Areas without densely packed houses ???

[freemkt]

Originally Posted by AndyAMG

I was debating whether I would respond or not. but....I have a feeling most people don't know what turnover entails and how it rarely goes smoothly or quickly.

Turnovers have more expenses than just money, they can be a huge time suck and a lot of wasted effort too.

They are also expensive monetarily, if you are not a slum lord. Slumlords can turn in a week no problem. Reputable individuals and companies. Its usually more like 2 weeks especially in the low season.

In my houses, at every turnover, I hire at a carpet cleaner ususally around $160 (most tenants DIY and rather than battle with them over the quality of the job they did I normally just hire a pro cleaner) , I also have a cleaner who gets every little detail including bugs in light fixtures and window tracks $200 bucks (you could eat off the top of our lighting fixtures when shes done.) I need a landscaper, to weed, mow and usually to professionally trim large trees and bushes. And If need be a trash out service which is usually $150 because of a trip to the dump. I usually do 4 hours or more of straightening things up and testing appliances. So usually about $500 bucks per turnover. There is always something broken or out of whack. Mostly screen doors and window screens because of pets and kids. For some reason my tenants like to knock holes in walls while moving out. Kids bedrooms usually have walls that need repair. It's guaranteed, I'll need to have an area or two painted.

A week is highly optimistic and will depend on the renter and how long they lived there and how well they kept it up. Renters are mostly lazy. Even though it says in the contract to keep up the yard and keep the house clean with explicit directions, most do a half you know-what-job of both things. I need curb appeal for the next renter, also an extremely clean house in perfect order helps me and the prospective tenant during the walk through.

Then the ultimate hurdle: While there is tons of demand, qualified renters are actually quite few. We usually go through the annoying process of background checks every turnover, because of fair housing we can not submit a stack of apps and then pick the best one. It's first come first serve. People will come to the house then tell me they can't afford the app fee, or they will say they didn't understand what 2.5 times the rent income meant, or they will ask us about a felony or eviction on their record. The problem is we still by law have to submit their app even though We're pretty sure it will be denied. Then we have the problem of one of the individuals out of a party being denied. Girlfriend is fine, boyfriend has a questionable past and bad credit, see it all the time. Then even if the unit is ready and the app is approved the next hurdle is do they have the money for move in? Surprisingly, we get calls all the time... Um, we need to wait until next pay day we don't have the move in money..... So the house sits. I can't leagally charge them rent if they haven't moved in and I don't want to take the time to find a new qualified renter so we usually just sit on it sometimes up to a week.

Tenants are picky.. They nit pick everything on the walkthrough, and even though my houses are immaculate they will always come up with some thing they demand be fixed right away. "I don't like this closet door it feel loose you guys are going to fix that, cause were not buying you a new closet door with our deposit." The closet door is fine, note it on the paper I will give you a copy if you decide to take me to court.

We have an 8 page rental contract and we give them overnight (if they need it) to read all of it before they sign. Then then we usually have a Q and A session.

So I should have clarified: It's expensive, it's quite an effort on the back end, and finding a qualified tenant is a nightmare in todays YOLO society. Renters are flaky and oddly do not have the move-in money right then and there.

These are the reasons I personally have chosen 1 year contracts and the reason most landlords do also.

The market has more slack in it than you think, especially on houses over $1400/mo. Many times the girlfriend or wife has a 40k a year job and the boyfriend has a part time job. Like I said the demand is there but there are so many people who never would have qualified. At 1400/mo+ pet rent (allowing pets makes my homes popular and boosts my income) you need to make a verified amount of 60k/yr. You' be surprised how few make that these days.

I'm not saying OP can't find his dream home I'm just saying a single home on some land month to month will be hard to come by.

TONS of great stuff here to help make turnover easier. As one of those 'questionable' or marginal types, I wonder exactly why income and credit are so important when the rental history is solid?

I would NEVER qualify on income or credit (my income isn't even 2x the rent I pay, and my credit has been in the tank the past 12 years without any new or original credit activity during that time) but I always pay the rent on time and don't cause problems. As a poor person in the rental gray market of rooms on Craigslist, I'm not picky.

[joe_obody999]

Originally Posted by AndyAMG

No one wants to rent month to month the type of property you are looking for.

I don't have a problem with a 6 or even better 12 month lease. I think I mis-wrote about monthly, did not mean month to month. I actually want a lease so I do not have to worry about moving in a few months. I want to try out the Vancouver-Portland area for a year and know I will not have to move during that year.