I had a renter move out and it isn't good.

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

They were in this property two years. Always paid rent 5 days late on schedule with the late payment. Like clock work. They said they'd spend the last two days cleaning and leave it just like they found it. Awesome.

"Oh , bye the way we noticed a couple roaches here and there over the last month, seems that the neighbors sprayed and caused roaches to invade."

I had the exterminator spray the day they moved out. The next day I went in to inspect and start painting and repairs and HOLY SHIT!!!!

The kitchen was covered with dead and crawling roaches. Millions! No way I'm going to work in that roach tornado until they're all dead.

There go's a months rent, 1K, plus.

[TEX]

Originally Posted by scho63

I'll add one more thing: screen your tenants like they are scamming you. TRUST NOTHING.
Make them jump through hoops and if you are unsure, don't get desperate and rent to them.

THIS is gospel! Every time I've cut corners, I've been burned. I learned to be very thorough, even if it means losing perspective tenents during the process.

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

Originally Posted by scho63

I'll add one more thing: screen your tenants like they are scamming you. TRUST NOTHING.
Make them jump through hoops and if you are unsure, don't get desperate and rent to them.

That's the gospel truth.

Ever since I started running credit checks it pretty much eliminated rent issues. Roaches ,not so much.

[BWillie]

Fack

Friend of mine offered me a pretty good deal to dip my toes back in the game.

300k property for Air Bnb, buy in 25% ownership. He pays me $350 a week its rented out and I pay no maintenance, upkeep, or cleaning costs. Seems to good to be true.

[Fat Elvis]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I've only had two tenants that I would say were bad tenants. They weren't slobs like some of the folks described in this thread, but they were both really weird.

They were also the only two women over 40 that I've ever had as tenants, which I find interesting. I'll let others discuss the significance of that.

One of them was an odd case study. She rented the apartment but lived somewhere else. I think she had an (unfortunate) boyfriend, and maybe she wanted my apartment as an escape plan if they broke up or something. She alluded to that once, but I never completely figured it out. But the bottom line is that the apartment would be empty 29 days each month and then she would show up for a random night here and there.

But the weirdest part is that she spent maybe a dozen nights in the apartment over a one-year time period, and she threatened to sue me twice. The first time was when the light bulb burned out in her bedroom. The second time was when she thought that the decorative ivy outside her front door was getting too long.

Both of those things took a total of five minutes to fix and she could have easily done them herself. But she left me weird messages threatening to sue me if I didn't "fix them". I assume that's just how she learned to communicate with landlords or something, because otherwise we had no conflicts. I didn't kick her out because there was zero wear and tear in the apartment while she was there other than one burnt-out light bulb, but I was still glad to be rid of her when she eventually left.

For those of you considering landlording, though, I'll reiterate my overview that's it's been far far far more positive for me than negative.

Just out of curiosity, how much is rent for a place like yours in the Denver area?

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Fat Elvis

Just out of curiosity, how much is rent for a place like yours in the Denver area?

I'm currently at $1,330 for a 700 square foot studio. We provide the utilities and internet. It's a garden level unit that lowers the price a bit, but the location is good which brings it up. How does that compare to your expectations?

[Enid Borden]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I'm currently at $1,330 for a 700 square foot studio. We provide the utilities and internet. It's a garden level unit that lowers the price a bit, but the location is good which brings it up. How does that compare to your expectations?

What's a good location in the Denver area? Outside of Denver, for one.

[Enid Borden]

Originally Posted by scho63

I'll add one more thing: screen your tenants like they are scamming you. TRUST NOTHING.
Make them jump through hoops and if you are unsure, don't get desperate and rent to them.

What kind of hurdles?

[dlphg9]

Originally Posted by BWillie

Fack

Friend of mine offered me a pretty good deal to dip my toes back in the game.

300k property for Air Bnb, buy in 25% ownership. He pays me $350 a week its rented out and I pay no maintenance, upkeep, or cleaning costs. Seems to good to be true.

I'd stay very far away from Air bnb

So dude is basically asking for a $75k loan and is going to pay it back at $350/week forever? You'll get your money back in 4 years and just make $1400/month forever or until he buys you out/goes bankrupt. Seems like he could get a $75k loan from a bank for alot less.

Few options

You're full of shit - likely
He has no plans of paying you back that money and you won't see a dime - likely
Dude is just out to give you money for no reason - unlikely

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by scho63

I'll add one more thing: screen your tenants like they are scamming you. TRUST NOTHING.
Make them jump through hoops and if you are unsure, don't get desperate and rent to them.

The biggest thing here is rent out nice places for a premium instead of buying a cheap house and thinking it's easy money.. and then use your network as much as possible to find renters so you trusted friends/family can vouch for them.

There's of course still a chance they could be shitty people or sublet to 5 friends or whatever, but still.

[KCJake]

Originally Posted by FlaChief58

When I rented, I always let the slum...err, landlords know when there was an issue. Small stuff, I took care of myself, so it was only major stuff that was either a safety/ health issue or could cause damage to the place. You'd be amazed how many of them just let shit go and then try to keep my deposit. That's why I always took pictures and kept notes.

I’ve rented prob 8 or 9 different places in my life. The first 6 or 7, when it came time to move out, I had professional cleaners come in and clean the place upside and down. Including the carpets. What happens ??? Every single time, the landlord/property manager keeps my entire deposit. Once even sent me a bill !!!! For CLEANING THE CARPETS!!! No matter what, they’re keeping your deposit. So fck em. Roach on baby !!!

[Pablo]

Originally Posted by KCJake

I’ve rented prob 8 or 9 different places in my life. The first 6 or 7, when it came time to move out, I had professional cleaners come in and clean the place upside and down. Including the carpets. What happens ??? Every single time, the landlord/property manager keeps my entire deposit. Once even sent me a bill !!!! For CLEANING THE CARPETS!!! No matter what, they’re keeping your deposit. So fck em. Roach on baby !!!

Yeah, that deposit goes directly into their booze and cigarette fund. Scumbags deserves scumbags. I'd be sure to leave the place looking like shit so you at least know they are gonna have to dig into that deposit they were planning on hoarding anyway.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by KCJake

I’ve rented prob 8 or 9 different places in my life. The first 6 or 7, when it came time to move out, I had professional cleaners come in and clean the place upside and down. Including the carpets. What happens ??? Every single time, the landlord/property manager keeps my entire deposit. Once even sent me a bill !!!! For CLEANING THE CARPETS!!! No matter what, they’re keeping your deposit. So fck em. Roach on baby !!!

I'm no expert in these things, but what did you do in terms of getting your money back? Did you have before/after pics to justify getting your deposit back? Review verbiage of leases before moving into places?

[insert "definition of insanity"] ....I feel like after a couple times of that, I'd be researching the hell out of tenant rights and what not, as it's not just lease terms but at least some states have landlord/tenant statutes that legally detail why they can keep your money.


And no idea what your situation was, but I chuckled at the carpet thing because I once had to do a full replacement of carpet and replace some shit around a rental as no amount of professional cleaning would have made it better, much less its previous condition.

It's one thing to say it was professionally cleaned... it's another to say you left it in as good or better condition than it was when you moved in.


And I'm not trying to come off as saying there aren't terrible landlords and it was probably all your fault, but at do something 6 times and get the same shitty result...

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by Pablo

Yeah, that deposit goes directly into their booze and cigarette fund. Scumbags deserves scumbags. I'd be sure to leave the place looking like shit so you at least know they are gonna have to dig into that deposit they were planning on hoarding anyway.

Except that's how you end up with larger deposits and no decent references.

[Fat Elvis]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I'm currently at $1,330 for a 700 square foot studio. We provide the utilities and internet. It's a garden level unit that lowers the price a bit, but the location is good which brings it up. How does that compare to your expectations?

I guess it depends on how close you are to downtown and the capitol. Is there onsite parking? Utilities and internet ncluded is a nice bonus and saves several hundred a month.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Fat Elvis

I guess it depends on how close you are to downtown and the capitol. Is there onsite parking? Utilities and internet ncluded is a nice bonus and saves several hundred a month.

We don't have onsite parking any more. We used to, but then someone had a leaky car and it messed up our garage, so my wife opted out. We were adding $50 a month for it, which was well under market at the time. It looks like the average advertised rate now is $190 per month, and I bet that's not covered parking. Given the recent problems with car break-ins and thefts, it wouldn't surprise me if I could get $200 per month, but my wife likes the room in the garage now of only having one car. (Our tenant doesn't have a car, but I bet other people in the neighborhood would leap at renting a garage spot.)

Our location is pretty ideal, which is a big draw. We're in a pretty sedate neighborhood that's close to restaurants and grocery stores and parks, and you can also walk to downtown or Denver's main shopping mall. We're half a block from a bus route that goes straight to the big college campus, so a person doesn't really need a car unless they're working somewhere out of the immediate area.

Our big pro trick is that we've also provided a basic monthly housecleaning service (mopping, vacuuming, and bathroom cleaning) for years now. Tenants love it, and it also ensures that the unit is staying clean. It's not that much for a small apartment. (Clarification: we have a cleaning service to do it. It's not me or my wife doing it.)