the property and give apps to those interested. 
4. I process all apps completely on the order received. A potential tenant will not pay the fee for background check if they have no chance at renting. This also protects me from lawsuit if i choose one tenant over another. 
5. once I receive an app, I spend 10 minutes trying to verify the data. During the step, I only try to verify phone numbers listed. This is not contacting the landlords, managers, etc. 

6. I send a link to tenant for the background check. I usually give them 24 hrs to complete. 
7. assuming background comes back positive, now I make contact with landlords and mangers to verify housing and income. 
8. once verification is completed I offer the property and state they have 24 hrs to accept and give deposit. 

Would you apply to buy a car before seeing it?

Of course, we don't want to waste time with tenants who will not qualify. I have specific requirements spelled out in all my ads. Then, any potential tenant who contacts me to schedule viewing, I send an email or text again restating the requirements. This eliminates 90% of all issues, and it is easy to implement. 

I use the biggerpockets credit check. Cost $47 that the potential tenant pays. Works well for me. 

Much of it depends on your mortgage. My properties average 1000 per month excluding mortgage. 

Personally, it’s not as difficult as you may think (depending on many factors). I had 3 rentals while working full time. After work, I would go work in the house until ready for showing (houses were in good condition so not full remiss). For showings, I simply scheduled in the evening or weekends. Realize, all My properties are within 20 minutes from my house  so not much travel time. Very rarely are there emergencies, and having a few good contractors takes care of that. Assuming year long rentals (are obviously way more work), you should be able to work a full time job and still manage rentals. I think I could manage 15 or so properties if I had to with a full time job, but obviously need some flexibility in job and contractors you must trust.