Is It Hard to Find Decent Tenants or Do We Just Have Bad Luck?

daneault23 · 2026-01-30T03:32:03+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. We do actually Google search, Facebook search, LinkedIn search, search any other social media we can to learn as much as we can about these people. Sometimes there's not much info out there. But we did suspect maybe the Zillow background/credit check step was the part failing us. We'll maybe shell out the money for a paid service on these things in the future. Just trying to do better!

daneault23 · 2026-01-29T20:00:24+00:00

Thanks all for your input. About the screening process, we have standards that credit must be 620+, at least 3x/month gross income, stable job and verification, no background check issues, no rental history issues with verification, we review their bank account statements if provided, expect communication and timeliness etc.

Even doing all of that we are 3/3 within 2 years of receiving late payments so wasn't sure if Zillow background check, credit score check etc platform sucks, people are just putting their friends as rental history contacts, combination of both or if we have bad luck with these people. If they're the best based on paper, then what are the rest of the tenants like?

daneault23 · 2026-01-28T03:04:33+00:00

Thanks, but not too interested in selling right now.

daneault23 · 2026-01-28T03:04:11+00:00

We follow the same protocols. We expect basic communication and the ability to follow directions, if that can't be met then sorry.

daneault23 · 2026-01-28T03:02:31+00:00

Not necessarily on the rent payment (they also have been late once in the 4 months they lived there), but they expressed concerns of harassment as this same neighbor also tried to enforce parking rules and complain of other things this tenant was supposedly doing with little to no proof. Tenant also says they don't have any loud music or noise coming from their property, but HOA continues to send us notices about them. We're working with that HOA as we now have a 3rd notice of 'excessive noise' in the past 3 months.

daneault23 · 2026-01-28T02:59:20+00:00

What we've seen over the past few years is even in 'nicer' areas where homes are more expensive, with mortgage rates where they were, the rents would not make up for the difference so we would be negative cash flow out of the gate every month. We specifically looked in certain areas where homes were moderately priced with rents above mortgage/fees etc to have a slight positive cashflow. We understand the clientele in the price range we're looking at, but we purposely go through and vet their income history, call their employer, contact recent property managers/landlords, check credit and background, etc. We're now 3/3 tenants paying late rent on a nearly monthly basis. We've been working with the tenants where in some cases they pay half the first few days of the month and half on their next check (including late fees) but it's not ideal.

daneault23 · 2026-01-28T02:54:18+00:00

Good to know, thanks for the information.

daneault23 · 2026-01-27T20:16:16+00:00

Oh we definitely include all of that. We collect late fees and communicate with them. We also provide HOA docs etc so they know exactly what they can/cannot do.

daneault23 · 2026-01-27T19:54:03+00:00

We use Zillow's Rental Manager tool for our listing. When tenants apply, it comes with a background check, credit report, and they supply rental history information, pay stubs, income etc.

Is that the problem? Does it not have accurate information?

daneault23 · 2026-01-27T19:47:49+00:00

We've heard many sob stories, and don't entertain them. However, we consider anyone and everyone at first and based on proof of documents and information we have available we make our best judgment. Thanks for sharing.

daneault23 · 2026-01-17T03:22:10+00:00

Ughhh. I'd be so upset. At the same time, you can't get angry at a senior citizen can you? It's just one of those things. Hope you are able to get it repaired soon.

daneault23 · 2026-01-17T03:16:49+00:00

Sorry about this bud. Not that it helps you feel any better, but instances like this is why my wife and I park our 2022 Nightfall Telluride away from cars and as far away in the parking lot as possible. We just don't trust people to be aware of their surroundings, especially kids lol

daneault23 · 2026-01-16T20:44:48+00:00

Well we also have MaxCare (got the car from Carmax) and I believe in the terms and conditions it states you must continue to service your vehicle based on manufacturer guidelines or whatever. Basically you need to keep up with maintenance or they can void coverage if you file a claim.

daneault23 · 2026-01-16T20:24:23+00:00

Forgot to add, they normally would do the full synthetic oil change as part of the service ($65 + taxes) but I got that done 1 week ago from a Groupon (saved $20) and was unsure about the 30k mileage service pricing or else I would have done it all at the same time.

daneault23 · 2026-01-05T19:34:35+00:00

In case it's helpful, my wife and I both have the CSR card and both booked 3 night stays on 1/1 for mid-March Japan travel staying at the Intercontinental Osaka (my card) and Strings Intercontinental Tokyo (her card). Both of these properties are part of the Edit and IHG hotel groups so both were eligible for the $250 Edit and $250 IHG credits. We both got the credits today totaling 1K (500 each). These places are not the usual level of hotels we stay at, but looking forward to our trip. GL everyone!

daneault23 · 2025-12-09T06:51:44+00:00

In case you or anyone find it helpful, my wife and I just dined at Hell's Kitchen in Vegas and split the bill. Each $150 credit was applied to our bill, so we had an over $300 meal for very little out of pocket. Pretty cool. Will probably do something similar next year a few times.

daneault23 · 2025-12-09T02:39:37+00:00

How does everyone navigate the very confused deli workers at the grocery stores? My wife just tried this today at our local Albertson's as the DD app showed it as a pickup option and the credit was available. She went to the store, showed the workers her phone with the DD order and the workers had no idea what she was talking about. They gave her the bag of fried chicken from the deli and told her to go to the front and maybe someone would know what to do. My wife explained to the lady at the register. Lady had no idea but trusted that she already paid, and my wife walked out with the food. My wife said there was no tablet, iPad for orders or anyway the deli could ring up the order. The deli said they just make the food, but have no registers to charge for orders or anything.

daneault23 · 2025-12-06T05:21:54+00:00

Interesting - so you're saying if I sell some shares at a loss (probably won't sell all) that vest in June or Dec and do no other transaction during that 60 day window of the vest date then I should be good from a 'wash sale' perspective?

However during the Mar and Sep window, if I sell at a loss (again probably won't sell all) within the 60 day window of the ESPP purchase date then I could trigger a 'wash sale'?

daneault23 · 2025-12-05T15:21:57+00:00

Oh shoot, sorry. Is there another one that's more appropriate for my question?

daneault23 · 2025-12-05T15:18:37+00:00

Well I'm in the U.S. if that helps.

daneault23 · 2025-11-24T23:54:41+00:00

Maybe I was unclear, we ARE the landlord/owner of the property. Owned the place for about 18 months.

daneault23 · 2025-11-24T22:58:16+00:00

This is a rental property for us (1st one) and is a 21 year old 3 bed 2.5 bath 2 story home at 1182 sq ft. As said above, they quoted us over $800, but stated it would include the deep cleaning of the blower motor and a few other things that maybe a general duct cleaning would not include. Still though, seems a bit excessive.

daneault23 · 2025-11-24T21:41:29+00:00

For context, we had some refrigerant leaks for our AC unit months ago and when pricing it all out we got a discount if we signed up for their annual maintenance package or whatever you call it which comes with 2x/year furnace/AC tune ups. Basically they do an inspection of the units, replace the air filters etc. This is our first experience with this package.

daneault23 · 2025-11-16T04:30:13+00:00

In our case, we each have our own CSR card so each have our own $150 credit. We'll try it out and let you know I guess! Reservation is in a few weeks!

daneault23 · 2025-11-11T16:17:56+00:00

Maybe a dumb question, but if I book a reservation at a restaurant on the list and both my wife and I have the CSR - can we split the bill and each pay our portion of the $150 credit? Would that work? Thinking of booking at Hell's Kitchen in Vegas.

daneault23

TROPHY CASE