All Forum Posts by: Lori N.

Hi all!

My tenant put up a satellite dish on the roof without my permission just DAYS after I had just put up a new roof on the property. Of course this had to be bolted into the roof so when he leaves and takes the dish there will be holes in the roof that I would have to repair. I have told him that he needs to take the dish down and will be responsible for any repair costs. I have found a contractor who can do the repair and the contractor wants to come see the roof tomorrow. The contractor does not have to enter the house, just inspect the roof. I have sent the tenant multiple emails three and four days before this inspection is to take place to notify him of the contractor coming but the tenant is not responding to the emails.  The tenant has been a pain to deal with on other issues and I'm pretty sure he does not want the inspection to happen as he knows he will be responsible for the repair. Although my property manager has given more than 24-hours notice, I have no proof that the tenant actually received the notice because he has not responded. The lease just says that the landlord has to give 24 hours notice, but does this mean that the tenant has to acknowledge receipt of the notice?  I know that the tenant does not have to give "permission" if I'm doing repairs but does he have to acknowledge that he received the notice?  And if he does have to acknowledge it but never dose, what is my recourse? 

Could the tenant say that I did not have the right to enter because he never read the email?

Thanks Richard, Wesley, and Sherman!  This tenant has definitely raised red flags.  Since I have your attention, can I get your advice on another issue with this same tenant?  The tenant put up a satellite dish on the roof without my permission just DAYS after I had just put up a new roof on the property.  Of course this had to be bolted into the roof so when he leaves and takes the dish there will be holes in the roof that I would have to repair.  I have told him that he needs to take the dish down and will be responsible for any repair costs.  I have found a contractor who can do the repair and the contractor wants to come see the roof tomorrow.  The contractor does not have to enter the house, just inspect the roof.  I have sent the tenant emails three and four days before this inspection is to take place to notify him of this but the tenant is not responding.  So, although I have given more than 24 hours notice, I have no proof that he actually received the notice.  The lease just says that the landlord has to give 24 hours notice, but does this mean that the tenant has to acknowledge receipt of the notice?

Thanks Steve! Here's the actual writing in the lease:  

“Landlord/Agent may enter the Premises after due written or oral notice (24 hours) to the Tenant and without Tenant objection in order to examine the same to make necessary repairs, decorations, alterations or improvements or to supply services during normal business ours…”

Should mention the property is in Maryland.

I have a townhouse I am renting. I gave my tenant almost a week’s notice to have someone come in and check the HVAC for maintainence for the upcoming winter season. This tenant is very hard to accommodate because of their work schedule and they always want to be home whenever anyone is doing work in the house so I have always tried to accommodate them. Sometimes this means going extended periods of time to get anything done. While I was at work today I realized that since the HVAC guy was going to be there this would be a good time for me to go by and winterize the pipes saving the tenant from having to make additional arrangements to their schedule for me to come by and do this on another day. Also I had to pay the HVAC guy. So while the HVAC guy was there I went in to the basement where he was working and in that same area checked the pipes. I then went around to the outside of the house and also checked the pipes. The entire time I was there the HVAC guy was there. I did not think this was a problem because the tenant had already given permission for the HVAC guy to be there. However, when I left, the tenant was upset because I had not notified him specifically that I was going to be there along with the HVAC person. He stated that this was a violation of his privacy and that I did not have permission to enter his home. I honestly did not think this was a problem because he did give permission for the HVAC guy to be there and because I am the landlord I would assume that any work I am having done to the house I would have the right to inspect and review. Otherwise the contractor could do a poor job or damage and I would have no way of knowing. I’ve looked online for laws regarding this but only see things about the landlord giving notice before entering-which I had. Any thoughts on this? Is the tenant just being a jerk? Or is there something to this?

Hi all. I'm going to be a first time investor/buyer in the northern VA or southern MD area. I would love to find a duplex or multifamily listing that would allow me to live in one side and rent the other, but not really seeing a lot for sale now in the area. Does it make sense to look into buying an empty lot and having one built? How does one go about doing that? Who are the builders? Does anyone have any experience with doing something like this in this area? Does anyone have any connections on people who do this? Contractors? Builders? etc?

Any input is appreciated.

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