This post is an update on my rental property in Philadelphia. In this section, I talk about my landlord experience – the good, the bad, and the ugly. All my posts that are related to the rental property can be found in the Rental Property section, including the bad tenant saga series).
In May, the house renovation was completed. I had ask my real estate agent, Earl to rent out the house. A few people called to inquire about the house for rent. He told me that the best applicant was the ex-cop. After waiting for two weeks, Earl told me that the applicant needed an answer and asked me to make a decision soon. The applicant had good income and had good references from previous landlords. I told Earl to fax the applicant’s credit history papers to me.
I looked at the applicant’s credit score and it was only mediocre. Earl told me to not focus on the credit score because most people in that area would not have a good credit score. Earl mentioned that he pay his credit cards and rent on time every month. The only problem was that he had outstanding balances on medical bills. Earl said that it was not uncommon for people to have problems with medical bills. The applicant had a sick kid and the hospitals/medical facilitates charged ridiculous prices.
Before my decision, I called two of my friends and asked them for advice. They agreed with the assessment that an applicant can have medical debt but can still be a good a tenant. I understood that health care in the U.S. is expensive and most people cannot afford to foot the bill, especially when the health insurance does not cover them. As long as the other indicators showed that the applicant was a good potential tenant, I tried to overlook the medical bills.
I gave it some thought and decided to rent the house to that applicant. Besides, I did not want to leave my house vacant for too long. I told Earl to proceed with the applicant. Earl had the applicant signed a one-year lease agreement, put in a two-month deposit, and pay the first month’s rent of $900. The first month’s rent money was collected by Earl as commissions for renting the house.
The house was rented for June 1 and applicant was expected to move in the house on the last weekend of May.
Read more:
Rental Property Update July 2009
Rental Property Update May 2009
This post is about my rental property in Philadelphia. In this post, I talk about my landlord experience – the good, the bad, and the ugly. All my posts that are related to the rental property can be found in the 
This post is about my rental property in Philadelphia. In this post, I talk about my landlord experience – the good, the bad, and the ugly. All my posts that are related to the rental property can be found in the 
Given the importance of the hearing, my attorney advised me to attend the hearing in case I would need to testify against my tenants. Since the hearing was at 8:45 AM, I booked the earliest bus trip from New York to Philadelphia at 5:35 AM on Greyhound’s website.
I had just missed the subway train and had to wait 20 minutes for the next one. It was already 5:15 AM when the next train arrived and I was pressed on time.
I arrived at the Port Authority Bus Terminal at 5:25 AM. The bus terminal was closed and did not open until 5:30 AM. When they opened the bus terminal doors, I ran to the gate number printed on the ticket, which was Gate #1. The whole area was empty, and there was no sign of a bus. I became worried and rushed to the Information Desk. The Information Desk was vacant and the Greyhound department was closed. I ran around like a chicken without a head, looking for help. The Information Desk guy was standing in a corner, he saw me and pointed me to the right direction. He told me to go Gate #69, and the time was 5:35 AM. I ran to Gate #69, I was one step too late when I got to the bus stop. The bus had already left.
I paced around the bus terminal and thought for a moment. I decided to take the next bus to Philadelphia at 7:00 AM, even though I would arrive late in Philadelphia, at 9:10 AM. I called my attorney and left her a voice mail that I had missed the 5:30 AM bus and would be taking the 7:00 AM bus. I would rather show up in court late than be absent.
I was glad that the court hearing was over. From the start of my day at 4 AM to the time I arrived back to New York at 2 PM, the whole process from end to end took 10 hours. Through the bad weather, ticket mess-ups, wrong directions, and long hours of waiting, things worked out at the end. It was definitely an experience that I never expected and having experienced it once was enough.
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