All Forum Posts by: Susan M.

My opinion on this has always been, you can try.  You can put it in your lease that it's required and you can verify it when they move in by making them show you a copy of the policy, but what prevents them from dropping it the day after they move in?  Are you going to make them send you a valid policy update monthly?  If not, then I don't see how this could ever work.

And if the purpose is to obviously avoid having to pay claims the tenant should be responsible for, if they didn't have insurance but you could produce a lease that says they agreed to carry it and in fact had it at one point then dropped it and that they were in violation of that lease clause, would that really help? Would a court find in your favor? I'm guessing it wouldn't.

Thank you everyone, NormaJean especially! 

Yes, each person I have rejected due to this has said "BUT it was DISMISSED".  They just don't seem to understand that I never asked if they were evicted, but if they were ever served an eviction notice, because to me that's all that matters.  That says to me that they were irresponsible or unwilling to work with the landlord to do the right thing and just move out when they couldn't pay the rent.  Instead they dragged their feet and MADE their landlord file eviction on them before doing anything, and these are not people I want to rent to, I don't care what the story is.

When researching applicants I review county court records.  I've recently had several applicants with eviction cases that were dismissed without prejudice.

Our policy is to not rent to anyone that has ever been served an eviction notice, and they are asked the question multiple times (most lie), so they get turned down anyway, but I really would like to know what this means exactly.  I've never been evicted nor have I ever had to evict anyone so I'm unfamiliar with the process.

At the very least, someone with this on their record was served an eviction notice, right?  Their landlord actually had to go to court and file an eviction against them?  That's the only part I really care about. My assumption is either they moved out before the eviction was finalized or they paid whatever money was due and the landlord dropped the eviction, would that be somewhat accurate explanation of how this "dismissed without prejudice" would appear on someone's record?

Did you screen the proposed roommate as you would any new tenant?  I hope so.

I would do a completely new lease where both parties are named, jointly and severally.  I would have both parties initial all pages and sign the new lease and any addendum.  Basically I would treat this as a new tenancy, although I would honor the original expiration of the original tenant's lease.

Are you charging extra for the roommate?  I'm always asked this.  I don't think it seems fair but I know a lot of people do it.

Are you web savvy at all?  Do you have a website?  You can very easily create your own application with your own specific details on it and upload it to your website for applicants to complete.  Tons of easy ways to create websites now, and I use FormAssembly.com for my online form needs.  If you're not into doing this yourself, I'm sorry but I don't have any suggestions.

So is she now unpaid for June AND July?? If not, how did she pay?

I would have a talk with someone at USAA before I did anything else.  Sometimes the tellers just aren't aware of the procedure for having tenants deposit cash into a landlord's account.  This happened to us at a local bank.  We had to talk to the manager who then had to explain it to her tellers.  I don't see why your tenant has to be a member to deposit cash into YOUR account.  Maybe that's just a mix-up and you can resolve the issues that way.

If it turns out that USAA absolutely will not allow her to deposit cash into your account there then I would just tell her that I'm sorry, but the policy has changed.  Maybe she just doesn't understand that the old account is no longer an option. She signed the new lease agreeing to the new policy (I hope you pointed out the new policy to her with the new lease) and she's just going to have to follow the new rules. I don't think "legally"  you have to do anything other than enforce your lease. You're in charge here, not her.  If she doesn't pay according to the new policy then she will be unpaid and you will have to file eviction. I would hope she wouldn't push it that far.

There are several really good online payment systems.  Is she computer literate?  Does she have a checking account or debit card?  If so, online payments are really easy and once you get her over her fear of change she might really appreciate online payments. I use Intuit Payment Network but there are several that are really good for collecting rent. It's all about selling it to your tenants as a benefit to them (which I truly believe it is).

I don't have any advice but I just wanted to say how sorry I am you are dealing with this, and thanks for sharing it with us.  It will serve as a reminder to never rent to an attorney, especially not one already convicted of a felony.

I hope your attorney is wrong that he will win his requests for relocating the trial and being granted a trial by jury.  Those requests seem ridiculous, but I wouldn't be surprised if it worked for him.

Please do follow up on this for us, and best of luck.  I am so disgusted by people like this, I hope you find a way out of this situation without losing your shirt or your sanity.

My issue with the 60 day notice is being on the receiving end of it.  Let me explain.

So many times, landlords here state that they will in no way hold a property for anyone for more than a few days.  Some people will hold a property for a week or two, but with a deposit or hold fee of some sort.  How do we, as landlords, expect not to have to hold a property for someone for more than a few days when at the same time we require our own tenants to provide 60 days notice?

So I have an applicant interested in my property and they are required to provide their landlord 60 days notice, so they're looking to rent my place 60 days (or so) from today.  They like my place, complete the process, I like them and.... what?  Make them pay rent at my place for the next 60 days while they are still paying rent to their current landlord?  Otherwise they wait until closer to the day they have to move (like a week) then start to look for a place?  And then I (as a landlord) wonder why they've waited so long to find a place?  Maybe it's a market thing, but that would never fly here.  I already hold most of my places for 30 days or so because that's the notice most landlords around here expect.  60 days would be a killer for me, so I don't require it of my tenants.

There are a lot of options for collecting rent electronically.  A quick search of this forum will find you several threads discussing pros/cons of the most popular ones.  I use Intuit Payment Network and really like it.

Do you really need a "property manager" if you're just trying to collect rent electronically and not take phone calls?  Seems like you'd be giving up profit to someone for not really doing much for you, especially if you're finding your own tenants.  Could you just instruct tenants to email you with issues, and pay rent electronically and save yourself management fees?

That's bothersome that it didn't show up in your reports.  I'd contact SmartMove about that.

But yeah, I always google people, before I schedule appointments usually.  One slipped through once and after her appointment I was thinking she seemed great, then Googled her and found out she embezzled money from the local society for the BLIND where she worked.  Yikes.  I told her that was why she was being denied and she told me that the case had been, uh, released or something like that.  I don't remember the term but basically she got a plea deal and it got expunged from her record. She didn't say she didn't do it, just that it didn't show on her criminal record anymore and didn't understand why I wouldn't rent to her.