All Forum Posts by: Tricia O'Brien

@Chase Busick  Thanks again for responding!  I wanted to clarify something.  So, in my proposed scenario, the person's total gross income is $5750. Their total rent payment ($2300) plus debt ($900) is $3200.  The Ratio of: Income / Debt + Rent comes out to 5750/3200 which is  1.8.  So, you would decline them since 1.8 is less than 2, unless they have a co-signer or are willing to bring in a roommate or extra deposit? Is that correct? Have a great day!  :) 

How do you find property managers that are a good fit for you?  What traits do you value the most in PMs?  And do you give them mostly full reign to screen and select the tenants, or do you have the final say in who gets offered a lease? Congrats on your 200th deal!

@Chase Busick Thanks for responding! When you have taken renters with a co-signer, do you follow the recommendation of the Bigger Pockets founder that the co-signer must live in the same county as the rental property and own a home? This makes it easy to put on lien on the guarantor's property if needed. Or do you just qualify the co-signer like a tenant with the credit check, employment check, etc and make sure they are in the same state as your rental? Do you look at debt to income ratio for the co-signer?

Thanks!

@Michael Smythe Thanks for your response!  What are the debt payments you include...things like credit cards, car payments, child support that show up on the credit report? 

What is the maximum debt to income ratio you want?  And you include rent as a debt?  For example, would this meet your criteria (if average credit score like 605)?

Gross income: $5750

Debts:  Rent $2300; Car payment $400;  VISA payment $300; Mastercard $200.

So Rent + Debt / Income  = 0.56      Thanks in advance! :) 

Hello BP Folks!

Has anyone accepted tenants for a SFH who have a gross income of only 2.2X the rent or 2.4X the rent, and did that work out well for you?

I hired a new property manager for my rental property in California (SFH, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 car garage, fenced in yard), and told her my screening criteria were: Gross Income at least 3x the rent, credit score at least 600, good landlord references. Asking rent currently is: $2300/month. After 2 weeks, she presented me with an applicant with income 2.2X the rent and then a week later someone with income of 2.4X the rent. I declined them both. When I told the PM, "She makes 2.2X the rent," she said, "They're close to 3X the rent."

In looking at Zillow ads for another PM company, I noticed that this company is asking for a minimum gross income of 2.8X the rent.  

Is this the new normal?  What happened to the old standard of gross income of 3X the rent? 

It feels too risky to me to take someone that you know from the beginning is going to be paying almost 50% of their gross income on rent and utilities, plus they might have credit card debt too.

I told the PM to lower the rent to $2200/month, and she said it's still going to be hard to find someone that makes $6600/month.

What to do? What are your minimum income requirements?

Thanks in advance for your input! :) 

Hello !  Can anyone recommend a good property manager that covers Modesto, CA?  I'd prefer a smaller "Mom and Pop" type company if possible.  This is for a 3 bed/2 bath single family rental home.

All input would be appreciated!  Thanks :) 

Is the landlord required to return the full security deposit to tenants ( or partial security deposit with itemized list of what deductions were made) within 21 days?  This is within 21 days of them returning the keys and giving a forwarding address, correct? Or is it a different number of days now? 

Are landlords required to give photos to tenants of the areas of damages / lack of yardwork / etc or just an itemized list of the deductions?

I heard that one of the new laws that went into effect 1/1/25 in CA requires landlords give tenants photos of any areas/issues that were a cause for security deposit deductions.

Thanks in advance for any input ! :) 

Can you set up an account and post a rental directly on Zillow if you are not a realtor? 

Is RentRedi as easy to use as Avail for posting the listing and managing the listing?

Is this a single-family home or a multi-unit?  Which utilities are separately metered?