All Forum Posts by: Mike Franco

No matter who I hire to clean my rental, they always miss a few things here and there. And by the time new tenants move in, there's already a new layer of dust on everything.

For the most part, the rental is clean- 10x cleaner than when the previous tenant moved out. But it amazes me that new tenants can find things to complain about, and then dirty the place up the day after they move in.

Touch up paint always stands out against the old paint, and highlights the dirt trapped in the microscopic nooks and crannies of the paint. That's something else they complain about.
I always wash the walls with detergent. It removes most of the dirt, but it's not going to make the wall look brand new.

Some people think you can skip cleaning, and paint over all the dirt. That's how tenants F up your walls, leaving you to deal with the peeling paint.

In the end, I just take on a 'take it or leave it' attitude.
I hire a cleaner, and they never do a 100% job. They do an 85-90% job, but I'm not going to do the remaining 10% by myself. Take it or leave it.
And by the time all their furniture and decorations are put in, most of the stuff they complained about is hidden from view.

pushy applicant wanting to rent today?

hell no.

If they are consistently in jail for long periods, you're not going to get your rent.

If the place is in good condition, and if he actually hires someone to clean, that would work.

If the place is in bad condition, then you have little money left for either the termination fee or the actual deposit, whichever way you see it.

Whenever I see termination fees mentioned, they're usually equivalent to 2 months' rent, and the tenant is off the hook.
You're betting you can rent the place out in 1 month and make a 1 month profit.
However, it could backfire, and you may find it hard to rent in the middle of winter with a 3 month vacancy. Then you lose one month.

If you have the tenant pay until the next tenant moves in, you make zero profit guaranteed.

Only do big termination fees if your rental is in high demand all year round.

Sounds like double dipping. You could certainly do whatever you want though.

I want to be fair, and I'm more concerned with the tenant cooperating to show the house. Whatever the case is, the rule is that the tenant is on the hook for rent until a good replacement is found.

Tenant pays until the day the next tenant moves in, including turnover prep time.
If I found a tenant who was able to move in July 1, I would make the current tenant move out June 25 so I could prep. He would also pay rent through June 30.
Those 5 days would be considered his termination fee.

In this case, you lose no rent. Normally, at the end of a lease, you lose rent due to time spent cleaning and prepping. If you make the tenant pay for this downtime, it's win-win; he gets to leave early, and you lose no rent.

haha smoke damage.

Wrong kind of smoke, stupid.

If there's one thing to protect, it's her junk.
Rental insurance is actually cheap.

Sounds like she's trying to get reimbursement from the insurance company for some bogus reason.
I think all you have to do is tell the truth, that she trashed the place, and her claim might be denied.

property management doesn't care because you're the one paying.

They suck.

I think any home warranty customer will say it sucks in some way.
You really have to assess your property history and bet if anything is likely to break. In my rental, tenants manage to break things all the time.

Bottom line, usually home warranties are convenient. If you really want to win, price the warranty into your rent. It's $40 per month, and if you raise your rent by that amount, essentially the tenant is paying for the warranty.
If anything needs repair, with the $75 service fee, you still win.

Without warranty, Plumbing and hvac repairs usually cost $160-$$arm and $$leg.
In my own 20-year-old home, I do not have Home warranty, and recently had to pay out of pocket for a copper water supply line leak, where they had to cut open the wall. $800.
AHS would have covered it for $75.
However, in this case, with no warranty, I still win, because this $800 incident was the only one in the last 10 years. I saved $4000 in warranty premiums. But who knows, it could have been worse.

I've had good and bad experiences with american home shield in my 50-year-old rental, but mostly good/acceptable.
Recently, I got the a/c fan motor replaced. $75. Tub spout leak $75 (yeah, it sounds simple, but I thought it would be more serious, and I couldn't diagnose the problem myself).
Many years ago, I got a new oven and water heater from them.

The bad experiences- which I had to fight- and won 50/50.
One was a clogged kitchen sink. One stupid plumber wouldn't remove the p-trap to unclog it, being afraid it would break. I told AHS to send another guy out, and didn't have to pay the service fee again. 2nd guy unclogged it.
Original 50 year old toilet wouldn't flush well. Wouldn't cover toilet replacement because the plumber said it was from limescale deposits. Warranty fine print says "chemical deposits" void coverage. Since I'm handy, I bought a toilet from home depot and installed it myself.

@brian
that really sucks that they try to stiff you, but can't you be persistent? It's like getting rebates, you gotta be persistent. maybe threaten to sue

Wow. You have it easy in NC. That's certainly not the case for California, and OP needs to check how it's done in AZ.

Sheriff here doesn't do jack unless we get a judgment of possession, late in the eviction phase.

In los angeles, blockshopper.com is a fast way to find the owners' names

city-data.com also has some info.