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Tenant Insurance
2008-06-07 01:23:00
How important is it really, to make the tenant to have insurance coverage? I have read it everywhere that you should, but you can still be sued(not sure of the spelling here)good to have an umbrella policy. My inheritated tenants has in their lease that they musst have it but none of them do.I read somewhere, and my ins. agent suggested that the policy reads that the landlord is named as the insured(ins. Co. will let you know if they cancel it)all other legal terms like tenent releases LL of any damages etc.
More About: Insurance

being a nice landlord came back to hurt me
2008-06-06 23:57:00
I rented a nice little one bedroom house near the zoo to a couple who were living in a motel and needed a place desperatly. I had other very good applicants, but I wanted to rent to the ones who needed the help the most. Besides they are married, college educated and have no children and are in their middle 30's. Seemed like a low risk choice. Any way they have had spurts where they paid late or got behind over the last two years. I let them pay late a few times and accepted partial payments and pay me with checks from Sacred heart church or the Salvation army a few times.Finally this year they got over 2 months behind on the rent so I evicted them, and won in court.They appealed the judges decision. They articulated their position very very intelligently.Their position is that the lease is unenforcable because I broke the lease by establishing a pattern of letting them pay late and accepting partial payment.What a bunch of crap. I'm still waiting on the judges decision. I hope ...
More About: Hurt , Back , Nice

Evicted 3 years ago
2008-06-06 23:24:00
Can a landlord sue a tenant after an eviction took place 3 years ago?
More About: Years

sign a new lease?
2008-06-06 23:21:00
I have a rental home that I originally rented with a year lease agreement. My tenant is a nice person and pays the monthly rent on time. The second year I made her re-sign another lease like the original one, the third I forgot. Now I am in the fourth year and I am wondering if I made a mistake. Should I ask her to sign a contract every year? What kind of document should I use for a continuation of the lease? Thank you.
More About: Sign , Lease

Tenant requests rent reduction
2008-06-06 19:22:00
Tenants (husband & Wife) occupaying 3bedroom home in HOA community have a 1yr lease. wife's dad has moved in and has been taking care of the backyard landscaping and front lawn. I had a gardener for a short time to get the lawn in good shape. do not have gardener any longer.Tenants writes me now and ask if I would reduce her rent because her dad is keeping up the lawn.the lease agreement states: tenant shall maintain the garden, landscaping, trees and shrubs.. good try - however, they should be maintaining the grounds not the dad. what are your comments.thanks
More About: Rent , Requests , Reduction

where can I get....
2008-06-06 16:27:00
Where can I get a coupon code for the membership? I would love to sign up.

Security Deposit and Damages
2008-06-06 01:43:00
Here is the situation. About 2 months ago, we were notified by one of our tenants that the other had fallen asleep with a cigarette and there were 2 large burns in the carpet (about an inch long each). YIKES! Please note, they signed a lease that they are occupying a non-smoking unit. We hired someone to patch these spots. We then told the tenants the $65 it cost would be taken off their deposit, reminded them it was non-smoking and asked them to refrain from anymore smoking in the duplex. The end of their lease was May 31st. We did a walk through at that time and found 3 more cigarette burns in the same room. We told them that we would get it repaired and take that out of their deposit as well. One of the tenants became very angry that we repaired the first ones and didn't wait until the end to do it all at once. He was very confrontational. He then wanted my husband, Scott, to write down what he was going to be charged for and to sign it. So, Scott, wrote down on a pie...
More About: Security , Damages

Lien Threat
2008-06-06 00:55:00
I hired Rick to do a cement job on my backyard, and I paid him with my personal check as evidence of payment. Out of nowhere, the Cement company called me a few times and demanded me to pay for the cement that I had no business with. Because Rick didn't pay for the cement yet, and the company personel kept on calling me and said that I am responsible to pay for Rick's order since Rick is working for me and had threaten to put a LIEN on my property. Rick is the person who deals with that cement company. I had no idea what was going on with them. Thanks for your inputs
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Late fee plus $5 per day rent is late?
2008-06-05 21:35:00
I am thinking of instituting a policy for late rent of $30 plus an additional $5 each day the rent is late. Is this okay to do or do I need to decide on one or the other i.e. $30 late fee OR $5 per day, but not both?
More About: Late , Rent

Landlord Never Refunded My Deposit
2008-06-05 20:54:00
I rented a house for 2.5 years, and moved to a different area of the state. He said he was going to charge me for carpet cleaning, an outside lightbulb that was burnt out (that was 15 ft up the house which i had no way to replace anyay), and some other petty deductions. I gave him a forwarding address, and it has been more than 30 days now. I have not received a check. If I need to make a claim against him, would it require me to go back to that city (4 hours away) to appear in court - or is there another way I can press him to get at least the portion of the deposit back that I am warranted? Thanks!!

You might get a kick out of this...
2008-06-05 20:44:00
So I'm working on this beach cottage rental for my mother this week. Tenants are showing up on Saturday. Last week I ordered a new mini stove and had the electrician out to install new heaters and run new lines, including one for the new stove. Fast forward to yesterday. The electrical work was supposedly all done and the stove was being delivered. They haul the stove all the way up the staircase to the cottage, level it and everything. They go to plug it in and find out that the plug doesn't fit. The electrician installed a dryer plug instead of a stove plug!I call up the service all pissed off and am told that they don't do emergency calls. I reply, it's not an emergency call, it's a come fix your f-up call. They come down after a few hours and replace it with the correct plug. Their excuse: The boxes that the plugs in look similar. My reply: The boxes have big letters on the front that spell words that tell you what is inside. I said that just because there are...
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You are not going to believe this.
2008-06-05 20:25:00
History:Tenants have been taken to court for eviction.Agreement was made that all monies would be paid by June 1st.Agreement was not upheld by tenant and they were notified that the Sherriff will be there to remove them and their things on Wed.Tuesday EveningI put an ad on Craigslist stating that the home will be available for a walk through on Saturday. Someone that was interested in the property drove by (at night) and stopped their car in front of the property. He asked the people sitting in lawn chairs if he had the address correct. They said yes, they were being evicted and then asked him for a donation to help them pay for the rent so that they could stay. They were outside because the electric had been shut off for non-payment and the house was hot.Tuesday NightNeighbors call me to ask me if I knew that my tenants were moving. I said yes why do they ask? They stated that they didnt start to remove any their item until after 9pm and initially they thought the house was being ...

Personal Items left in property
2008-06-05 19:50:00
Tenant's lease ended 4/30/08 but they still have furniture and personal items in the property. Tenants left town before lease end and I later found out that they had arrest warrants for drug posession/distribution. I had contact with one of the two a few weeks back and he said he would pick up his things. In the meantime he was arrested and put in jail and won't be sentenced for another month. Am I required to keep his things until he gets out and comes and gets them? If so, for how long? I have tenants moving in and am not confident that if I hire someone to remove the items I will see any of the money from him as he also owes $2,500 in back rent, fees, etc.I seem to recall people in jail having more "rights" then the rest of us.Any advice would be much appreciated.
More About: Personal , Property , Left , Items

Raising Rent
2008-06-05 18:11:00
Is there a Lease / Landlord Law about raising the rent. Is there a percentage that can be raised on renewal ,or if they are month to month ???? Thank you , Michael J. Porter
More About: Rent

30 days notice but leaving in 2 weeks Pt 2
2008-06-05 07:08:00
Thanks to all who provided me with their expertise on the first post of this subject. To give you all a recap here is a summary:-Tenant gives 30day notice of moving on June 2nd-Spent all of June's rent for other new place $995-Idiot Landlord (me) did not collect last month rent at beginning of lease-$700 for deposit was collected-Tenant did a very good job at landscaping (best on block)-Tenant painted every room different color (looks good except for 2 rooms that came out too dark)I have decided not to take my chances TRYING to collect any unpaid rent in small claims. Also, I want this done with as soon as possible to get the next tenant in soon. So, I have come up with the following solution:-I keep the $700 deposit-Have tenant leave landscaping how it is without any reimbursement-Tenant paints the 2 dark colored rooms to a lighter neutral color and touch up the rest-Tenant responsible for any repairs and cleaning needed-Tenant to move out by this weekendWhat piece of paper work...
More About: Days , Notice , Leaving , Weeks

Diary
2008-06-05 06:45:00
What method do you use as a diary for your rentals?(I went to an apartment association meeting and they had a team of lawyers answer questions and the one big suggestion they made was to keep a diary of every interaction between LL and Occupant)
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98 Pro LL ballot measure fails
2008-06-05 06:39:00
California almost passed a ballot measure to limit eminent domain and to permanently decontrol apartment units from rent control upon vacancy.AARP used false information and scare tactics by announcing that seniors would get evicted if the measure would pass.
More About: Ballot

Support
2008-06-05 03:37:00
Thanx to any and all who read and responded to my query. Even to those opinionated individuals who decided to give their 2 cents where it was not necassary, i thank you as well. It just made me further empathize with the homeless plight in these here united states of ours. my ll was an angel sent to me, since this is an ll forum, how many of you would do the same? I'm so glad i didn't reveal anything personal about myself, to be further scrutinized. Good people...Business is business and BS is BS, and a man down stays down when you keep kicking him. i'm sure i struck a nerve with somebody, since i'm the deadbeat tenant but i'll end by saying; the next person who needs an angel..i'll be there
More About: Support

Tenant paying late but within grace period
2008-06-05 03:04:00
I have a tenant that continues to pay the rent between the 1st and the 4th every month. The late fee is due after the 4th and she has paid it each time it went past. I know it seems petty but this is the only tenant I have that abuses the grace period. Any suggestions to this this tenant a couple of days eairlier? Tks,Ol'Ford
More About: Grace , Late , Period

deposit
2008-06-05 02:39:00
When a tenant breaks a lease, can the landlord keep the deposit? The deposit is less than the monthly rent. Thank you

No Lease agreement---
2008-06-05 01:15:00
I was just wondering,I live in a awesome condo and my land lord is great. Even though my room mates and I saw the lease agreement, we did not sign it. We did fill out a application and a condo association paper but no lease. So if we wanted could we leave by just giving a notice or do we still have to stick to the contract even though it was only agreed verbally? I am not moving out, I am just curious.
More About: Lease , Agreement

Screening Questions for past tenant
2008-06-04 23:45:00
I am getting calls from a government agency to screen one of my past tenants for employment. I have answered the typical screening questions:- Did said person rent from you?- Dates of rental?- Any lease violations?- Did they pay their rent?- Would you rent to them again?The tenant still owes me $450 and since the tenant didn't have me down as a previous landlord (I wonder why) they are asking to see the lease and other supporting documentation. I don't have a problem providing it to them, but I suspect that my tenant may have a problem with it if they are denied employment. What are my obligations in this case?
More About: Questions , Past , Screening

My Craigslist Posting
2008-06-04 22:00:00
I recently got a response from my craigslist posting as follows:You are crazy to ask for all that information. No one in their right mind would hand over that information to anyone much less you. I worked in the apartment rental business for 4 years and I also know that new york state does not require you as a land lord to gather that kind of personal information. The information he was referencing was the following statement:IF YOU COME TO VIEW THE APARTMENT, PLEASE BRING THE FOLLOWING: DRIVER'S LICENSE TWO (2) CURRENT PAYCHECK STUBS PREVIOUS W-2 OR TAX RETURN IF THE PAYCHECK STUBS TO NOT ADEQUATELY PROVE INCOME TWO (2) OTHER FORMS OF ID Also, be prepared to list the names, occupations, phone number, and address of at least three (3) business or personal references you have known at least a year and the name, address, and phone number of your current and previous landlords.I just thought it was pretty funny. I referenced The LPA website and told him to come check it out in my res...
More About: Craigslist

definition of normal wear and tear?
2008-06-04 20:33:00
My landlord is notorious for finding ways to keep the security deposits. I am worried that she will try to keep mine. The only damage to the place is that a mini blind needs to be replaced and the door is missing a piece of wood off the pane. I am having the rugs professionally cleaned as stated in the lease. I was wondering what ya'll definition of normal wear and tear is. Should I take pictures of the place the day I move out? Will it do any good?
More About: Tear , Definition , Wear , Normal

Security deposits
2008-06-04 20:16:00
My tenant just moved out. The carpets are stained, every wall needs painting from scratches and marks, bathroom floors stained, gas cooktop pieces ruined, microwave handle broken, yard not maintained, etc. I could just go on and on. What I need to know is how do you figure normal wear and tear vs. abuse neglect and what about replacement costs?Thanks for any insight!
More About: Security

Tenant not paying the rent
2008-06-04 19:17:00
My tenant knows that I am selling my house and I have signed the contact. He stop paying me rent. Should I just sit until the house is sold? Any adice would be greatly appreciated.
More About: Rent

Can I charge for heavy use of AC?
2008-06-04 18:39:00
I own a townhome and rent out the top floor. All utilities are included in the rent. The lease I use stipulates that tenants will be charged for electricy bills that significantly exceed the normal rate due to unusual use of an air conditioner or other electrical appliance. The pre-summer weather has been mild thus far in Baltimore, with 1-2 muggy afternoons/evenings. For the most part temps are in the high 60s to 80s. The tenants have been running the two window AC units (I provide) 24 hours a day since last Friday. This is going to dramatically affect my electricity bills. How can I ask them to pay an extra fee for heavy usage? I've never been in this situation before and don't know of an official lease addendum about charging extra payment for AC. Thank you for any assistance.
More About: Charge , Heavy

Tenant refuses to pay last month's rent
2008-06-04 17:52:00
I own a 2-family house and rent out one apt. The tenant has refused to pay his last month's rent and insists I use the security deposit, which I don't want to do because I believe he has damaged the apartment. I would be grateful for guidance on what steps I can take quickly to convince him to pay his rent, and what sources of information are available for problems like this.
More About: Rent

Make Ready article comment
2008-06-04 02:54:00
I'm sure we all have procedures for our make readys. Or do you? Each year we have what we call locally as "turnover season" (Which runs May 27 - June 1 because of the college student market here), we all get better.One huge suggestion I have is not just to write down what you found unclean or damaged in a move out - carry a digital camera. Renters are getting savvier about arguing for their deposit back. Time stamped digital photos go further with a judge if it comes to that. I also use my digital camera to document preexisting condition prior to a new tenant move in. This is so I can compare, for example, the size and number of stains on a carpet from year to year and tenant to tenant. I take photos before and after steam cleaning.Now if only I can figure out how much to charge for a cigarette burn on a carept . . . - per burn.
More About: Article , Make , Comment , Ready

Free Gardening Tips EBook
2008-06-04 02:02:00
Hello John and all the crew here at the agency. Just dropping by to give everyone a heads up on a pretty darn good free offer if you are into gardening and so forth, this guy Mike goes by the name Good Ole Dirt Farmer and he is indeed a pretty sharp operator in the garden, not to mention he gives away the farm. Check him out if you have a moment: http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=7903 03
More About: Gardening , Tips , Free , Ebook