[Jonathan Forisha]

You’re right, this weekend looks positively frigid in Denver!

In places like Colorado, where buildings are made to withstand the cold, there usually isn’t a huge risk of interior pipes freezing – but if that’s an issue at your rental, hopefully you already know it! Older buildings, or anywhere that you’ve had a lot of renovations or not properly winterized, can lead to problems.

Always a good idea to alert your tenants with a quick message (text, email, TurboTenant message – take your pick!) and let them know things will be really cold this weekend. I advise them to be on the lookout for ice, and to let me know if water stops flowing out of the taps or they have any HVAC issues. I also keep a few space heaters on hand, and maintain a good relationship with my HVAC guy, if anyone does have furnace troubles.

The biggest issue can be if you didn’t blow out your sprinklers, or if you didn’t do a good enough job of getting all the water out. In that case, these 0-degree temps can burst a pipe and you may not even know about it until you try to flip those sprinklers back on in the spring (which might have happened to me a few years ago).

[Jonathan Forisha]

That’s a great idea, Dave! We’ll look into adding some poll functionality in the next few weeks.

Let us know what else you’d like to see us add here!

[Jonathan Forisha]

Hi Raveendra – glad to meet you, and congrats on your first deal!

Any surprises along the way to closing on your duplexes?

[Jonathan Forisha]

Good to see you, Dave! Thanks for joining the forum, I’m sure others will benefit from your experience.

Wow that sounds awful! So sorry to hear that happened.

[Jonathan Forisha]

Hi Robert!

It’s smart to think about tackling the LLC formation at this point, well ahead of when you plan to start renting out the property.

We’ve written a few articles about LLCs for landlords, and this one’s a great starting point: https://testwpstaging.turbotenant.com/blog/llc-for-property-rentals-protect-your-bottom-line/

Hopefully that helps you out!

testwpstaging.turbotenant.com

LLC for Property Rentals: Protect Your Bottom Line

A Limited Liability Company (LLC) can protect a landlord's personal assets, increase your business credibility, and unlock tax benefits.

[Jonathan Forisha]

Welcome, Marc! Have you been running rentals in Independence for long?

I’m in Denver, and this market is definitely still hot for rentals. Cooling off a bit now that the holidays are upon us, and it does appear that rents have started to level out with more inventory coming online.

[Jonathan Forisha]

Welcome, Jesse!

How did you come to invest on the opposite coast? Seems like you have a good system in place, with that many rentals in Pittsburgh.

[Jonathan Forisha]

Hi Melinda – welcome to the forum!

Sounds like you and Julio have a pretty good setup. Have you found your market to be a good one for mobile homes?

[Jonathan Forisha]

Some say screening is the most important part! Doesn’t matter if you’ve got the prettiest rental in your market if you move in terrible tenants.

So to make sure you get the best tenants, you want to establish a really clear list of rental criteria. What’s your minimum acceptable credit score? Will you allow smoking indoors, or pets? Minimum monthly income?

You can also do additional things, like check out applicants’ social profiles or speak to their past landlords, but make sure that you’re doing those things for every applicant. This is the stage where it’s most likely that you’ll discriminate, even if you don’t do it consciously, so we recommend setting your criteria and then moving in the first applicant that checks all your boxes.

If you have two or more applicants who meet all your criteria then 1) congrats! and 2) we still recommend to move in the first one who came in. That’s the best way to completely avoid any possibility of discrimination. You’re not looking for a new best friend, you’re looking for a tenant who will pay on time and keep your property in good shape.

Screening reports are one of TurboTenant’s core features, and we use TransUnion data to show you credit score, eviction history, and criminal history (where allowed).

We recently made a webinar that talks more about screening: https://testwpstaging.turbotenant.com/education/webinars/tenant-screening-in-2024/

testwpstaging.turbotenant.com

Tenant Screening in 2024

Finding a great tenant is a science. This webinar breaks down the best practices landlords should use to find tenants who pay rent on time.

[Jonathan Forisha]

@park-blvdcomcast-net The event is right here in this forum! Jesse is going through and answering questions about mid-term rentals. Post your question here to get rolling!

[Jonathan Forisha]

@kenmar777gmail-com This is a forum-based event! Post your questions about mid-term rentals here and Jesse will be in later today to answer everything.

[Jonathan Forisha]

Glad you’re here, Joyce! Any landlord topics in particular you’re interested in?

Yep, that’s pretty much where I’m at – providing the equipment just feels like taking on too much risk! Thanks for the perspective, good to hear from an insurance-minded investor.

[Jonathan Forisha]

Thanks for joining us, Taisha!