A Few Renting Tips

Dress in a ìbusiness casualî fashion when looking at apartments and houses. Consider it almost like a job interview! The prospective landlord is looking for the best ìcandidateî for their rental - and appearance does count.
Some landlords will require an application before they will consider you as a tenant. Gather the following information beforehand: Social Security number, Driverís License, Rental History (name & phone number of previous rentals, including time rented), Job History, 3 personal and 3 work references, and monthly payment information (credit cards, loans, etc.
If you call on a listing and it has been rented, donít hesitate to ask if the landlord has another property that they would like to rent. Or, they may have a fellow rental property owner that is looking to fill a vacancy.
Pets are a sure way to lessen your chances for finding a suitable apartment or home to rent at a reasonable price. You will generally pay a higher security deposit and a higher monthly rent. And, the place you do find may have pet damage (carpets) from the previous renter. If at all possible, wait to get pets until you can purchase your own house.
You should also consider the quality of your landlord when renting. Ask your friends or family that rent their dwelling about their landlord - and then find out if that landlord has properties available for rental.
Consider choosing a C.P.L. (Certified Professional Landlord) listed on this web site. These individuals aspire to high standards of professionalism in taking care of their tenants and properties.
your landlord may not:
Refuse to let you make reasonable modifications to your dwelling or common use areas, at your expense, if necessary for the disabled person to use the housing. (Where reasonable, the landlord may permit changes only if you agree to restore the property to its original condition when you move.)
Refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services if necessary for the disabled person to use the housing.
Example: A building with a "no pets" policy must allow a visually impaired tenant to keep a guide dog.
Example: An apartment complex that offers tenants ample, unassigned parking must honor a request from a mobility-impaired tenant for a reserved space near her apartment if necessary to assure that she can have access to her apartment.

RIGHTS AGAINST RETALIATION
Although the landlord of a Tenant at Will can terminate the tenancy or raise the rent without reason, s/he cannot do so in response to the tenant's exercising his or her legal rights. If the landlord tries to raise your rent, terminate or otherwise change your tenancy within six months of when you contact the Board of Health, join a tenants' organization, or exercise other legal rights, the landlord's action will be considered retaliation against you.

Late Payment Penalty:
Tenants should pay rent on time. The landlord can't charge any interest or a penalty until 30 days after the due date. However, the landlord can begin the eviction process immediately -- even if the rent is only one day overdue. (MGL c 186, s 15B). The landlord also cannot use a reverse penalty clause to encourage tenants to pay early. For example, it is illegal for a landlord who charges $400 per month to reduce the rent by 10% if the rent is paid within the first five days of the month.

Check with the landlord to see if subletting is allowed. In most cases, leases have a provision for subletting with the landlord's permission. If the lease does not permit subletting, and you sublet, you could be sued for breaking the lease.
TYPES OF TENANCY AGREEMENTS:
Written Rental Agreements: According to state consumer protection regulations (940 CMR 3.17(3b)), a landlord must include the following in a written rental agreement:
*The names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the owners and any other persons who are responsible for the care, maintenance and repair of the property;
*The name, address and telephone number of the person authorized to receive notices of violations of law and to accept notice of lawsuit on half of the owner;
*The amount of the security deposit and disclosure of rights under the Security Deposit Law.
Verbal Rental Agreements: You and the landlord may agree verbally to the terms of your tenancy. However, it is safer to get all terms in writing.
Lease: A lease is merely a contract form which has been adapted for use by an individual landlord. The lease should clarify the rights and responsibilities of both the tenant and the landlord. ALWAYS READ YOUR LEASE BEFORE SIGNING. If wording is unclear, ask for an explanation. Within 30 days after the lease is signed, the landlord is required to furnish you with a copy for your records. If the landlord does not give you a copy within the allotted 30 days, s/he can be fined up to $300. Any provision which conflicts with the law or requires you, as a tenant or prospective tenant, to waive your rights is void and unenforceable (MGL c 186,s 15B).
Types of Leases:
A standard fixed-term lease typically runs for a 12-monthperiod and may or may not be renewed after the period expires. A self-extending lease is one which automatically renews itself if neither the landlord nor the tenant gives formal notice that there will be no renewal by the date specified in the lease.
Remember:
*Describe in the lease all rental terms, conditions, and charges. During the lease term, the landlord cannot add a charge for the use of facilities that were available at no cost when the lease was signed.
*Check that all blanks appearing in the lease have been filled in and that the agreed upon rent is stated.
*Write into the lease all verbal promises, additional clauses or clarifications made by either party. Both you and the landlord must initial each change.

Confessions of a Rehabber

Take it from me, or anyone else you know for that matter, deciding to buy a fixer-upper and tackle the task of remodeling is no easy feat. Sure, all those infomercials out there claim you can make quick money flipping, but what they neglect to tell you about is all the headaches that come with it too.My husband and I have done three homes - one small 1000 square foot home built in 1945 and two huge Queen Anne Victorians of 4000 square feet each.

Here are some things we learned.Don't let your eyes be bigger than your pocket book, no matter how much you love the home.

• If that little voice inside your head is telling you to walk away, do what it says! Don't force the purchase of a home that will turn into a money pit.
• Always use a contractor. Yes, I know you do-it-yourselfers out there will disagree, but for the hassle of handling 6 sub-contractors yourself, being on the job site everyday, and making sure the city doesn't shut you down because you forgot to pull a permit, is just not worth the ulcer it will cause.
• Always get a written contract with the Contractor that is VERY specific on what the contractor will be doing for his fee. A hand shake over lunch is just plain dumb. Protect yourself!
• Always put any changes you make during the project in writing and what the cost will be. Don't make the mistake of hearing from the contractor that he doesn't "remember" those changes. It will cost you more money!
• Do not pay for the entire project up front and do not pay with cash. Create a paper trail with receipts and signatures.
• Better yet, tell the contractor you would like to pay any bills to the sub-contractors directly. The last thing you need is for the contractor to tell you he paid them, when he just pocketed the money. (We lost $5000 this way)
• Please, please, please pull the proper permits. Don't be dishonest just to save a few bucks.
• If you are not happy with the way something looks, don't be afraid to speak up. Tell the contractor to fix it, and at no cost to you. Their mistake or poor work is not your fault.
• If your contractor doesn't show up one day and is full of excuses, fire him now! If you let it happen once, he will keep taking advantage of you.
• Oh, and if you smell alcohol on any one's breath, get rid of them.
• Lastly, ALWAYS have an exit strategy. Know if you are going to keep the home as a rental, flip it fast, or move into it. Before we got into rehabbing, we educated ourselves about cash flow, creative financing, the local real estate market, and more. We spent two years preparing before we bought the first home.
• Trust me, it is nothing to just jump into. Understand too that you might possibly fail. Failure is normal in this line of business and you might face foreclosure, or have to sell the home at a loss. Keep your chin up and realize that you only learn from your mistakes.All of the confessions above happened to us in one way or another. While I don't know if we will ever tackle another project, I still get the urge every time I see a beautiful home hidden by dirt and debris.

I will add

• When you get a property decide then what are your plans to rehab the house , dont ask the contractor. The contractors has a vested iterest to make a castle from a doghouse; after all he wants to make as much money as psosible.

• If possible, price the materials and go with the contractor to buy the materials.

• Price work of other contractors and compare their quality of work.

Residual Income Through Real Estate

Investment property is a good way to produce residual income through real estate. Rental income has two big advantages and these are actual flow of income and increase in property value. To utilize this method, you have to buy property with income. Here income means a positive flow of cash. You can find out the cash flow by checking out the five year bank records and expenses incurred by the owner of the property.

You should drop the deal if these records can't be provided easily. However if the owners do provide the record, you have to subtract the net expenses from the net income. This will enable you to discover the net operative income. You will know the cash flow if you subtract the debt service fees from this net operative income. A positive cash flow means that you make more residual income through real estate.After you find and buy the property you must look up the insurance aspect. The fine print of the insurance policy should be double checked to ensure there is adequate cover for common mishaps associated with tenancy.

A common mistake made by most land lords that they assume that they are covered. However many find out later that the cover is severely limited.Standard building insurance can have clauses that exclude accidental damage, damage by a tenant, cover for the loss of income and legal liability. However, these are the very reasons that you should make a claim. Therefore, you just check the insurance policy.Let us look at these clauses that are excluded in more detail. Accidental damage should cover damage to a property that has been brought about unintentionally. These could also be damages made by the actions of small children. However general wear and tear is always excluded from this clause.

Malicious damage by a tenant includes intentional damages that have been brought on the property, holes in the walls, doors that have been kicked and damaged floors and carpets. Legal liability should included expenses that are incurred for law suits. These law suits may arise due to a damage or loss of property or a bodily injury suffered by a tenant. Loss of rental income covers payment for losses that are incurred on malicious damages to the property. You must make the most of residual income through real estate by checking whether the loss of rental income is properly covered. Defaulting payments, absconding tenants, vacant possession failure, tenant's death are some of the reason which lead to loss of rental income.

If you are a land lord of a property and also live on it, then you must obtain insurance, a mortgage disability. This will improve the rate of your residual income through real estate.Rental income remains a great source to generate residual income through real estate.

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