All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Have you given his current landlord a call? Chances are if he's showing this kind of difficulty, he's given other landlords problems as well, I would check with his last couple of landlords and see what kind of tenant he's been. 

Hello Onyedika! Take a look at the lease that the tenant signed, is it between you and the tenant or the property management company and the tenant? If your name is on the lease, and you terminated your connection with the property management company, you, a new PM, or an attorney will be able to finish the eviction process on your behalf. 

Hello Cory! It all depends on what you put in your lease. It is typical for the landlord to provide lawn care and snow removal for a multi family because of this very problem, however occasionally you may find a tenant who would like to do the work in exchange for a discounted rental rate. Personally I choose to pay a professional to do lawn care + snow removal + semi-annual clean ups, as relying on a tenant for something other tenants are involved with can prove to be difficult.

Hi Thomas! It isn't typical to reimburse that cost due to your cost of running such a report.

Hey Lauren!

In my experience, tenants only change in a negative way if a major event happens in their life (lost job, death of a family member, etc..), or if something is dealt with unfairly regarding their home. In order to keep good tenants happy, I found a practice that I love! When it's time to renew their lease, ask them what small upgrade you could make to their home to increase their quality of living. It may be a new kitchen floor, repainting the living room, etc... Once you've done this and signed the renewal lease with them, not only did you increase the value of your investment, but the tenants have more of a long-term mindset as they feel more invested in the home. Overall, if you've found a good tenant, keep them as long as you're able to, and no need to worry about a sudden switch in behavior! 

Hi Megan!

Some awesome suggestions on here so far, my most used sections of the lease include the one that the Landlord may enter for any reason with an appropriate notice (here it's only 24 hour notice) and the one covering Renter's Insurance, detailing exactly what it will cover and releasing the Owner from any liability for the Tenant's and/or their guest's personal belongings. A no-smoking clause can be helpful as well as a neighbor/tenant dispute clause (saying that the Landlord will not get involved in any personal disputes among the tenants and/or the neighbors). I utilize a Damage Fee Schedule that I have tenants sign along with the lease before move in, assigning a specific cost to each commonly damaged item. For example, there are costs associated with wall damage, overgrown lawns, hard wood floor damage (both buff + coat and sand + coat), missing smoke detectors, etc. This helps when the tenant moves out if they are unhappy with the security deposit amount withheld, you can point them to this and remind them what they agreed on. 

Hey Matt!

Something I've found extremely effective is to pre-lease the property. I will typically market a home 90 days in advance using all possible sources and start showing the property in its current condition. In your description of the home you can put all of the improvements you are going to be making, and you can use representational photos as long as you label them as such. This method allows you to get a higher rental rate and alleviates the stress of vacancy.  Of course, if you hire a property management company to take care of this for you they often have tools and processes that are built for these situations. They will also help you avoid any legal issues that may arise with paperwork, tenant screening, and rent collection. Good luck and congratulations! 

Completely agree with @Colleen F., this is more of a lease issue. Ask for a copy of your lease if you don't have one already, read through it and check to see if AC is included in the lease at all. If it's mentioned in your lease, you have a much better chance of getting it repaired at his cost. Meanwhile, Amazon sells window AC units very inexpensively, so you could purchase one of those to use while you are without AC in the house.

Hey Andy!

Grand Rapids is an incredibly hot market right now, with no signs of slowing down. If you're interested in looking here, I have phenomenal real estate connections that I can easily set you up with. Feel free to message me if you want more details.

Hello Edward!

Not a silly question at all, that can be a tough call sometimes. What I suggest is shooting for a slightly higher number than you are comfortable with, put it on Hotpads, and any other sites you typically market on, and see what kind of response you get from it. If you aren't receiving any inquiries after about a week, re-post your listing at a slightly lower price and go from there. This can be a great way to feel out what renters are willing to pay.