All Forum Posts by: Renee R.

So you think that even though she proceeded as the landlord directed her to and the roommate agreed?

Sorry this is long….

My daughter is having an issue with former roommates in an apartment in Massachusetts. I’m looking for advice on whether it’s worthwhile to pursue a small claims case.

Earlier this year, she was threatened and harassed by one of her two roommates. She felt unsafe and emailed the landlord about leaving before her lease was up. The lease does not allow for subletting, however the other roommate in the apartment is a subletter and the landlord is aware she is subletting.

My dau has an email from the landlord saying the original roommate could find a replacement for my dau and that he was fine with that. The roommate agreed in an email that she would find a replacement but, she was not taking any action to do so. My dau finally advertised the room on Craigslist and sent several responses to the roommate, who still did nothing (and became enraged that my dau had done that). The roommate waited until the term of my dau’s lease to advertise the room thereby assuring that my dau would have to pay out the remaining rent on her lease—just short of two thousand dollars, which for a student in the Boston area is a lot of money.

My dau has taken initial steps to take them to small claims court to recoup this money as well as utility and internet costs they owe her and fees for a bounced check from one of the roommates. My dau has all the emails from both the landlord and roommate that make it clear the roommate should be the one to find a replacement and that both the landlord and roommate were fine with that.

I don’t know much about small claims court, so am asking anyone experienced with this to provide any advice on whether my dau has a case or should chalk it up to experience. The two roommates have threatened to request compensation of $100 for time off from work if they have to go to court.

Thanks Everyone! This has been helpful.

I probably wasn't clear. The lease is a copy of the past landlord's lease that was previously signed by the tenant. I added a cover letter with a summary of the terms (with the payee and security deposit changes), which I asked him to sign and return to me. The summary included the late payments that are in the past landlord's lease. The tenant crossed that out on the cover letter and on the prior landlord's lease. If I'm understanding correctly he must abide by the terms of the past landlord's lease. He may not be a problem going forward, I was just caught off-guard and this is only my second property, so I'm still learning.

I just closed on a duplex that has tenants in both units. I sent them each a letter letting them know where to send the rent check, where their deposit will be held and the lease that reflects the same terms as the past landlord (as required by law). One of the tenants crossed out the references to late fees--like he's not going to pay them if he's late. He has paid one month's rent on time so far, so I don't know that lateness will be a problem, but where does this leave me if he is late, aside from sending him a pay or quit notice? His lease is up in April and he's not exactly a clean tenant, so I may only have to hold on until then. Any advice?

A friend who manages a multi family property in New Hampshire was recently told that in order to bring case against a tenant for nonpayment, he had to provide their date of birth; otherwise, the sheriff wouldn't serve the tenant. This seems to be a new policy. How do you go about getting a DOB? I thought you weren't allowed to ask for age or DOB.

I'm in the process of closing a deal on a duplex. The current landlord has annual auto-renewal in the lease with notice of termination by either party 30 days prior to the termination date. I'd like to get the tenants onto my lease at the earliest opportunity, but am unsure when that is. One of the leases reads: The terms of this lease shall be one year from May 1, 2011 to April 30, 2012. Does this mean that the current lease is effective through April 30, 2015 and that if I want to get them on my lease, I can do so by notifying them by March 30, 2015? Is that the earliest I can change them over?

Rentometer also doesn't take into account whether the utilities are paid by the tenant or landlord. I agree with others: check multiple sources.

Being new to REI, my 2014 goal was to learn all I could about buy and hold for cash flow, then look into buying a property in the fall. A deal came my way in April, so I jumped in sooner than expected. Working on my second deal and expect to close on a duplex at the end of October. I'll aim for another two next year.