Some of the locals drive me crazy.

I'm trying to provide a quality rental home at a fair price, along with making some money.

I signed a lease with a couple of young people the other day. They carefully read the lease, and were impressed by things that should not have impressed them. Such as,

9. LESSEE further agrees that in the event of window breakage, drain clogs, sewage clogs, kitchen fires or other actions that are deemed to be due to negligence on the part of LESSEE during such tenure, that LESSEE will remit payment for such repairs within 15 days of presentation of invoice. Plumbing fixtures shall be used for the purposes intended only, and cloths, cardboard, grease or other materials not designed for disposal in this manner shall not be placed in and disposed of in any plumbing fixture and LESSEE shall be liable for any costs of repair by reason of misuse. LESSEE is required to notify LESSOR of any plumbing leaks as soon as possible. Water leaks which go un-notified for more than 24hours and cause damage are considered negligence.

I was amazed. To me, that is just basic. Apparently, their landlord ignored their broken dishwasher, then eventually told them to fix it themselves and take it off the rent. This guy owns a LOT of property in town, and has been building more!

Then, this afternoon, another prospect asked how we handle repairs. I explained. He said, but who does them? I said, well, I have a plumber, electrician, glass company, furnace guy, and general handyman in my phone, among others. I generally call my top choice first, and continue from there. Apparently his current LL lives in St. Louis, and when something goes wrong, says, I'll be down there and will take care of it then. That is SOOOO unprofessional!

He asked if he could read the lease with his parents first. Why not! I've got nothing to hide!

Then, I found out that the local LARGE prop manager has upped their paperwork fee for roommate additions to $250 plus the cost of the background check, which they charge $75 for. My game is to undercut them by just a bit. :) I charge $100 for the paperwork when someone moves out and moves in where it is a multi-room place.

I'm liking my niche, though. My one bedroom places are renting well! I accepted a holding fee via PayPal on one today, the last of the existing places. I signed another student up for one of my new construction places. Plus, I've got three more discussing with their parents. One did an application, but won't qualify on his own, and the student is a bit flaky. I can handle flaky, but only if parents guarantee it. In this instance, the parents live about 2 hours away.

I'll update the photos page soon. Construction is coming along well!

I meant to take more photos today - got distracted. It is a little slow to change right now. They are working inside. #1 is plumbed and mostly wired. I'm waiting for the roof to get finished! The starter strip was delayed at the manufacturing, and the wind Thursday and Friday was so strong, it wasn't safe for them to be up there. They worked on soffit, facia, and siding. Brick is about 3 weeks out.

The jury is still out.

Sometimes the landlord compromises to the level of the tenant. I have some shacks where if they call I jump through hoops, I have others where if I were to get a call I would get to it on my schedule.

I bet in both cases I would be portrayed as a hero, or a villain. Depends on the mood or who the teni are speaking with.

I like your system of having first and second string subs on call. I also like the system where many landlords so the repairs themselves. I believe that saves the teni lots of money.

Oh, I agree - somethings I like to fix things myself. It does save funds at times. That said, when it take 3 weeks for an electrical outlet to be replaced after it sparked and turned black, because the LL wanted to look themselves, and that meant that all the outlets on the circuit needed to be turned off at the circuit breaker, that is a little much. This student went without power in his bedroom for 3 weeks due to it.