All Forum Posts by: Daryl Luc

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.  Threw it away.

Bogus emotional support animals are easy to remove on notice....the person, not the animal is the key.  They have to get a letter from a MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL, holding a current state license for your state, citing that they suffer from a diagnosed mental health issue contained within the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition).  The code(s) are usually included.  Only a licensed professional can do this legally.  Without that certification of the patient, it's a pet....and a breach

@RussB gave a concise reason for how the board + you can be all over this tenant about how his animal will be gone soon...as in at the end of your conversation with him. Bring the HOA president along and pay him a visit.

If you have meters per tenant unit.....then put language in your lease that mandates that the utilities are paid by the tenant and have to be switched within three days of move in, or preferably before.  It is their responsibility to contact each utility and set up.  There will be a deposit they have to put up possibly to each utility.  State that possibility in the same lease clause and explain that to them while they are a prospect all the time looking them in eyes.  All utility language in the lease should be margin initialed after you cover that set of clauses while explaining the lease during signature day.  This is an extra defense in the event that non-payment of utilities become a breach action (ie. eviction)

In my area, I have utilities that set up landlord accounts....which means I get copies of each month's bill per utility, per meter.  If a tenant is falling behind, that's a good indication they're creeping up on missing a rent payment. 

Without separate meters, no separate billing will be done for you and you're SOL.

FYI, a good lesson about contracts, which I gained over forty plus years of managing with them, writing them, administering them and all the etc. that goes with that.......follow the rule of three....1. tell them what you're going to tell them. 2. tell them.  3. tell them what you told them.

Originally posted by @John Teachout:

I use them if you're referring about the place in the Atlanta area. That's where I got my last couple jugs of Taurus. 

 Yep.  That's them.

I have a close friend that is a licensed real estate agent.  He accompanies me on every move out to document condition, including smells.  I prefer the tenant not be present, but I schedule the walk thru during a week day, normal hours and they are made aware and told that they can be present if they choose.  Rarely does anyone show.  Most janitor supply houses will have a 'barf spray' that was developed for hospitals.  It's Febreeze on steroids.

Burglary, criminal damaging to tenant owned property...it's the tenant who is to deal with the authorities.  Criminal damaging to your property, that's your responsibility to report.

Just curious, why is renter's insurance optional?  It should be mandatory, mentioned as such in the lease and within a specific time frame after the lease signing, a copy of the declarations page naming you/your company as other named insured should be sent to you.  This indemnifies you from hazards covered by their policy up to it's limits, doesn't cost anything, and only stays in effect for as long as they are a tenant.  If they cancel, you get a notice immediately directly from the insurance company.  I have this clause in every lease and, I also enforce the same language regarding auto policies. 

Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want...and my stance is based on experience.  I have had tenants drive their car into the house causing massive damage...ie: expensive.  If you are like me, you carry high deductible....which you will pay if they are uninsured, or you have to submit on your policy and let the carrier subrogate back to theirs, if they have any property damage liability coverage to go after.  And even then, it's 50/50 you will recover 100%.  Faster, cheaper and easier to force the insurance as part of the deal.

If you decide to go with the 'take it outside' approach (my recommendation also) don't do that in writing.  Then if it doesn't work out, either the other tenant will call the police (you aren't in any way liable then since there's no record of acquiescence) or you will have to invoke lease remedies to mitigate your other tenant.  You only want your fingerprints on things that keep you from trouble, not make you a party to it.

Since I ran out of Chlorodane (yep, had a gallon of the concentrate..lasted me 50 years!) my go to for bug stuff is Do-it-yourself Pest Control.  You have to connect with me to get the phone or web address since this forum blocks that stuff.  The owner is a chem-wizard.

Consider pulling any contract language in your lease that allows an automatic recast of the lease.  Consider adding language that identifies nuisance behaviors that are cause for declaring a breach.  If you wrote your own lease, or scraped one off the internet, get an attorney to review it, make recommendations or modify it directly so you have control over your property and your tenants.  There is no such thing as one size fits all in shoes or contracts.

Originally posted by @Michael King:

Interesting information here. I won't knowingly rent to a sex offender. Does that label me a bad person?

I get it that ignorance is not an excuse in legal matters. But how would a landlord be expected to know that the budding tenant is a convicted sex offender? I'm new to the landlord part of this, heck every part of real estate, but is there a way to determine a person's criminal history via the vetting available as a landlord? I get it that there are credit checks, calls to current and former landlords, calls to employers, etc...but calls to the courts?

Call the sheriff and give the SS, name and reason for the call and ask for a national check on the person, or.....A background check.  It will have a scope that either you define (jurisdictions, time range, etc) or it pre-defined for you depending on who is doing your checking.  Some are better than others, prices vary and so on.  I just several months ago felt ginchy about a prospect and ordered a check that went back 7 years and covered some jurisdictions not identified by the prospect on his application.  I hit.  Five years ago, two states away from any offered residence location, he was arrested more than once for Methamphetamine possession, Domestic violence twice, and Dui's....with jail time.  No keys for him.