Tenant Screening - GNA "Why"
-California trip delayed until Friday (originally one day delay, but not worth the lost day). Bonus couple of days of work though. Just have to recalibrate effort and drive to work on Lawrence and finances. Probably makes most sense to get 47th listed, and procedures in place for the tenant screening process. Create tenant application google form and database. Combine with GNA foundation explanations throughout, at least the “why”.
Care and respect for each other, the neighbors, and the home. I put a lot of time, sweat, and money into all my projects. I care about finding a partner that will help me continue to improve this home and by extension the neighbors around us. A house's to-do list never ends, but the goal is to always leave it better than when we started. What experience do you have around home stewardship and maintenance? Are you capable and or willing to learn the basic home stewardship tasks listed (link to stewardship guide)? What other concerns, or help do you foresee needing? Do you have any interest in supplying paid labor to complete similar tasks for neighbors? Do you have any interest in more advanced home remodeling, handyman business operations, and/ or property accounting and investing? Do you have any other business ventures you hope to explore now or in the future?
I tend to be optimistic and highly trusting, almost to a fault. I do my best to always give benefits of doubt, at least to a point. Knowing this I spend extra time building as much trust as possible early and often. Part of this mentality is from a decade in retail, and the concerns I have with customers and employees being treated as numbers on a spreadsheet. An eternal profit growth as the primary directive. I see this same problem in too much of the rental Community. So many of the rule of thumb business practices seem to force this dehumanization in order to maximize profits. It’s no surprise there is regular animosity between tenants and landlords, especially as management gets less and less local. I want to create a better process that establishes a partnership between us that reduces or removes as many middle men as possible. We can likely manage the property better together than most property management companies, and the savings can be split across the partnership. Some examples of how I do this, and other abnormal practices
Instead of a security deposit, I prefer you spend that money on things to fill your new home (furniture, extra storage, minor upgrades). I don’t have to keep track of the deposit, and the place can feel homier early. This does require trust on my that you will do right by any damages beyond normal wear and tear. Non refundable pet fee is fair though.
The monthly patent is broken down into a more transparent and detailed explanation of a home's operating cost. I would like my tenants to have at least a basic understanding of where their money goes. The biggest chunk is based on the amortized payment of the home’s market value. Basically the principal and interest payments as if you had a home loan from a bank. Then add escrow for taxes and insurance (currently no work around for renters). X2 portions that go to short term Repairs and Maintenance, and Capital Expenditures savings (long term these will get put into interest accumulating accounts). The final portion is a management fee that I treat more like PMI. Since Ihold all the risk, and do all the book and tax accounting, this seems fair until a tenant can prove reliability in all these responsibilities..
The longer a tenant stays, and the better a tenant takes care of the home, the more potential there is for excess profit sharing. If someone lives there for 30 years, they deserve to own the home.