Property Management Co

[RonMexico]

Thanks for the info Dave. Sorry about your $250 water bill, I was only stuck with a $136 dollar water bill.

[RonMexico]

Need a new tenant?

I only rent to non gun owners... All kidding aside, the market went crazy and I have already had 4 offers on my property even with my $450 price increase over my last lease agreement.

[Sparky]

I only rent to non gun owners... All kidding aside, the market went crazy and I have already had 4 offers on my property even with my $450 price increase over my last lease agreement.

Yes I know the market is crazy. Sucks for me. Good for you.

[BigDee]

More than likely the property management company has language that protects them and screws you in this type of situation. Despite the contract language anything can be contested in court if you can prove that they failed to act in good faith.

How much is your time and effort worth to you? If it were me and I was out $2K I'd called it a lesson learned and move on.

Going forward you are better off managing the property by yourself. Find a good handyman that will do basic repairs for you at a reasonable price. You can do credit and background checks on people through the Internet for a small fee which you pass on to the tenant. You can get a lease off the Internet however I would recommend spending a $500+ to have a lawyer draft a lease agreement specific to you and your property. Each state has certain loopholes and you need an attorney familiar with real estate law in your state to make sure those loopholes are covered in the lease agreement. The same attorney being familiar with the lease will be able to help you evict a bad tenant in a heart beat.

If you're worried about people paying their rent on time you should offer an incentive. On my rental my rent price is X (slightly higher than the going rental rate) but if you pay your rent before the 1st of the month your rent is Y ($50 a month less than the going rental rate) if you pay your rent after the 7th there is a $75 late fee in addition to your rent. My tenant NEVER pays rent late and I wouldn't mind if they did once or twice because it would mean extra $$ in my wallet. I also have a performance clause in my lease. If the tenant fails to pay their rent on time more than 4 times during the term of their twelve month lease I reserve the right to terminate the lease and give the tenant 30 days notice to vacate the property.

I've heard a lot of horror stories about people having rentals. They all stem around either dead beat renters or dead beat property managers. Get a good attorney that's familiar with rentals and they'll help you eliminate 80% of the dead beat risk.

Also... Don't be afraid of section 8. Section 8 renters are often the most reliable and will stay in your property the longest. The state pays most of the section 8 renters rent and the state ALWAYS pays on time. If your tenant isn't following the rules or pays their portion late the state will kick their ass for you.

[HoneyBadger]

Just find good renters.

^LOL^ easier said than done!

[Irving]

We had zero issues evicting a tenant recently. I've heard horror stories, but have yet to experience any concerning an eviction.
Agreed about Section 8 type stuff. We recently had an employee tell us the max they'd pay for rent, then encourage us to raise the rent to that level. This was for ALL the units they were in, not just where we were getting a new tenant.

[T-Giv]

I have been contemplating getting into rental properties for a while now but somehow always get scared...threads like this don't help!

[BigDee]

I have been contemplating getting into rental properties for a while now but somehow always get scared...threads like this don't help!

Getting into rentals is no different than getting into any other business. Your success is all based on how you stack the deck. If you do things without doing your homework and do nothing to minimize your risk you've stacked the deck against yourself and you've likely lost your ass before you even gotten into the game. If you do your homework, learn from the mistakes made by countless others who got in the game long before you and do your due diligence to minimize your risk you'll likely be successful.

[Irving]

I have been contemplating getting into rental properties for a while now but somehow always get scared...threads like this don't help!

Find a mentor. A mentor is priceless.

[RonMexico]

Thanks for the advice BigDee.
T-Giv : out of the 5 renters I have had, 3 were great an 2 have been shitty dirtbags.
it does suck paying 2k and spend 100hr in labor bringing the house up to par but when you have a good renter for 18 months with no issues it makes up for the dirtbags out there.
The only reason I don't manage it myself is bc I am frequently out of the state and I don't want my family dealing with my problems.