I just Purchased a duplex, canI witch collecting rent?

Question

I just bought a duplex, the previous owner way of collecting rent was in person. I want to collect it through Cozy am I allowed to switch the way  rent is collecting?

#2 if the previous owner has a month to month lease at what point can I Implement my own lease? This is in Minnesota!

Thank you in advance for your time!

Amber Gonion · Answer

I worked as a regional manager for a couple of the bigger companies in MN and while I don't recall a law prohibiting landlords accepting checks all the companies had a policy of allowing payment by mail.  I recall an attorney telling us that in court we would be seen as unreasonable and likely lose if we didn't accept mailed payments.

We haven't had it go to court, but we charge a fee for non-cozy payments.  We think that it is reasonable to charge extra for credit cards, so is the extra time to process mailed payments.  It is in our lease, be sure to check your current lease for payment methods.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

@Jarvis Naylor you normally can't change a legal contract. However, where they pay rent is completely adjustable based on the reality that you are a new owner. They obviously can't keep paying to the old Landlord so something has to change if they want to continue renting.

Just send them notice of where/how to pay. They'll adjust.

Evan Kraljic · Answer

To your first question, you can only change the way rent is collected if you discuss it with the current tenants and decide on something together, then write it into the current lease as an addendum and get all your signatures on it. I just had something similar where the landlord I purchased from was old school and had them drop off checks each month. I added in that rent could be paid by Cozy or check, one of the tenants just wrote out checks through the end of this lease with them post-dated for the first of each month, the other signed up on Cozy.

You need to give one full rental period plus one day notice to terminate a month to month lease. So assuming your rental period starts on the first day of each month, if you give them a notice that the lease is being terminated it would not end until the end of February. You should also check your lease to make sure the minimum required notice was not changed in there.

Also I recommend reading over the landlord tenant handbook, this is answered in there as well as many other questions you may have in the future.

https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Brochures/pubLandlordTenants.pdf

Landlord tenant law, too: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/504b

Jarvis Naylor · Answer

@Nathan G. Thanks! Hey your always a help I appreciate you answering so many of my questions.

Jarvis Naylor · Answer

@Evan Kraljica actually Bought the audio and the digital copy about a month ago! Best investment ever! Has a lot of great things for first time investors thanks again

Tim Swierczek · Answer

@Jarvis Naylor I also charge a fee for all not Cozy payments, and on all new leases, the tenants must agree to pay via cozy or the landlord's online payment service.  This is a condition of renting from us, and we disclose it before they apply.  I have never had one person even question it.  Frankly, my tenants love it.  We have also been successful in transitioning all new tenants to cozy when be buy a property with an existing lease.  The only issue I see is if the lease states the landlord will pick up the payment in person.  I did not see that in your post but that would cause an issue you would need to address.

Evan Kraljic · Answer

@Jarvis Naylor No problem man. Also one other thing that might be helpful for you. I am also just starting out in investing/landlording and thought Brandon Turner's book on managing rental properties was extremely helpful. He also includes a link to 33 different landlord forms that can be used for various situations that you can receive via email without purchasing the book. Here's the link, I plan on creating my own lease but the others serve as a good starting point for lease changes, move in/out checklists, etc.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/landlordbookbonus

Good luck Jarvis!

Jarvis Naylor · Answer

@Evan Kraljic I really appreciate the advice and knowledge I think you’ve answered my question and thanks for the link

I just Purchased a duplex, canI witch collecting rent?

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