All Forum Posts by: Adam Martin

I usually ignore traffic unless they are a pattern and driving without a license, no insurance, and no registration are signs that he has repeatedly made some mistakes and may be reckless however if these were old I may look past them.  With the current political climate people are getting pretty bold on what they post on Facebook, we'll call this a yellow flag.  How did his credit and income look, he is a carpenter and they tend to make good money but is it verifiable money or is he an under the table guy.  If he has solid pay history, good credit, and seems fairly normal I'd probably go for it.  If he doesn't check these boxes I would keep looking.  

I just like to keep everything simple with a text that says I went with another applicant.  The phrase anything you say and do can and will be used against you in a court of law applies so less is more.  

That is a pretty aggressive timeline.  I usually anticipate at least a couple weeks and don’t show until the unit is empty.  I can assure you if she doesn’t want you to show even if you get in it won’t show well.  What motivation does she have to ensure it is picked up and in good order.  She is most likely not happy you bought the place and are telling her she needs to go live somewhere more expensive than she most likely had it.  I would try to keep things professional and courteous so she hopefully leaves the place in good shape and in time.  If she doesn’t and you have tenants ready to move in you may find yourself in hot water.

It seems odd that no one has credit.  By no credit do you truly mean no credit or is it bad.  The only circumstance I see this as likely is if you are renting to college students which would be normal and you would just want to get their parents to co-sign assuming they have credit.  Just remember whatever your original standards were you picked them for a reason.  The only bigger killer to profit than an empty unit is an occupied one not paying and costing you money for an eviction and repairs.  Stick to your standards and if it has been on the market for a while consider adjusting your price, a quality applicant isn’t going to overpay since they have the pick of what’s on the market.

Should you be able to have your case heard by a jury of your peers-absolutely.  The issue is states somehow have the ability to be able to say in different events if they can or cannot be sued, guess where they usually side.  I know we all wish we could just state we can't be sued and it never make it to court but it is a luxury that only the Gov. gets to enjoy.  I do see this as a case that could be lobbied but it needs to be by a partnership of large corporations or reits that have the funding to fight it and a lot more money to loose through tens of thousands of units.  Just be thankful you didn't have commercial property in a place where peaceful people were allowed to blow off some steam and to be heard where somehow your building got burned without whatever special insurance covers riots at a place where the police won't go.  I doubt those cases will make it to court either but may stand a better chance due to deeper pockets.  

I haven't done it however I saw another post that on their lease instead of it defaulting to M2M it defaulted to another year which I thought was clever.  Rents aren't raising super fast where I am so I have thought for my next one I will try to put it in there that the lease extends another year or goes M2M for a 10% increase.  I am ok with collecting slightly less on my rent rolls in exchange for reducing turnover and keeping things simple.  I have a full time job, kids, and hobbies so while I am certainly in this for profit we all have limited time and money and sometimes we have to make a tradeoff.  If they were there for a few years I could always slip in an increase here and there upon renewal. 

I agree that this one isn't worth fighting, do you really want to be the martyr for us all fighting a bogus emotional support animal?  That will be very expensive and most likely not end in your favor.  I would just thank them for letting you know, vet through petscreening to ensure it is legit and go about your day.  This is certainly a rental you will want to keep at market rent at renewals, not for retaliation but to stay competitive of course.  I also question landlords that are not pet friendly for dogs.  I find houses rent for more and faster if you allow them and that is before the additional pet rent and deposit.  I actively seek out dog owners since they will usually pay more in base plus the additional 35/dog and a 600 refundable deposit to cover my losses.  Now cats are a hard no to me due to the odors they cause.  Almost every house I go into that has a cat I get the overpowering smell and know a cat is there however I may be biased since I am very allergic to them.  

I don’t know your location however where I am outside of negligence from an unsafe tree if one falls each neighbor is responsible for the part that is in their yard.  I would just buy a chainsaw and fire pit and chop it up this is too small for insurance unless there is damage.  Posting on this site I assume you own properties and a chainsaw is an investment you will use again with time.  

I would send a message letting them know that they have until Wed next week to contact you about payments and let them know that you are willing to work out a payment plan.  If they choose not to you will have no choice but to file a claim on both her and possibly her son as well for lost rent.  Ideally they will pay or at least settle but if not this seems like a fairly easy case to win and you aren't out much money trying.  If we would all do this instead of just walking away it would be easier to make a tenant selection and possible future landlords would be put on notice.  Also while you won't collect on all of them you are likely to have a judgement paid eventually.  If you don't file you will never see the money, if not you may but 2k seems like enough to get me motivated.  It wouldn't hurt to remind them how much more difficult this could make finding housing in the future once it shows on their report for a judgement for a landlord.  If you have the original application you may also be able to find where she works and garnish wages or file a lien on their house.  

I would assume the liability portion of his car insurance would pay since he hit it with his car.   This works out for you though since it looks like you may be getting a free door and window you planned on replacing anyway.