All Forum Posts by: Thomas Williamson

Not only no, but hell no!

I just went through this with a rehab project.  I tried every known remedy and recommended product for getting rid of the cat urine smell and none of them worked.  I tried everything Home Depot had as well as the natural stuff found at pet stores and on line.  The only thing that finally killed the odor for good was Kilz oil based primer.  I sprayed the entire house (including the floors) and that got rid of the odor.  This stuff is super powerful and you need a heavy duty respirator when using the Kilz oil based product.  Good luck.

This is why I stopped conducting showings.  Just for future reference, I make a video tour of the entire house, place it on YouTube, and post a link in the ads.  I tell people up front "I don't conduct showings until they've made it through the application process."  When I started doing that, that took care of 99% of the non qualified applicants.  That way you don't end up having to deal with this type of situation.  An agent wouldn't ride around with buyers who aren't pre-qualified, and I stopped dealing with showings until I pre-qualified the person first.  Saves a lot of your time.

Nearly 4,000 is what I pay in Georgia for all my units.  I've had approximately 6 put in properties we were renovating in the last few years, and the cost is always around 4,000.  I'd be very concerned with cost that are much higher than 4,000.  Your market isn't much different than mine, there's no reason for a new unit to run over 4,000.  The unit cost are set from the suppliers.  The HVAC companies get to choose how much they want to charge you to install it.  That's where they make their money.  Good luck

Nice to see you back Karen!  So sorry for your loss.  I hope you have nothing but continued success with your son.  

Stay away from Lifestyles Unlimited, especially for MF investing.  They'll gladly take your 10,000 or more check and do nothing for you.  That organization is really nothing more than multi level marketing despite what Dillard Stone says.  The majority of people know that you don't need those guru groups to get started.  I've written that 10,000 check to Lifestyles and got nothing in return when I was starting out.  The only time you hear from anyone at Lifestyles Unlimited is when they want more money to renew your membership.  They also hype their "vendors list" but the vendors pay to be on that list.  I would be very suspicious of people like Dillard Stone with 4 post who encourage people to join Lifestyles.  Their "mentors" are on Bigger Pockets, so be careful if people are telling you to join an organization like that, or steering you in their direction.

I stopped taking deposits a few years ago, and charge a non-refundable "cleaning and maintenance fee."  The fee depends on the type of house and the amount of rent we collect.

It's usually around 600-700 flat non-refundable fee.  I advertise the property that way, and tell people up front you will not get this money back, it's non-refundable.  The lease also states that.  I got tired of going back and forth with people about this issue, and I don't care how good someone cleans, I still have to go in and clean and at the very minimum touch up the paint.  That cost me, so I pass that along to the tenant.  

No deposits to keep up with, I get paid to turn a unit over, it works out great.  I know some are going to say, "What happens if they skip out and you don't have a deposit to cover the rent?"  We conduct such a hardcore background check on all tenants, that just doesn't happen.  Our tenant's stay for years.  

Don't get me wrong, I got burned plenty in the beginning, but everything seems to always come back to tenant screening.  System works great, and BTW, I don't charge late fees and I let my tenants split their rent payments each month.  Pay the first half by the 15th, and the second half by they end of the month.  All headaches, hassle, and stress with being a landlord just disappeared.  

One more thing, as far as landlords or PM companies stating, "We get a copy of their I.D."  Do you really think a criminal is going to use their real ID.  People would be amazed if they knew the amount of individuals out that that carry fake ID's on them.  Sure, I'll give you an ID.  It might not be mine, (because I look like my cousin or brother so I'll use his) or It will have my photo on there with someone else's name.  

This topic comes up from time to time and I still can't believe in this day and age people still do this.  From a police and liability perspective, it's not the smartest thing in the world.  It amazes me how naive people can be to think that criminals wouldn't take advantage of this practice.  All someone has to do is take that key that is given to them, or left with the property and make a copy of it at a Home Depot or Wal-Mart near the property, and then wait for the tenant to move in.

Now they have easy access to burglarize the home later.  If a criminal does that, or worse harms the future tenant or kills them, can you imagine the field day an attorney would have with that once they found out how they got in the property!

I know, some people are saying, "I change the code or the locks before someone moves in."  Great, but that's not going to help you when your appliances are being carted off before you can change the code.

Sorry to be so blunt now, but this practice is nothing but laziness.  People are just asking for trouble if they do this.

I would find out where the person was arrested according to the report, and if it's in a county close to you, go to the county's courts website and find out if the arrest records or any records are public information.  Many county's I invest in have name searches on their county court sites where you can put a person's name in, and it will tell you most of the records they have linked to that name.  It may give you more information to make a better informed decision.  That's one of my tools I use when doing background checks.  Here's an example of one county I invest in.

www.gwinnettcourts.com