All Forum Posts by: Amie D.

Yeah I am an out of town landlord. I luckily have another property manager in the Cincinnati area who is excellent, so there are good ones out there.

The saga continues. The PM replied to my initial messages and said he would look into it and get back to me today, and asked if I could scan the letter and send it to him. So I did that.

Later, he replied that he could pay it out of the tenant's deposit, and then said he also had $192 as a balance left of that deposit that he could put into my bank account this week. I replied I was confused, as I thought the deposit needed to be refunded to the tenants within 45-days of move-out, and they moved out August 1. He said they never provided him with a forwarding address and so that rule is nullified.

Ok, that part is true about if they don't provide a forwarding address. Still, that's not really an answer to this issue, plus it seems shady. For one, had they provided a forwarding address, I'd be paying this bill, but only because they happened to not leave one, it "works out." Second, why am I just finding out about the balance of the security deposit now? If this issue hadn't come up, would he just have pocketed the remainder for himself?

Also is that what happens with "unclaimed" security deposit, it just goes to the owner? It seems odd for a $1K deposit that they would not have tried to retrieve it, even though there were other damages.

I have had the worst luck with PMs in that town. @Chris Adams or anyone else, if you can recommend anyone good there to me, please let me know! Thanks!

Probably the closest I can find is this: http://commercialforeclosureblog.typepad.com/indiana_commercial_forecl/2008/10/indiana-delinquent-sewer-fee-liens.html

There is a bill to reverse the ability to put a lien on a house for a tenant's unpaid bills, but it was just introduced this year and I don't see action on it.

Ok, I just checked with my other property manager in KY, and they said also there the utility companies can hold the owners responsible for unpaid utilities in the same way.

They said they always check that the utilities are paid before the tenant moves out. It doesn't seem like an out of line expectation from my standpoint.

@Patrick L. it's just like anywhere else, screening tenants beforehand is the biggest factor. And researching where you buy. If you buy in an area flooded with undergrads who party.. that's what you are going to get.

That was my original question. Do property managers typically check if utilities are paid before sending deposits back, or no?

@Patrick L. If I end up having to pay it, fine, I'm not so much concerned about that as I am if the property manager was irresponsible in doing this, so that it doesn't happen again.

Bloomington is a great place for rentals, I own in an area more populated by community members and graduate students so I've had pretty good tenants, including a married PhD student/professor who stayed for 3+ years.

@Chris Adams sure it's in Bloomington.

I believe it is legal because the notice came directly from the City.

I would rather not pay these bills because that isn't standard in the area I am renting and it would probably add another 10% to my costs. It seems easy enough for a property manager to check the bill is paid before sending back the deposit, Indiana law clearly says the deposit can be used for "unpaid utilities", however I didn't know if it was standard practice for property managers to do this or not. It would seem like it is?

I'm going to check with my other property manager to see what they do about this, however they are located in a different state so it may not help much.

Hi all,

I received a notice from the City that the last tenant in one of my SFR's located in IN has not paid their last sewer bill and they have been unable to reach the tenant about this. I have 30 days to pay it else a lien will be put on the house.

I have a property manager managing this property. The tenant moved out in early August. Shouldn't the property manager check that all the final utility bills are paid before giving back a deposit? I believe in Indiana the deposits need to be returned within 45 days, which seems long enough to ensure the final utility bills are paid, unless there is some legal (or other) reason that would prevent property managers from knowing this information.

Thanks for any information on this!

She wants to do something ASAP as the occupants are moving out. I have heard of other lease purchases going similarly bad. I think she just wants done with it. I was possibly interested in it until I found out the numbers.