All Forum Posts by: Victor N.

@Max T. the problem is not the questions ( although they can be improved) but how unfriendly, cut and dry, impersonal your email "sounds". Keep in mind that emails are very cold and impersonal specially when you do not personally know the other person. She said that she can absolutely answer but... So I do agree with the lady.

You can keep all the questions but need "something" to soften and make the email more personal. For example, you could start with something like" Dear xxx Thank you for your interest in the single family house that I'm renting at xxx. The house has been recently renovated/ freshly painted/ has beautiful refinished hardwood floors/ stainless steel appliances/ etc... You will enjoy living there.." Basically, you can use a short paragraph to tell potential tenants about the house.

You can also add a couple of lines about yourself. For example " Im the landlord and manage the property myself and to so I have a few questions that I ask all potential tenants. I apologize if they seem intrusive but they are necessary for me to start the screening process. Feel free to ask for any clarification". Then you can list all your questions. I would also remove the last sentence of your last paragraph ( "If your responses qualify you as a potential applicant I will be in touch to schedule a showing.") because that is already implied.

Basically, you can keep the questions and all you need to do is soften the email so that it doesn't sound so impersonal. If I were you, I would call that lady. Get some additional feedback from her and use that to improve your pre-screening email.

@John Hixon, In CT, I can look up all court records online for free. I can see criminal cases and civil cases. I can see small claims, evictions, etc. You can search by case number or party name. 

For any state, just google " Your state Judicial branch case lookup" for example "Texas Judicial Branch case look up". I just did a quick search and found Dallas County online court records: http://www.dallascounty.org/applications/english/r...

@Sharad M. using a HELOC could provide some "cover". The HELOC will be recorded and show up on the land records and "show" that there is less equity available on the property but you do not have to use it and will not pay any interest on it. It is not a perfect strategy but can provide some cover specially if you want to keep the properties free and clear.

Also, there are also a lot of young Doctors ( read medical/dental residents) who often move out of state  just for the duration of their residency. The move is temporary usually 1-3 years for dental and 3-5 for medical or longer if you add a fellowship. A lot of the residents like to keep their out of state DL and car registration and they never had any problem finding housing. 

We rented in Boston trendy South End for 4 years using CT DL and registrations and the question was never brought up!

If the potential tenants qualify on every other level you should rent to them!

@Kevin Dickson There are a few state where discriminating against a potential tenant's source of income ( read section 8 vouchers) is illegal. Connecticut, where I live, is one of those states.

Below is a thread from a BP member who is a landlord in CT and just received a complaint ( section tenant) regarding the issue. The 2nd thread is about a CT landlord who was fined $9,000 ( settlement) because a section 8 tenant filed a fair housing discrimination against him.

This is probably one of the reasons why Craigslist is adding "income source" in their disclaimer.

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/1869...

http://www.fairhousing.com/index.cfm?method=page.d...

@Stephen Costa, Im also from CT. 

Welcome to the best Real Estate website for investors!!! Read, listen to the podcasts and ask questions. Then decide what area you want to focus on. For example, buy and hold . flips, wholesaling, notes or a combination???

There is a learning curve so hang in there, be patient and make some deals!!!

Great job! The house looks AMAZING!!!  why did you fire the first contractor? Glad you were able to find a fantastic crew to complete the project.

You have a couple of things to deal with. The unpaid rent and the lease... and those two are not related.

Usually, when a tenant pays the rent to the court it is because there are issues with the apartment/property that have not been addressed by the owner or property manager. So make sure to document the timeline of events because you're going to need it in court. For example when did the tenant first notified the property manager about the issues? How soon did they respond and how long before the issue was addressed? You want to show that you did everything you could in a reasonable amount of time.

If you were prompt in addressing the issues, then the judge will probably give you the full rent. Some courts are very tenant friendly and might give the full rent or a portion of it back to the tenant. So talk to your property manager and get all the details!

Regarding the lease expiration, unfortunately you cannot try to evict her right now because it would look like retaliation.and you would be in big trouble. But dont wait, contact her to find out what her intentions are and you can start preparing for it.

@Anna Watkins Great job! on several fronts: buying cash, using equity from another property, putting together a good crew, managing a timely rehab on budget and more importantly renting it so fast!

I liked your descriptions! and it looks like at least 15 potential tenants also liked it enough because they saved your listing... Well done!

remove the old wallpaper and paint. Just be ready to do some wall repairs after you remove it. It's a lot of work but well worth it.

There several tools and techniques. I've tried using a heating tool similar to a hairdryer with good success. Once you heat the paper/ glue underneath, it peels off easily.