All Forum Posts by: Nancy Curran

I have an arrangement with a handyman. He is great, trustworthy, etc. My only advice is, at least at first, perhaps manage the calls yourself, then go dispatch the handyman. I just get a lot of "nonsense calls" that tenants should be able to manage themselves or, it's not an emergency. For instance, one tenant told me his toilet wouldn't flush. I asked him if he plunged it. He told me he didn't have a plunger. I told him to go out, get one, plunge it, and if it still doesn't work call me. The plunging worked. Another tenant told me his hot water didn't work. I asked him if he paid his gas bill. He said he shut off his gas to save money in the summer. He didn't understand the gas heated his water tank. It goes on and on...

I would say in the letter that it is estimated to be such and such. Itemized/final costs will be submitted to tenant upon completion/within 60 days, per your lease/local law, etc.

Why won't you have time for her to sign a lease

@Chris Eaker, no joke one of my landlord friends went to one of his properties and saw a bunch of ripe tomatoes, about 20 of them, so he took about 5. The tenant gardener took the tomatoes out of her rent check and the deduction was called "stolen property". She deducted $5. This tenant was a nut, but, honestly, my landlord friend is a nut, and they got in a big fight about the tomatoes. He felt it was his property (the yard) so that entitled him to take a couple tomatoes. Tenant saw things differently. 

How do you know his ex did it? 

The less amount of information you give the tenant, the better. Don't tell them what you are doing, offer the cash that you decide or evict. Contractors aren't that hard to line up. Tell them asap about the tenants so they can get their time filled with another job so they will come back to yours once the tenant leaves. And fire the PM who doesn't know the law and helped put you in this mess.

MYOB

Credit checks don't show personality disorders. I'd like to incorporate the Myers Briggs test in with the credit application. But all in all, if you do your due diligence, and a tenant turns out to be bad, I think it's just a bad accident, like a car accident. It happens. You can't control everything!

File a judgement. When they go to buy their house, or the next one, you will get your money back. Include court costs.

They are less work.