All Forum Posts by: Theresa Harris

Save and buy a better place.  On paper many of the cheap homes look good, but you will have higher turn over, attract lower quality of tenant and have more repair costs.  Buy something that is a good starter home in a good area.  Talk to a real estate agent who works with investors.  A $400K home is going to be harder to rent and cash flow.

Go at whatever rate works for you. There are times you may need to be quick, but that often means you need to make a decision quickly (ie put an offer in on a house).  Other times you want to make sure you have all the info you need and take a bit more time (eg planning renos) so you get it right and don't have to make changes that will cost you more in the end.

It should be transparent what all of the fees are.  

She has to give 30 days' notice, so charge her the full amount.  Hopefully she left the place in good condition as you won't have any money to cover damages.  As Michael said, you have to give her an itemized list of the deductions from the deposit and return that list and any balance remaining to her within a set period of time.

In any place, never close on a property until you've done a walk through to verify that it is vacant and in a similar condition to when you viewed it.  Once they have the money, you have little leverage.  I'd talk to your lawyer.

Bugs are a normal part of being outside. Unless there are ant hills or a wasp nest (like you mentioned), there is no need to spray the yard for bugs.  The only other bug mentioned was mosquitos and they come with standing water and longer grass.  Make sure there is no standing water, and keeping the grass cut will deal with those.  

Find out what their concern is (and tell them you need more than 'bugs').

Is there a way to set it up so that they can view it, but can not have access to any of the settings?  Ie can't delete files, turn off the camera, etc.

If you don't want the headaches, then sell it. For the roof, I'd fix it and sell it. If you are having problems getting it to sell, a new roof can be used as a marketing tool. Many buyers won't have the cash to do a roof replacement up front. Also use the mortgage helpers (ie ADU) as a marketing tool.

Also think about capital gains, if you sell it now, you won't have to pay those; but sell it in 5 years and you will.

Repairs seem to all happen at the same time and then nothing for a while.  I've had two hot water tanks (different rentals), most appliances (another rental) and a tree removal (another rental) all within the last year.  Just one of those things (or so I tell myself).

Think long term and what you already have.  If you didn't have a kitchen in the basement already and the basement can be turned into a separate suite, then I'd add a second kitchen.  Lots of people will be looking for mortgage helpers where they can rent out a suite.  I'd just leave it as is when you move out.  Having a second kitchen in a house where you have 4 unrelated adults living there may be nice.  Having 5 people living there with one kitchen, won't be as ideal...not to mention adding a person without another bathroom makes it more challenging.

Sorry for your loss.

Is there a reason why you want to keep the house?  If it was me, I'd sell it and use the money from the sale to buy a rental closer to where you live (or invest the money elsewhere).  If you want to keep it, then yes, get a good PM but also look up the rental laws for the area and bylaws for the townhouse complex.  Some areas are very tenant friendly.