All Forum Posts by: Tim Kaminski

BP,

I'm closing on a duplex in February, taking over one side.  Entertaining the idea of getting a small to midsize dog for myself but not sure I want to allow my renters to have pets :) .  Is this something anyone has dealt with before?  Obviously being selfish but it's my property and I can make my own rules (HA)

Is this going to cause problems with tenants or am I better off going to the extremes, (Pet Friendly/NO Pets).

Open to your opinions!

Tim

Took me over a year to find but finally found one and closing in early Feb!  Stick with it.  Don't fudge the numbers and be patient.  Don't want your first deal to be your last

@James Wise    It seems like you're saying the same 2 things with your points.  Will the tenant clean the house and what if the tenant decides to stay.  Going to play devils advocate here.

• No the tenant will probably not do anything extra but maybe they are clean regardless. As long as its not a hoarder tenant then your prospective tenants will get a chance to see how the unit looks when lived in and decorated.
• You should have a confirmation, in writing, that your current tenant will/will not be renewing their lease.  If they violate that, then yes, evict. OR bump their rent up if they decide to stay.  New prospective tenant's landlord would probably be relieved they decided to stay.  

To me, reducing the time the unit is vacant is huge.  Maybe I'm way off on this but many of the places I've rented out in the past have been while the current tenant was still there.  When you're showing the unit, the current tenant will constantly be reminded that 1. The Property Management is moving forward with this turnover and 2. There is a lot of interest in the property.

I don't think it will work with every tenant, especially some that you have had problems with and may bad talk you to the prospectives, or some that you know are VERY dirty.  Just don't think the option to showing occupied units and significantly reducing vacancy show totally be ruled out.

These responses seem like they are all dealing with vacant units.  Does no one show the unit before the old tenants leave so your vacancy time is reduced? 

@Mike McCarthy When you say "wash tub", are you meaning a large washroom sink basically? Just curious.

Am closing on my first duplex in Feb and strongly considering Cozy.  Couple questions

• There is a feature to process ACH payments in 3 days instead of 5.  This seems like a new feature as most ppl's complaint with Cozy us that their processing time is slow. $2.99 per unit I believe. Do most landlords utilize this?  Is it reliable?
• How do you handle payments if the rent is late?  If you already have to wait 3-5 days, not knowing if payment went through and THEN you find that no payment went through, you're wasting precious time.  Time that you could be talking to the tenant about what is going on or serving notices. You have to wait 3-5 days and THEN you hear the tenant excuses. That sounds like a long time to wait.  
• How exactly does Cozy get paid? 

@Costin I. I love this idea and I really appreciate the pictures.  The only issue is this is a corner lot and I can't go over 3 or so feet as drivers need to be able to see around the corner when making turns.  The metal posts that are on this lot go from small to large.  I COULD chop the tops of these metal posts down to a uniform height, cap them off, and use these brackets on a more ventilated/picket fence around the property. That might be the answer to the fence issue.

@Steve McGovern  Will look into it.  Thanks for the tip!

@Costin I. That is very interesting!  Maybe somewhere down the line will we take the time to implement something like that.  Have to focus on the more important repairs first but I agree pressurewashing is a great idea at least as a minimum.

@Mindy Jensen Hey your name sounds familiar :)  I just can't picture a deck in that area.  They do already have a deck-like feature on the side where the ramp used to be (will attach).  I guess I could just extend it out a bit?  A deck just seems like I'm inviting more termites to my party. 

What we are thinking, at this point is pressure wash and paint the long side of the concrete one color, making the cement area between the carport and shed a patio area with table chairs etc.  The front, near the doors, we would cut out the concrete near the fence and put a crushed shell or colored rock type of garden bed extending the width of the property.

And then, of course, putting up a wood fence somehow.

@JingJing He  I like the painting idea for the cement.  Give it all one uniform color instead of the patchy mess it is now.

@Alfred Edmonds Agreed.  Its been pretty rainy down here in Tampa lately so will be swinging by anytime I see rain clouds.

@Costin I. As I said in original posting.  This area is on the rise.  There are numerous new single family builds going on in surrounding street.  It is pushing into the B class and I want to help the cause, obviously.

Posts are in solid concrete from what I can tell.  I think I know what you're saying with the brackets hugging the pole.  Would that look weird standing inside the yard though?  Seeing both a metal pole and wood post?

@Joe Splitrock  Parking is abundant at this place.  There is a two car carport, a separate driveway, and parking alongside the house on the wide "sidewalk"  Never mentioned that I wanted to put in greenery.  Just something very low maintenance.  Nothing that needs regular irrigation.  I like the idea of cutting out spots for trees/bushes but again, I'm not installing irrigation into this home.