All Forum Posts by: Freeman Schultz

I have been using Flood Factor, however recently they changed the site to Risk Factor and have included other environmental reports.

However, they are now charging fees for services that were once free.

Are there any other alternatives to Flood Factor AKA Risk Factor?

Quote from @Theresa Harris:

I'd say no. They should have all of the their mail forwarded to their new address.  

Your other idea of asking the new tenant to put aside any mail that arrives for the previous tenant for a 4 week period could work assuming the old tenant knows you and the new tenant are not responsible for lost mail (and it is picked up once at the end of the month at which point all mail is forwarded by the old tenant to their new address), but I wouldn't let the old tenant have access to the new tenant's mailbox.

Thank you for your response. I do agree with you. The old tenant should not longer have access to the mailbox. In regards to the new tenant holding onto old mail, as long as the new tenant, my work colleague and the old tenant are on the same page, then it could work. But all three parties need to agree to those conditions.

Quote from @Richard F.:

Aloha,

Whenever a tenant gives notice of vacating, I always give them an email reminder that the Post Office requires a minimum of 10 days advance notice of their forwarding address. Once you move out, you are out. If I need to meet you there to provide access to check for mail it will cost you $45.

Thank you for your response. I like how you think. Put in penalties that encourage to encourage them to take measures that will save them money.

Quote from @Bill B.:

I love the idea of the held mail, that would be ideal. You don’t want to be responsible when that package finally says it showed up and you don’t have it. Has the package even shipped? We’re still 9 days from the end of the month. Either have them put the ne address on or ship it faster. 

Thank you for the response. Held mail is a great idea and it puts the responsibility on the vacating tenant. It also places the responsibility on the post office.

Quote from @Colleen F.:

@Freeman Schultz    I know the pain of the forwarded mail not arriving.   You can have the mail  held.  This is safer then forwarding, goes right to the post office with current address and stays there and you have to pick it up. Then there are no keys for the tenant to keep.  Not sure how long the mail can be held that could be the issue. He would have to check.

Thank you for your response. I never thought of that. In I am going to mention it to my work colleague. It should make everyone's lives easier. I do know this is a common practice when people who go on vacation.

Quote from @Nathan Gesner:

Quote from @Freeman Schultz:

A work colleague and I were discussing a tenant of theirs that is vacating the unit at the end of the month.

The tenant is expecting important mail from overseas that will arrive next month. The tenant is requesting access to the mailbox for at the first week of August.

My colleague needs to hear what their bosses say. My colleague and their tenant have a very good relationship and they are thinking of allowing access to the mailbox and the building which would consist of a two keys. One for the building and one for the mail box.

My take was that they should just have their mail forwarded. My colleague told me that the mail service in that area is horrible.What my colleague is thinking of doing is just holding onto their security deposit until they get keys back.

I said they should talk to the next tenant and ask them to hold onto to the mail. But on the last day of the lease, the vacating tenants needs to return all of the keys.

Tell them the mailbox is available for tenants. Once their lease terminates, all mail should be forwarded to their new address. You should not accept any mail on their behalf because it could expose you to liability. 

Thank you for the response. I completely agree with you. In fact that is what I told my work colleague. Everyone gave notice that unit will be vacated when the lease expires, which means the relationship between landlord and tenant has been severed. Giving them access to the mailbox after the lease has expired would not only expose everyone to liability but also inconvenience the new tenants.

Quote from @Adam Martin:

I usually have at least a minimum of 2 weeks between tenants while I get ready and market so it would be a non issue.  The tenant is going to be getting more mail than this and they really need to go ahead and forward their mail.  If I were the new tenant I wouldn't want to be sorting through your old mail and possibly looked at as responsible if anything went missing.  I wouldn't want someone else having keys to my mail and going through it because they didn't get their act together and forward their mail.  I don't think it is reasonable for you or your partner to intercept this and all other mail when there are official procedures in place when you move.  

Thank you for the response. Actually this is a task for my work colleague. I have no involvement. We were just spitballing ideas.
I do agree with you there are limits to the responsibilities of a property manager and the tenant needs to the initiative to take care of these issues when they are vacating the unit.

A work colleague and I were discussing a tenant of theirs that is vacating the unit at the end of the month.

The tenant is expecting important mail from overseas that will arrive next month. The tenant is requesting access to the mailbox for at the first week of August.

My colleague needs to hear what their bosses say. My colleague and their tenant have a very good relationship and they are thinking of allowing access to the mailbox and the building which would consist of a two keys. One for the building and one for the mail box.

My take was that they should just have their mail forwarded. My colleague told me that the mail service in that area is horrible.What my colleague is thinking of doing is just holding onto their security deposit until they get keys back.

I said they should talk to the next tenant and ask them to hold onto to the mail. But on the last day of the lease, the vacating tenants needs to return all of the keys.

Is it a common practice for banks or lenders requiring customers who take out mortgages to open checking accounts at their bank?

There is a bank that I heard about that requires their customers to open checking accounts if they get a mortgage at that bank. Instead of the customer sending a check every month, the banks wants to be able to get their payments automatically from the checking account. If the customer refuses, the bank charges the customer a higher rate on their mortgage.

Besides going to another bank or lender, is there a way to avoid that?

I am looking for an access control unit that can be installed in a multifamily building.

Other than requiring an external power supply, it does not need a cable, internet or phone line.

It would connect to the tenants via their smartphones.

The tenants would be able to grant or deny access through their smartphones via app.

Any suggestions would be welcome.