wood_vulture

I know that neighborhoods tend to attract a certain type of person based on the neighborhood's "vibe" or whatever. But I've also noticed that even within a certain income or archetype bracket, there is some substantial wiggle room. Not everybody in "the hood" is a gangbanger/drug dealer/hoodlum/addict/whatever.

People have told me that my screening procedures may have been deficient in the past. I know that calling their job, looking at how they treat their car and past landlords are all good ways to screen, as well as having friends at the local PD. But I want to know from folks who've been there -- what OTHER ways are there to find folks who may not have high income but who are still decent people who'll keep up their end of the bargain? I don't need perfect tenants -- just ones who'll take decent care of the place and pay their rent on time.

Besides the really obvious stuff, what are some ways I can screen my hood-ier tenants better to get the best folks possible?

Okay, I know some markers of a good neighborhood:

1. Kids playing outside with their parents on weekends

2. No one out at night

3. Low police presence

4. Few people around during work days

5. Lawns maintained well

6. Houses in solid states of repair

7. Cars in good condition

8. Conversations in medium volume levels instead of friendly yelling

9. Absence of gunshots and explosions

What other markers of a "good" neighborhood are there? Thanks.

I have been buying in neighborhoods that are inexpensive and the prices seem to reflect on attracting bad tenants. How do I balance between getting a property that's reasonably affordable -- the banker will lend me enough for it -- and that will attract good tenants who will take good care of the place, pay their rent on time and be reasonable more often than not.

For some perspective, I live in and invest in Indianapolis, Indiana. A decent home in a decent neighborhood can sometimes be found here in the $50k range, with $100k being the general cost of entry for consumer-level properties in good neighborhoods. As well, the average income around here is in the $35k/yr range.

I know, for a lot of you $100k is what people who flip burgers at Mickey D's in your area make -- I've heard that before, that's great, and I need salient advice based on my intended price points. I live in an area where house prices aren't absolutely insane, so good for me.

My question is, putting the price of the place on the shelf and ignoring it for the moment, how do I identify whether an area is too bad to want to deal with, whether an area is good enough for a decent rental where the tenants will be good, or whether an area is so excellent that a flip is a powerful money maker if done reasonably well?

Thanks.

In my city, I can buy a house for as little as $1,000 outright. Even when I spend $9,000, it seems like most of the city is slummy. But there are "nice" and "good" neighborhoods where people don't kick in doors, they pick up garbage instead of dropping it and they seem to care about taking care of the world. Some of said places are rentals, but they're really expensive ($100,000 or more) and I don't have that much cash.

Other than saving for 20 years or paying off all of my existing debt and getting a "good" job (I work in a warehouse), how can I buy rentals in these good areas? I'm getting sick of people abusing my property because, as one of my friends put it, "That's just how they were raised" ?

Could I get some real, non-troll answers?

I set my parameters for 18-40, and I tend to find the ones in the <30 range more attractive. Less wrinkles, more tendency to be intentionally childfree (I don't want kids and got snipped so I won't have them), many seem less better, they tend to be thinner... and it almost seems to be a coincidence that my favorite women are usually 18-23 as opposed to older.

I won't lie, I'm also a little afraid that an older woman will become decrepit and die sooner.

Is this the same kind of fear that a younger woman would have about dating me? I've had three different women lately tell me that I'm too old, despite the fact that I make a mean message and put together fun-memorable dates. Am I condemned to dating a crone or being permanently solo? I'm really not old based on most definitions.

I've noticed that all kinds of companies pay workers, particularly low-level ones, by the hour instead of by the task/commission/salary. What is the underlying purpose behind hourly pay? What's the goal, and what is it designed to reward? I just don't get it.

For a long time my part-time job was more than enough to pay all my bills. But a few years ago I took on freelancing work, and my income rose dramatically. It doubled, in fact. I went from living on $17,000 a year (as a homeowner no less) to making more than $40,000 a year.

But then I got comfy. I bought a car, I bought more real estate and my income began to slip. I keep hustling to make some money from the freelancing, but lately it's been a little dry. Like the Sahara.

To put things in perspective, my car costs almost as much to keep and operate as my home, student loan, all utilities and groceries (and I sure can eat). I've cut out things like meals out, trimmed my travel so my gas isn't crazy, and taken standard measures to keep my costs reasonably low. But it's not enough.

I'm currently experiencing a $200/month shortfall that I could easily remove if I just stopped paying and let the repo guys take the car. Pretty much all of my cash is in real estate, so cashing out could take a looooong time. And things are likely to turn around in a few months, once my current rentals are done and paying me.

But a few months can feel like an eternity when you're broke.

Now, it's nice to be able to go on dates with my car, and after doing manual labor (my job) it's nice to just sit down and glide home. But something's got to give, and this is the most major individual expense I have. I have houses that are cheaper to keep and operate (one of which pays me rent).

And my credit will be thrashed if I stop paying on my car. It's only worth $1,500, but I owe about $5k on it. It'd be the first time I ever defaulted on anything, and what a way to start.

So what do you guys think? Should I stop paying on my car or what?

I am a real estate buyer and owner, and I have owned some of my property for more than 5 years. I've lived in my home for 6 years and have no intention to move. I own some property that consistently pays me, and I don't have to do anything to get this money because I have a property manager. So it's not a job, it's super-easy from my perspective and it pays me.

So why does everybody assume that in 20 years or so I'll have sold my properties? Why would anybody want to do that? Moreover, why is it simply "implied" that at some point you're just going to sell?

Enlighten me, please.

I have a thought exercise for you. If a person wanted to live super cheaply, where would the best place in the world be? Not just making modifications to expensive land, just living in a low-cost place.

I want to find out how to live super-duper cheaply. I'm pretty low on debt, so that's not a big deal. My real estate pretty much pays for itself, but I want to live as cheaply as possible to invest more of both my rents and the money I work online for. Location, including nation, is NOT an issue. I am not open to going back to jail as a way of living cheaply, but other than that I am good.

I wish to have electricity, indoor plumbing and Internet available, at least in a local cafe setting. I am not particular on space requirements (I'm 6'1 and have a 34" waist, so that's about all the sleeping space I need) and I don't care about luxuries. I also don't especially care about a fancy place for "getting laid," as I've had enough lovers for one lifetime and am bored with sex.

Where can I live like a psycho-Scrooge? Thanks everybody!

I have rental property that's not in the best neighborhoods, but they are improving slowly. The point is, I'm about to buy some new property and I want to get something where the tenancy will be a bit more stable.

My ultimate goal is to get people who will stay for 5 years or more. ANYTHING you can tell me about how to make this happen will make me swell with gratitude. I need to know how you get tenants who'll stay. Some of the things I'm already doing:

*Careful background checks (criminal and tenant history)

*Decent sized deposits

*Security systems

*Keeping the places nice

*Buying in reasonably low crime areas

What else can I do? What's the big secret that some folks know and I don't? I know some of you know, so don't bogart the wisdom. Pretty please.

I live in a city where the district attorney would rather brag about acing 90%+ of his cases than actually go after criminals who might take some work to prosecute. I don't know much about politics and I doubt I could run for DA, but crime in my area is getting downright nuts. The gangbangers sell their drugs right out in front of everyone, and the police do nothing because the DA won't prosecute.

What can I or anyone do?

I own rental property (a four-unit building and a single-family residence) in less-than-awesome neighborhoods. The quad usually has at least 2-3 units occupied, and it's in a working class area without too much trouble. The biker gang down the street is surprisingly polite most of the time. The single is in an even higher-crime area -- there are a bunch of drug-dealing teens down the street that keep the area irritating.

I made mistakes purchasing in the really bad area, and I'm paying the price. Despite making my rentals nice and not piling on fees and annoyingly complex/anal rules in the leases, my turnover is insanely fast (sometimes as little as 3-4 months on a one-year lease).

Before anybody goes the obvious route of "sell that crap and move your operation uptown," I need to point out a few things:

1. To do so would be taking massive losses because of the "values" in my areas and how much work I've put in over the years. I'm in deep.

2. There are few buyers willing to work in my areas, so selling might not be possible.

3. I bought my quad for $9k, and have put about $30k into making it nice. To purchase a similar place in the "nice" part of town would likely run me upwards of $1M. It's very either-or in my region.

Okay, so let's take selling the places off the table for the time being. I don't feed the trolls, so feel free to scream "SELLLLL!!!1!!" or "I'll buy your place for $1, as long as I can pay with a fake Nigerian money order." I'll only pay any attention to real suggestions.

If you know something I don't (and you very well might), PLEASE let me know.

I'm trying to find good tenants who'll stay a long time, and my manager is already doing the normal stuff like employment verification and background checking. We do walkthroughs, get lots of compliments, and generally have 60-80% occupancy (we have had 100%, however briefly). But then they just leave.

What can I do to get good tenants into my places and have them stay a looooooong time? I'm open to just about any idea, provided it's legal. Pretty please.

I own a few rental units, and it's exceedingly rare that a tenant stays through a one-year lease. Often the tenants just disappear, and I can't even ask why they've left. So I'd really like if someone could shed some light on possible reasons. Have you ever suddenly broken out your lease? If so, why was it? I can eliminate a few variables that might drive out a tenant:

*My units are all well cared-for -- the mechanicals are up to date and work well and we regularly update with new flooring materials and paint. Anything that needs fixing is fixed ASAP.

*My property manager is firm but fair. He's not the stereotypical complete ****** landlord. But he also doesn't let things slide to the point of being undeserving of respect.

*There are no rats, roaches or other pestilence. We ask tenants to report anything disgusting immediately and we explain that these problems don't appear if they take care of their own garbage.

*The neighborhoods aren't the very best (fairly low price point), but the crime rates aren't insanely high. As well, the tenants all know how things are going in and seem okay with this.

I own a few rental units, and it's exceedingly rare that a tenant stays through a one-year lease. I can eliminate a few variables that might drive out a tenant:

*My units are all well cared-for -- the mechanicals are up to date and work well and we regularly update with new flooring materials and paint. Anything that needs fixing is fixed ASAP.

*My property manager is firm but fair. He's not the stereotypical complete ****** landlord. But he also doesn't let things slide to the point of being undeserving of respect.

*There are no rats, roaches or other pestilence. We ask tenants to report anything disgusting immediately and we explain that these problems don't appear if they take care of their own garbage.

*The neighborhoods aren't the very best (fairly low price point), but the crime rates aren't insanely high. As well, the tenants all know how things are going in and seem okay with this.

Whenever I ask why there are so many government handouts, people justify it with "feedin' kids." Why is this so important? Doesn't that just create a class of people who all but perpetually live off of society's workers while their parents make money under the table (or just don't work at all), possibly from illegal activities? Why don't we let them die if even their parents don't particularly care?

I want to purchase and rehab a rental property for a sizable sum. I can do this in one of two ways:

a. I can sell the stock I've been slowly buying over time,

b. I can get cash advances from my credit cards

Before you laugh at me, keep in mind that my credit interest rate is very low (around 10%) and the dividends I get from my stocks are very high (averaging in the 10% range). I have what some call "walk on water" credit and steady employment, and I would not be raiding my emergency cash nor hurting my Roth IRA or 401k.

I also have other rental properties that I can't take out loans against, but they provide income I can use to rebuy stock or pay off debt.

I could work for a year or two and save like crazy to buy and fix up the place, but once I have a few more units I will no longer have to work. It's kinda exciting. What do you all think? If there's an option I've forgotten about/haven't thought of, let me know.

Atrocitus, boss of the Red Lantern Corps, is pretty badass and capable of strategic planning. He can also fly and build constructs from his rage. The Hulk... yeah. This would pretty much be the rage battle to end them all, but I'm curious who would win and why. Any takers?

I know that "bigger is better," but I need to know how big a bedroom should be for tenant comfort. If you rent a place, I'd be thrilled if you could tell me if an 8x10 space is reasonable, or maybe a 12x14, or... what size of bedroom makes you feel like sleeping there? Thanks!