All Forum Posts by: Julie Marquez

@Account Closed Flushable wipes are the worst! We even say not to flush them in a part of the agreement. Thanks for commenting on the hours part. It was a shy 2 hrs from a guy we always use

@Mary M. Totally agree with you about that

@Sam Leon Thanks for the comments, I ended up charging them for half of the bill

@Pat L. That sounds like a smart solution!

@Corby Goade Here's what our agreement says: PLUMBING: Resident shall be responsible for all costs related to any repair or maintenance of any plumbing stoppage or slow-down caused by Resident, whether accidental or purposeful. Resident agrees not to place into any drain lines of the Premises any non-approved substances, such as cooking grease, sanitary napkins, diapers, children’s toys or other similar object that may cause a stoppage. Resident shall notify Landlord of any plumbing leak or slow drainage within twenty-four (24) hours. Landlord shall use reasonable efforts to remedy the plumbing problem. Resident shall only use a plunger to attempt to fix a slow or stopped drain, and shall not pour chemical or other drain cleaners into any stopped or slow drains. Resident shall also be responsible for any plumbing system freeze-ups occasioned by Resident’s negligence.

@Kyle J. After writing this I immediately went to my lease and it says something similar to yours. There are no trees near the apartment, so this is more of a tenant responsibility.

@Kenneth Garrett I might have paid for this first one, but this tenant just brought on a bunch of new roommates (legally), so I'm having her pay half.

@Devin E. Cement down the drain is pretty intense. That's great that you were able to show them the issue and charge them!

@Devon Craychee I just ended up writing it out in a spreadsheet. My bank has a nice PDF form to follow that I could send to you

@Shawn York I don't know much about the order to suspend all foreclosures and evictions, but can I still legally give my M2M tenant just cause notice to move? (I know you aren't the lawyer here.....) Or like, if my tenant is doing illegal things on my property, can I evict them for that? Do you have a link to better information on that order?

I just paid $320 + tax for a plumber to spend 2 hours to clean out a kitchen clog at a tenant's apartment. The clog was like 5' deep and evening causing backup to the vacant unit on the other side.

Do you, landlord or PM, usually pass this bill along to the tenants?

@Monica Johnson Thanks for the good suggestions for this situation! I was wondering what to do and what would be reasonable when tenants are unable to pay rent for April. This is a true customer service business and I love all your suggestions!

@Lazaro Smith about 130,000 people currently live in Skagit County and more people are moving from Seattle, and elsewhere, to this less expensive market every day.

@Account Closed I know of a Merritt guy, he's around 20 now and I always thought that was a "neat" name too. Wanted to name my son that. My dad is William and Bill is a solid, traditional name.

When I go see my tenants I like to drive my beat up Camry and wear the clothes with the most paint stains on them. Everyone thinks I'm working hard when they see dirty work clothes.

When I'm meeting with retail buyers and seller, I drive my Lexus and put in some earrings.

When I go to the gym, I wear my workout clothes. When I go to bed, I wear my pajamas.

I think there is a certain uniform required for different situations. When you want to sell and make an impression, looking the part will help. 

There are some gray areas. Maybe for the banker you've never met you dress to impress, but after they realize your net worth and work ethic, you can go in with your automotive clothes. Why not use clothing as a tool to help you get the job done. It's not the only tool, but it's one that you have control over.

There is more to image than what you wear, like how you smile and how you look at people in the eye when you greet them. And to second what @Scott Trench said "But, I place tremendous value on my "image" - I carefully construct what I write, how I talk in board meetings, how I craft feedback to our team, how I present the business operating results to stakeholders, how I help others on the podcast, in videos, and how I write in these forums."