All Forum Posts by: Mike Franco

next time you might want to call an applicant's 2ND to last landlord, not their current LL, and ask if they trashed the place.

On the bright side, at least they moved out. One day, you might encounter a deadbeat who will drag out the eviction process forever, and you will lose a ton of rent.

California is not very LL friendly when it comes to eviction expediency

You deserve some compensation from the tenant.

Here's a guide of what is not considered normal wear and tear...

https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/HSG-06-01GHBGUID.PDF

and crayon markings are one of them.

Multiple scuffs on every square foot high and low is also not normal wear and tear.

HOWEVER, local rules will dictate how often you need to repaint.

While paint is generally supposed to last 7-10 years, your local rules can cut that short, and you may not be able to prorate your repair cost.

I was looking into how easy it is to get an ESA letter online, and some places say the applicant needs to talk to a mental health professional before they will issue a letter.

Do they actually connect you with a licensed mental health professional who takes your history and truly assesses the mental illness, or is it all lies?

For $20, I'm going to guess that an applicant never speaks to anyone about jack.

if they just grant everyone an ESA letter without professional assessment, that's fraud, and we should report that garbage to the FTC or whatever government authority takes care of this crap.

nah. smart locks might sound techy, but it won't increase income.

keep it simple and low tech. You don't want to get service calls because the tech malfunctioned.

The only tech thing I would install is a programmable thermostat. The kind under $30.

Get a SMART KEY lock though. This is not for the tenant, it's for you to allow fast rekey when tenants move out.

paint, flooring, kitchen.

mid 90s- i'd assume not much else work is needed. You probably have oak cabinets which you can leave as is or paint.

california government website has a summary, but nothing has officially passed yet, so no sense worrying about it right now.

there's nothing we can do.

You have 2 issues here. Pick your poison. Either results in the departure of one of the tenants.

Tenants have a right to quiet enjoyment, and as soon as the downstairs tenant complains for breach of contract, you will be forced to remedy the situation with the potential for lost rent.

or you can kick out the upstairs tenant, and you still have lost rent.

Having an ESA doesn't mean they can ignore the terms of the lease contract.

You should disclose the possible noise issue to your prospective tenant. Some might be ok with it, or not.

it sounds like if it passes, it will affect you. 1482 affects all rental properties. There are exceptions though, proposed under section 1946.2 which may exempt SFR owners.

What isn't clear to me is the distinction between eviction for just cause and just ending the tenancy for no reason. Under current law, you could give a month to month tenant a 30-60 day notice simply because they complain too much or  you just don't like them.

If that is still allowed under 1482, you could give them a 60 day notice, then rerent at market rate.

I hope 1482 does not mean we will be stuck with a problematic tenant.

Worst case, you state your intent to move in, give tenant $800 for moving expenses as proposed by 1482, and then woops, rerent shortly after.

This stupid bill is another good reason to never let your lease lapse into month-to-month after the lease term ends, where it becomes a lease for "term not specified".

I always have fixed term lease contracts with specific end dates. I renew leases by the year, and never do month to month. When the end of fixed term arrives, if I don't like the tenant, they're out, and I rerent at market rate.

maybe it's time to consider fixed term leases instead of "term not specified".

crappy snake oil plumber. Keep calling plumbers on yelp and angies list until you find a plumber willing to use the least invasive method, with the right tools.

I had a plumbing issue just this past weekend, a tub clog, and one plumber was a snake oil plumber telling me "honestly, you'll probably have to dig under the concrete slab and cut out the p-trap, which means we'll have to totally demolish your bathroom, remove the tub, jackhammer the floor"

I was thinking WTF are you talking about?

A second plumber came out and got to snaking right away, and if that didn't work, maybe hydrojetting would help? I dunno. But he busted the clot.

he said the tub drain connects to the toilet drain, which connects to the main house drain out to the sewer. And each of these pipes has a bigger diameter than the one before it.

So if your toilet is clogged, does your tub back up as well?

It's not only reasonable. It's legal, and expected.

she can't just quit without being responsible for damages. 

You charge her for every day your house is vacant, plus back rent. You have 21 days to hold onto her security deposit and deduct whatever is necessary. Make sure you give her some kind of security deposit itemization before the 21 day deadline, or else you may be on the hook for penalties for not following protocol. 

If you haven't found a replacement tenant, you can withhold the whole deposit, stated on the itemization as a good faith estimate of damages.

Hopefully you collected enough security.

You have a duty to diligently find a tenant (called mitigating damages), and she has a duty to pay rent until you find that replacement tenant. That means most of her security deposit will most likely be spent by the time you find your next tenant, and she won't be getting a security deposit refund. Hopefully she didn't damage the house too badly, otherwise you would go after her in small claims court. Hopefully she has assets you can lien. 

Ideally, you want to find someone who is ready to move in, who has already given their 30 day notice. If it takes longer than 30 days to fill the vacancy, you're probably not gonna be able to collect any extra money out of your tenant besides the whole security deposit.

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