All Forum Posts by: Dana R.

I'm assuming you can negotiate with independent flooring companies while you can't negotiate with the big box retailers. How much leeway can you get with those small stores, something like 5-10%?

 Are you haggling with them on price or getting a special discount based on volume or something? When dealing with these small independent shops, you're able to negotiate a better price whereas you can't do that with HD or Lowe's?

My issue with the salespeople even at the specialist flooring places is sometimes I think they tell you what you want to hear. Or, they will deny well known issues by claiming they've never heard of anybody complaining about that issue. I know vinyl planks are ideal for basements because there's no sunlight and you need to worry about too much light affecting vinyl planks. Yet, when I ask about that, they all claim it won't be an issue. 

I'm a big fan of Scott McGillvray and I know he's a fan of Kardean vinyl plank flooring. 

Only small independent flooring companies seem to carry it, and it certainly did look pretty good. But, it was also super expensive- you could buy real hardwood at those prices.

But, hardwood will get scratched and dented while these Kardean should be much more durable. 

Anybody ever bought Kardean and were they worth the price? Am I getting ripped off if I'm buying vinyl planks that will cost just as much as if I got hardwood. Did you find a way or place to buy them and installed more cheaply? The way those flooring stores operates seems so inefficient where they don't put the prices on the products and so you have to ask the price of each item anytime you're interested in something.

I know Home Depot sells a similar product with their Allure line, but I'm trying to position my place as a nicer rental so I don't know if Allure would be too cheap for the place. Plus, I wouldn't be able to DIY so that would add to the cost of installing Allure.

How much does it cost for a Home Depot or Lowe's to re-key your lock?

Both options are a bit far and inconvenient so I want to know how much I'll save doing that vs going to a near by locksmith.

And, if re-keying is fairly inexpensive and fast, then why don't more landlords re-key their locks instead of using something like Kwikset SmartKey Locks which are notoriously easy to break into?

Tenant always pays on time, but when the lease ends I want him out ASAP. 

But, what can you do to get rid of the tenant if he claims retalaition? Under the presumption of retalaition, the courts will presume that the landlord is illegally evicting a tenant if the landlord evicts, doesn't renew lease, or raises rent 6 months after a tenant exercises his rights.

There was an incidence that would be in the 6 month timeline before the lease ends where something broke and the tenant didn't contact me through the proper channels as laid out under the lease and then hired somebody to fix it the next day before I had a chance to fix it. Most reasonable people would see it was a annoyance, but not necessarily a habitability issue. 

How seriously would the courts examine the tenant's claim? How legitimate does the tenant's complaint need to be to get protection from retalaition?

In this case, would the courts say that because the tenant didn't give me enough, really any, time to fix it, the tenant can't claim the right to deduct and therefore can't claim retaliation?

Or, would the courts say its just enough that the tenant made the claim in the first case, regardless of how legitimate their claim is because the tenant doesn't know any better; ie in good faith?

Has anybody ever here ever had to deal with a tenant who tried to use a tactic like retalaition?

 Why hardwood and not laminate?

Are there any rules regarding the length of how long or how short a fixed lease can be with a tenant?

As long as the lease has a definite date for the beginning and end of the lease, will it be regarded as fixed lease regardless of how short it is?

Or, is there a minimum number of days it has to meet to be a fixed lease? I've always heard about a year long fixed lease but nothing shorter than that.

When my tenant's one year lease ends, I will be out and so I would like to extend the lease for two weeks until I will be back. But, if I let the lease simply roll over, then I'm afraid that it would make it a month to month tenancy and then I'd have to give him a 60 day termination notice even though I want him out as soon as possible.

So, I need to know if there would be any issues if I got the tenant to sign a new lease that's only two weeks long with defined dates.

Because he was on a new short lease after this one year lease expires, then I don't need to give him that 60 day notice?

The original lease would have ended in the middle of a month and the new two week lease would have extended the tenancy to the end of the month.

With the two different leases, the original year long lease and the two week long lease, should I insist that I get two separate payments for each lease? 

Or, will there be any problems if the tenant pays a single check for that month?

Right now, I have a direct deposit with the tenant. But, if the tenant pays the full month's rent even though the year long lease would end in the middle of the month, could the tenant claim I had accepted payment and it was thus a month to month even if he signed the new two week fixed lease?

With this tenant, I think its better that I eat the loss of the two weeks and not give him an extension. 

I don't know if I can turn it over to a realtor or PM while I'm gone because this tenant has a slew of tricks and its obvious this isn't his first time at the rodeo...  Instead, I think I'd need a really experienced eviction lawyer to deal with this tenant. 

To cover all my bases, should I give him simultaneously both a written notice that I will not be renewing the lease as well as 30 or 60 day notice to terminate lease so that he has to move out when the lease ends?

And, what if the tenant doesn't move out when the lease ends even though I gave him notice that I did not renew the lease? If he's staying after that fixed term lease ends, doesn't it become a month to month lease?

You'll have to re-paint it sooner than 10-15 years so I wouldn't worry about choosing a paint that will not dated in 10-15 years.

To me, white is neutral but also so institutional-like and a paint with more color in it will make it feel more like a home for the tenant. 

I'd go with porcelain tiles which are a bit more expensive but also more durable.

My tenant is lawyered up so I need to make sure there's no tricks or traps the tenant can pull when I do not renew his lease.

The tenant signed a one year lease where it stated it would end on a specific date. What kind of notice do I need to give him then?

But, things get trickier here: 

Their lease ends when I will be out of the country and so it would be better if I let them stay for another two weeks after the year lease ends when I get back even though I want them out as soon as possible. 

But, what kind of notice would I need to give them then if I let them stay for another two weeks? My concern is that if I let them stay two more weeks after that year lease ends, does it become a month to month lease even though its only supposed to be for just two weeks?

If I let them stay for 2 more weeks after the year lease notice ends, what kind of notice would I need to give them? Would I have to give them a 60 day notice?

If I need to give them a 60 day notice, when can I give it them? Can I give it them exactly 60 days before the year lease and those extra two weeks ends- ie. 46 days before that year end expires. 

Or, can I only give them a 60 day notice after the year lease ends and they begin the two week lease?