All Forum Posts by: Jennifer A.

I just did this with a set of inherited tenants.  Right after closing I gave them notice that I was terminating their tenancy (according to the law in my state).  I've also mentally prepared myself for them not to move in the time I gave them.  I am prepared to file for eviction if they overstay.  I could have done cash for keys, but determined that wasn't the best plan of action with them as I knew they probably wouldn't abide by it and I just wanted them out. (chronic non-payers for the previous landlord).

Absolutely not.  Not only do I not want to maintain the mower (that they will inevitably not treat correctly), but I don't want the liability.  I'd rather mow it myself and charge them additional rent for lawn maintenance and snow removal.  I offer that as an option to all my tenants at the beginning of the tenancy.  If they choose the lower rent by doing it themselves, they get to buy the tools they need.

Look at Wisconsin 704.19 of the statutes.  It addresses the non-renewal of tenants.

I use erentpayment.com with my tenants.  Works great. Sends them a reminder each month before rent is due and keeps me updated.  I pay the $3 monthly transaction fee.  I figure it is for my convenience and these were clients who I migrated to electronic rents when they were already my tenants.

We are about to close on a duplex with rents which are under market.  Current tenants pay $750.  If we did nothing to the property we could rent it for $900.  If I did a bit of updating, I could rent the units for at least $950 per month (possibly $1,000+).  I'm sitting here debating between terminating one side (the side that is month to month) and updating it versus keeping the tenant and only collecting the $900.  I would need to update the bathrooms (they need it badly) and the carpeting.  Possibly appliances too.  I think it would cost me approximately $6,000 to do these updates.  What would you do?  The other side has a written lease that I will be honoring.

I do a lot by email. I prefer it. This way there is always a written trail of everything. Yes, never ever put in writing anything that you don't want read back in the snottiest tone possible in front of a judge. I'm just super careful about what I put in writing.

I would look at the condo association and determine how well it's funded and run. Realizing that these things can change with a change in board membership. Hopefully the condo association has a good reserve so that if there are major repairs needed, they will not have to issue a huge special assessment on each unit to recover the cost. Sometimes condo associations can be very poorly run. They are dependent upon their membership to run them and apathy can run rampant. Almost worse sometimes are the overly zealous condo board members who want to fine you for everything or micro manage your life.

For the most part, in my area, I've stayed away from condos. I don't like the thought of a condo association running my property (and some even prohibit rental and some pass that rule AFTER you've purchased your property). While there are many condo associations that are well run, always remember that this can change.

I get some of those comments. Mostly from family who just don't understand how it works. If they made those comments to my face, I'd explain how it works. But, they don't so I just ignore it.

CO detectors were not going off as it was not putting out any CO into the house yet. It was all vented outside and was dumping the CO outside the house. However, it could have led to CO being dumped into the house which would have set off the CO detectors. I just checked the CO detectors today and replaced batteries. The contractor also went through with his machine and confirmed there was no CO currently in the home.

As you point out also reaffirms the importance of CO detectors!

Today was our scheduled semi-annual inspections of all of our rental properties. During the winter months we hire a local heating contractor that we do our business with to inspect the furnace. Every year. And, in the summer they inspect the AC when we do our summer inspections.

We own one of rental properties with my in-laws. My father-in-law HATES that I would pay someone to inspect the furnaces. As far as he's concerned it is a waste of money. I do it to give me peace of mind and to try to prevent emergency services in the middle of the night.

Well, sure enough, on the rental property we own with my in-laws the heating contractor was testing the carbon monoxide and it registered at 4,000 ppm. Standard is that is should be below either 140 or 160 ppm (I can't remember which). He had just done my personal residence and it registered 17 ppm. While the carbon monoxide was not yet getting in the house, that was my fear. Apparently it can also cause the furnace to fail and soot to build in the vents (which would then have to be replaced). Fortunately no soot had begun to build. However, given the age of the furnace and the cost to repair the broken part, they strongly recommended a new furnace. Thank goodness we have a reserve fund with plenty of money to replace the furnace. The heating company boss (who got called down to our house by the contractor) deemed it so important to get replaced that he was pulling people from other jobs to get it done today.

Needless to say my father-in-law is now a believer in my inspections (we also found a moisture problem in the bathroom causing the paint on the ceiling to peel that had never been reported by the tenants and fire alarms that were not functioning properly) and I'm so glad that I have a reserve fund!!