All Forum Posts by: Daryl Luc

I counsel clients and also take my own advice.....CHECK ONLY.  Let me explain.  Without current bank account information, you could be left out in the cold should you need to attach a bank account for money owed.  All of the services mentioned do not give you any assistance in that situation!  Anyone without a bank account (checking) is an iffy prospect anyway.

Hope for the best, plan for the worst.

I like vinyl plank over all other surfaces.  Cost effective.  Multiple pattern/styles.  Damn near indestructible.  Waterproof seams. Individual planks can be replaced.  I can lay it myself with a good pair of shears and knee pads.  I even now put it over good hardwood floors to protect them for when I go to sell the property.  They come up without damage.

Ask yourself what you are willing to do if he stops paying, because he just told you in so many words that's what is going to happen, and sooner than later.  Going forward, you should have a lease that requires everyone living in the property to sign the lease when they are 18 yo or older.  I can tell you that this is my wife, but without proof, she may not be.  Wham, you just got snookered for the rent, since anyone not on the lease but living in the property is a squatter.  Different rules legally.  That said, you need to have a heart to heart with her immediately so you know where you stand.

Financial benefits and corporate veil of an LLC exist no matter where it is registered.

Brian Ellis nailed it.  By Halloween, people don't want to do anything that gets in the way of the holidays, unless they're in a 'situation'.  Since most leases have a month to month clause (for reasons I can't grasp for the life of me).   Most prospects you'll evaluate when looking at the window between November and the end of Feb. are in a situation of having to leave or self evict. Got kids, they're in school, why are they being moved? There are a few job transfers and others out there, but they are few and far between; mainly the best tenant profiles don't move around during that period.  They target March thru September.  No one in their right mind wants to move in the snow and freezing unless they have to.

What she said^^^^  However: if there's a substantial damages situation, then once you have the judgement, file it as a lien against the individual(s).  It will be seen every time they apply for a loan, a bank account, a card, insurance, whatever.  And let them know that the only way to make that disappear is to pay off the judgement.  It's never failed me.  I let them know what I'm going to do before I do it, to give them a chance to avoid the whole mess.  Alas, they wait until I'm proven right.

This is the sort of thing that should be discussed over the phone with a lawyer in your state.  In my state, just about every suggestion above will get you into a very expensive legal situation.  Termination 'fees' are generally limited to what you have in hand...especially without proof of extensive property damage done by the tenant forcing you to keep the property off the market while you spend time and money to make it market ready.  The cost of getting a judgement will most likely be as follows: You'll give your attorney somewhere between $750 and $1500 retainer (if they even take the charge, it will probably cost more ).  Time will pass before you get in front of a judge.  The questions will track along some line as to what have you done during the months since the tenant has moved out..specifically to get the property relisted and rented...what fees and expenses have you incurred...where are your receipts, etc, etc.  The judge will reprimand you if you haven't done any effort to re-rent regardless of condition.  The premise here is that you are running a business and if you don't do every effort to keep occupancy at near maximum 100%, then you are responsible for your own financial damages, not someone else.  You won't enjoy the outcome and it will cost you to go through this.....providing you can even find the ex-tenant when they leave.  Jurisdictions matter.

If the deposit is equivalent to one months rent, then it's yours.  I'm not aware of any state that has an ordinance on the books that makes a security deposit equal to one month's rent returnable if the property has been off the market for one month.  Possession is implied upon lease signature (if vacant) and acceptance..not when keys are handed over.  Going forward, have your lease looked at by a competent attorney for recommendations that tighten up your contractual relationships.  Two sayings that completely encapsulate being a landlord; 'hope for the best and plan for the worst'.  For those who ride motorcycles, that is stated somewhat differently, but the point is clear;  'dress for the slide, not the ride'.  Good luck.

I give them a choice and it's stated within the lease...they will maintain the property and I list what that entails.  Also a simple clause that prohibits any in ground planting without written permission from the landlord.  I will have the grass cut for them if it's determined before the lease is signed that they want me to be responsible...I then invoke that within the lease at an exorbitant rate that covers my time and expenses plus profit, regardless whether I do it or hire out.  Choices work in your favor since one way or another they will have to pay whether they do it, hire out or default to you.

For more than one of our properties, there is a local ordinance requiring the grass to be no higher than a certain amount, leaves have to be at the curb by two specific dates for city pickup, no snow on sidewalks, etc.  These ordinance based items carry municipal penalties to the property owner....A landlord induced penalty for a municipal penalty is also outlined in a simple lease clause.  Same sort of thing with utilities that are billed to the landlord if the tenant goes into arrears.  Penalty added and full amount demanded immediately.  Humans by very nature are pain avoiders.

Two on target responses above.  What I can add: I give three days from the day of move in to return a multi-page completed form which I supply with the tenant lease copy that allows the tenant to itemize by room anything they want to note about the condition.  If they want to provide photos or a video that can establish what they note, that must accompany the return of the report.  (reason for them providing media proof and not me...I had a tenant try and submit my photos in court as evidence of the move out condition...my four year old photos from the listing!)  When they call me to tell me the form is completed, I set a time to come and walk through to decide together what will be done to correct, if anything.  Correction/fixes are noted on the form and initialed and dated when done.  It is noted within the lease that that form is an attachment and if it is not submitted or is submitted outside the agreed to time frame, then the home is determined to be in reasonably perfect condition upon move in. (that gets initialed!)