All Forum Posts by: Henry T.

Here I am. No fun Henry :)    Actually eviction is illegal in Seattle during the winter months. Also illegal for the entire school year, if the tenant has kids in school.  This is the west coast mindset. From my perspective this is the end of mom and pop rentals. Only large corporations can withstand this kind of risk. I personally would have no problem evicting during the winter. A service is provided, you must pay for it, period. Start sending the proper notice allowed by law. Be firm and follow the law, don't let her fall further behind.  There's only one person that I would allow rent free, and that's my mom.

 You'd be amazed at what a toy truck can do. They don't care and they'll say its your fault putting their child in danger.

If the purpose is to avoid probate, then everything should be in the trust. Bank accounts, stocks, all assets. Anything that isn't will be pita for any heirs or trustee to deal with, which is why there is usually a backup will with any estate planning. Forget the LLC. My 2 cents.

Make sure you call an "eviction" attorney, not just any old attorney(big mistake). Call a bunch of them and ask them to take you thru their fee structure. Don't even think about trying this yourself.

It's a fair proposal, but I would have headed that off quickly and said no in the first place. They're nothing but problems. 

You could try something like this....

Dear Tenant,  Since we are now on month-month terms there will be an upcoming change to the lease. This property will be changing to a shared property. What that means is you can stay in your residence and I will be taking over the garage (the property will be split at x point??) for my personal use and upcoming reconstruction. Though a rent increase is over due, due to this change we are willing to leave the rental rate the same for the present time. Thank you for understanding, and we very much appreciate your tenancy.

For property security reasons, please send me a photo ID and your number, I'll be happy to call you and set up an appointment after I talk to you and go over a few pre-screen questions.

Ignore him.

My hats off to you for hanging in there at 74. Is Virginia a landlord friendly place? Seattle is very unfriendly, and I'm getting out. I'm too old to start in another more friendly state, so I'm cashing in my chips, one by one. I don't have the stomach for 81 pages of landlord/tenant law that favors only the tenant.  Funny, I used to enjoy it,  but now (in Seattle) I feel its a trap waiting to happen.  Unless you're handing down to family, maybe its a good time to sell. You might make more money in a good interest account or dividend paying stocks, without the hassles of tenants.  Property manager, I've considered it, but not there yet.  I'm still able to get to my other properties outside of Seattle for now.

I've considered this and it's difficult. Hoarding is a protected class because it is a disability.  Though I have not written it in to a lease(yet) I would at least have a clause that the unit maintain clear access thru the unit to windows, entry, etc.  A 3' wide continual walking space perhaps? Items cannot be stacked against wall prohibiting natural air flow to guard against mold, etc ??  Not to sound discriminating, but what kind of person hoards?  My best  success seems to come from tenants that go to a job where they work for a company. They don't have time to sit around wondering whether to keep those old boxes of used toilet paper rolls. (combustibles?).  Like Nathan says smartly, dont address hoarding specifically.  But cat pee soaking into the floor is damage, failure to clean up liquids or other gross things, I'd rather not go into.  Sheesh!. What a country!