All Forum Posts by: Tricia O'Brien

Typo alert... I meant to say "exceeds my minimum income qualification. "   Lol...:)   

I have 3 roommates (all in their early twenties) who have applied to rent my house.  Two are recent college graduates and have okay jobs. The other is still in college and only makes about $7,000 per year plus has student loans. The one who is the student offered that her Dad could be a co-signer.  

What do you think is the minimum documentation I should require from the co-signer to move forward?  Is it enough if he gives me a copy of his driver's license and 3 month's of paystubs to verify his address and his identity and current income? Or should I require he pay the $55 fee and do a formal application with credit check, eviction  history, and criminal background check?  

The two who are working full time (and not going to school) have income that exceeds my minimun income qualification.  But these 3  people have been roommates for 2 years now and are used to having co-signers , so I thought I would add the co-signer for extra security for me.  

Thanks in advance! 

I would be very cautious about buying something in a town that small that is over 25 miles from a major city unless you can find at least 3 property management companies that do business there currently.   It can be very hard to find property managers in small towns and there might be only one in a town that size.  

@Colleen F. I made the qualification  4x rent because the utilities for the house usually run $280/mo to $400/mo and I thought that if a household only makes $2250/mo (3x rent) in gross income, then their rent plus utilities could easily be more than 50% of their net income.  Could be too much for people to handle and pay rent in full and pay on time every month.

Does Indiana limit the amount you can charge for security deposit?  I want to charge a potential tenant with a german shephard a security deposit of $1,000 for a place that rents for $750/month.  Does Indiana limit the total security deposit to a maximum of 1 month's rent like some states like New York do?  The property is in Muncie IN . Any replies would be appreciated ! :) 

I'm thinking about offering a lease to an applicant using a strategy done by a local PM company in my area.  I would like everyone's opinion if this seems like a reasonable and/or smart way and/or legal way to handle pre-paid rent.  This single family home is in Indiana. 

Property's advertised rent amount: $750/month

Minimum Rental Qualification in the ad:  gross income $3,000/month (4x the rent)

This applicant's income:  $2680 to $2700/month

Applicant doesn't meet income requirement. If tenant is willing to pay 1 month pre-paid rent  ( $750) in additional to the first month's rent ($750)  and security deposit at move in, then this pre-paid rent can be spread out over 11 months to lower their monthly obligation from $750/month to $681.81 so they can meet or almost meet the rental qualification of income being 4X the rent.  

It's an alternative to asking for additional security deposit.  

What do you think?  Pros / Cons?    Here are the details ...

Total Obligation- 1 year lease - 12 x $750 = $9,000

Paid at move in (2 months rent) - $1,500

Remaining rent obligation:  $7,500

$7,500 / 11 months = $681.81 per month for 11 months 

Hi @Joseph Cacciapaglia, How do you market your rentals on the MLS ? My place in Indiana is listed on Zillow and Realtor.com and a few other places but I do not have a real estate agent. Is it on the MLS through Realtor.com right now if I do not have a real estate agent? The address is: 504 South Elliott Street Muncie Indiana 47305. Thanks!

@Nathan G.

Is the main benefit that the professional property managers notice is that they can fill vacancies more quickly when they can offer the zero security deposit through Rhino? 

Or is it the ease of the claims process?  Or something else?

I have heard about a company whose website is www.sayrhino.com that offers an interesting  product.  It  allows tenants who don't have enough cash for a security deposit to get an insurance policy for $10-$20 per month that covers a $1000 security deposit.  Then if the tenant misses a month's rent or there are damages at move out, the landlord files a claim through Rhino to get reimbursed.  Has anyone used this?  Were you successful in getting paid if you filed a claim? Did you have any issues with the tenants that quit paying the monthly fee? Any replies would be appreciated ! :) 

@Patrick Drury 

What do you think is the most important part of the background check / proper screening for Section 8 renters?    Talking to prior landlords?  Minimum credit score of 500 or 525?  No money owed to prior landlords in the past 5 years per their credit report?  No evictions in the past 1 year?  Thanks for your input!