I'm a Houston Landlord (sale, apartment complexes, rent)

[icon7]

I am also a landlord. I initially got in the business because I needed some tax shelters since i was maxed out on everything else.

It is rewarding at the same time tough....I do a lot of the repairs myself, since I hate being lied to. Plus I can try out new tools that I purchase. I usually put an ad in the chronicle and also have a For Rent sign in the yard. I do not take section 8, and I do do a full background check and credit check.

[Jesse69]

Full background check is bull****! I am my landlord's BEST and LONGEST renter who never missed a payment or had trouble with the law or stole my roomates stuff! I have a felony because a past employer spied on me after work and made me paranoid thinking I was being spied upon so I punched a guy at McDonalds thinking he was a spy and I got my felony for that. Yeah, and I roomate I had had a clean record and glossed me over that his mom was a Whole Foods Executuve. And then he stole over $1000 of my stuff! AFter I put locks on my stuff he started stealing / eating my food!

I suggest you don't discriminate against all felons, and rather take them case by case. Even graffitti or not paying for gas is a felon! - You think that's such a serious crime to discriminate against?

[modster]

Originally Posted by Jesse69

Full background check is bull****! I am my landlord's BEST and LONGEST renter who never missed a payment or had trouble with the law or stole my roomates stuff! I have a felony because a past employer spied on me after work and made me paranoid thinking I was being spied upon so I punched a guy at McDonalds thinking he was a spy and I got my felony for that. Yeah, and I roomate I had had a clean record and glossed me over that his mom was a Whole Foods Executuve. And then he stole over $1000 of my stuff! AFter I put locks on my stuff he started stealing / eating my food!

I suggest you don't discriminate against all felons, and rather take them case by case. Even graffitti or not paying for gas is a felon! - You think that's such a serious crime to discriminate against?

Landlords do not have the luxury of taking felons on a case by case basis unless they want to expose themselves to potential liability from Fair Housing claims. If you establish a policy, such as no felons, and you reject applicant A because he has one, and then accept applicant B because you are more understanding of him, say, punching a perfect stranger in a McDonald's. Then applicant "A" may have a discrimination claim against the landlord. Whatever application standards you establish, and as a landlord you should establish some, then you must be uniform in applying them to EVERYBODY. This is especially important if you have more than a handful or rental units or properties.

[Ellis Bell]

Originally Posted by mayreejayne

Hi, this seems to be a very active forum and I see many posts that interest me. My main reason for joining now is to seek advice concerning my rental properties and I want to know if this is appropriate. Thanks.

I can't give you advice but I do know of a radio station in your area that have program host who can...

BizRadio - The Sound of Your Money Growing

11:10 am radio. These guys are awesome. I use to listen to them on my way to work in the mornings, but the ones that talk property investment, I think they air around early afternoons, noon to one. I think the most interesting subject I listened to they discussed entitlement property's pros and cons.

[Lake Conroe resident]

Originally Posted by modster

Landlords do not have the luxury of taking felons on a case by case basis unless they want to expose themselves to potential liability from Fair Housing claims. If you establish a policy, such as no felons, and you reject applicant A because he has one, and then accept applicant B because you are more understanding of him, say, punching a perfect stranger in a McDonald's. Then applicant "A" may have a discrimination claim against the landlord. Whatever application standards you establish, and as a landlord you should establish some, then you must be uniform in applying them to EVERYBODY. This is especially important if you have more than a handful or rental units or properties.

Exactly; this would certainly be the best way to keep from getting a lawsuit against you if you were a property manager, or a person with multiple properties for rent. Not to mention; as a whole, the background checks combined with checks for evictions, sex offenders and a credit report work very nicely, they alleviate 90% of the problems right up front.

[travelguy_73]

Originally Posted by mayreejayne

Topaz, I believe you are absolutely right. I've been poking along at this labor of love (my property) for 12 years and have been trying to attract artist types that I've personally (not professionally) identified with. A friend of mine, who is a realestate agent, thoughtfully refused me to hire her and told me to think beyond that concept by finding a target market who'd be the right fit. She said, get their names and addresses and send faxes to them. You are the second person recently to suggest the same idea, to advertise in a trade specific venue.

Perhaps this goes without saying, but having a web presence is important these days if you have something to sell. If I was a renter, I would be Googling addresses and key words ("Houston live work housing," Heights rental," etc.) to see what comes back. As a consumer, nothing is more frustrating than not finding specific details on the web. I'm totally not affiliated with this landlord, but I came across Medusa Properties website not too long ago, and was impressed. Details, floorplans, some personal stuff that just said to me "takes the time to get the best tenant." Or at least that is what the site said to me, LOL.

Don't make it fancy, or spend a lot of (deductible business expense) money, but get something out there that will show up in Google and Yahoo, and you will be one step closer to having to turn people away rather than going out to find them.

[icon7]

whatever dude...
I choose to discriminate against anyone I want. Last time I checked My name is on the property as the owner and this is still the USA. If you do not fit my qualifications there are 1000's of others that will.

Originally Posted by Jesse69

Full background check is bull****! I am my landlord's BEST and LONGEST renter who never missed a payment or had trouble with the law or stole my roomates stuff! I have a felony because a past employer spied on me after work and made me paranoid thinking I was being spied upon so I punched a guy at McDonalds thinking he was a spy and I got my felony for that. Yeah, and I roomate I had had a clean record and glossed me over that his mom was a Whole Foods Executuve. And then he stole over $1000 of my stuff! AFter I put locks on my stuff he started stealing / eating my food!

I suggest you don't discriminate against all felons, and rather take them case by case. Even graffitti or not paying for gas is a felon! - You think that's such a serious crime to discriminate against?

[studiobtm]

Originally Posted by Jesse69

Full background check is bull****! I am my landlord's BEST and LONGEST renter who never missed a payment or had trouble with the law or stole my roomates stuff! I have a felony because a past employer spied on me after work and made me paranoid thinking I was being spied upon so I punched a guy at McDonalds thinking he was a spy and I got my felony for that. Yeah, and I roomate I had had a clean record and glossed me over that his mom was a Whole Foods Executuve. And then he stole over $1000 of my stuff! AFter I put locks on my stuff he started stealing / eating my food!

I suggest you don't discriminate against all felons, and rather take them case by case. Even graffitti or not paying for gas is a felon! - You think that's such a serious crime to discriminate against?

You bet it is. You wouldn't want to hear what I think should be done to people who deface property and steal gas. It's isn't that I hate them, I can understand the small, stupid place they are coming from. I'm just sick of crime and what it does to everyone - including the criminals.

[CCC925]

That is so reassuring that some land lords take responsibilty for the safety of others! I rent a town home from a company that owns several properties in close proximity. I was appalled to find out they have allowed a high-risk sex offender move in to one of their properties. As soon as our lease is up my family and I are moving. If they can move him in two blocks away, they can move him in next door! I have a little girl to protect from sick and twisted people.

Originally Posted by icon7

whatever dude...
I choose to discriminate against anyone I want. Last time I checked My name is on the property as the owner and this is still the USA. If you do not fit my qualifications there are 1000's of others that will.

[TFW46]

My mother was a Houston landlord for many years. She was a real estate agent who felt bad for those homeowners who couldnt sell their houses when moving out of the city -- so she bought the houses for the listing prices. She ended up with dozens of homes in the southwest area (Bellaire, Sharpstown, Alief and further out) in the 1970's-1980's.

She had a heart of gold and often let tenants go six months to a year without paying rent if they were down on their luck. Or she'd give them jobs (repairing other houses or mowing, etc) to pay off the rent. She almost always got stiffed, as a result, but she never lost her faith and trust in people. Everytime I hear blanket criticisms of landlords in general, I think of how kind she was to all of her tenants and how many of them violated that trust and kindness.