All Forum Posts by: Julie Hartman

@Cindy B. If your rental is in Denver, I would strongly encourage you to stop using Zillow to screen your applicants. The laws have changed and if you get a section 8 prospect (which you must accept), landlords are not permitted to do a credit check on them. Zillow and other large screeners are not able to piece-meal the background screening information to keep landlords in compliance. With that said, I agree with the others that if they don't want thier SSN collected, then I would send them down the road. 

@Alex Smith I would consult with an attorney before doing anything else. I don't know about CA but I believe each time you accept any amount of money you are essentially invalidating the notice and you have to start all over again. Your tenant isn't stupid, he knows this and he's been playing you. He knows how to buy himself more time. The attorney will tell you exactly what your next move should be. 

@Alexa S. I would keep trying to call the case manager for your tenant. It sounds like you have a trustworthy tenant so let's give her the benefit of the doubt. Was her registration something she would have mailed or emailed? Is there any type of paper trail to prove she returned it? It may have become lost in the mail (happens a lot now). We had a similar issue with DHA here in Colorado. It took them 4 months to change management status and they ended up having to pay 2 months back rent because they had missed payments. Keep trying or find a person up the food chain to talk to. Good luck!

@Jane S. Hopefully you sent them a formal notice of non-renewal instead of just an email notice. We send and post on the door a formal attorney notice which contains some "scary" language that tenants don't tend to ignore. If you haven't done that, I would do so as soon as possible and see if they acknowledge it. If not, then plan for and notify them of a quick visit to the property. We typically do a furnace filter change so we can get eyes on the property and make sure they are in the process of moving out. Perhaps you can speak with them during this visit and find out what their plans are. In these cases, hope is not a good enough plan. 

@Peter Sik I don't have enough information to answer all of your questions. If the property is in Alabama, I would imagine the judges are more landlord friendly there. If it's in CA, then you may have a more difficult time. The PM should be keeping you informed about the whole process. I would read the management agreement to see exactly who is responsible for what. I would have a conversation with your PM about what they have done so far and what the plan is now. Unfortunately, you may not see any money but it's worth trying. You don't need to go through the courts to send it to collections, as far as I know. The tenants probably won't pay an invoice but it's going through the motions so if you are in court, you can say you tried. The PM probably has a "pay by" date on their own form but generally it's anywhere from 7-14 days. If they don't pay, send it to collections and don't wait. Hopefully the PM sent the deposit disposition within the time permitted by law and included all documentation of what is owed and why. I would ask for copies of everything that was sent, for your own records. I would also find a new PM. Good luck!

Assuming the PM is accurate with their assessment of tenant responsibility, it may be worth going after them. If your PM knows where they moved to, have them send an itemized invoice and see if they pay it. They probably won't. You could also try your luck in small claims court. If you don't know where they are then you can try sending it to collections. A collection agent should be able to locate them and do all of the legwork. They will take a cut of what is recovered but something is better than nothing. If the tenants are employed, a judge may order a garnishment. We've had good luck with collections. Failing all of that, you may have to let it go. Good luck!

@Tina Lee Facebook is not a good place to find serious prospects. It's really not good for anything to be honest. Good sites are Zillow, Apartments.com, and Zumper to name a few.

Quote from @Jaganath Dabbi:

Julie - Thank you for the response. Adding more color, it can help others also. PLease read context below. I am incline to reject. Your final thoughts please. Thanks again.

Main renter - Divorced. Claims self-employed. No paystubs. 

1. 2 years tax returns: She claims she is in a commercial real estate partnership with her ex. Tax returns show all income from K-1. I do not have the K-1. 

2. Paystubs: She says she throws them away and dows not want to ask her ex- for paystubs

3. Bank Statements:  I have 6 months of statements. Each month except one, she has 24K deposit. Dont know the source. She has a money market account with the same bank worth 800K. Each month her payments are around 50K. So, way more than what she gets in. So, she is drawing down on the balance of her checking account. 

4. Background Check: Clean

5. Credit Score: Clean. Score is 750+

Co-Renter - Boyfriend. Ex-marine. works as a school teacher in MD. October paystub shows employment in MD. Paystub address is not his current address. His payments (monthly - mortgage and credit card) is more than his salary

Background Check: Clean

Credit Score: Clean. Score is 748

Given all of that, it's a judgement call for you. It's always concerning if someone is merely drawing on a savings account to pay rent especially since she is paying out more each month than what she is taking in. I would be equally concerned that the BF is also spending more than he makes.
If it were me, I would want to know what the debt is for; medical, student loans, alimony/child support payments, shopping sprees. I would want to know more about that before making a decision. However, since they both have clean backgrounds and excellent credit, it may be fine. Most people with good credit don't want to jeopardize it. Good luck!

@Jaganath Dabbi I would get both of them to complete the application and background check process. Typically, anyone over 18 is fair game for an application. The 3x rent-income is fairly standard so I would go with that if permitted by law. However, I would be concerned with their debt ratio and the fact they are pulling from savings. Are they both employed? If they are not employed and you don't have proof of solid income, I would pass on them. Did you do a full credit check on them? Something sounds off. 

This is silly. You gave them plenty of warning and opportunity to move the bed out of the way of the contractor and they didn't comply. They decided the risk was worth it and elected to do nothing. They probably figured once they mentioned a lawyer, you would fold and cut them a check for more than the bed is worth. We'll work off the assumption that you have all discussions in either email or text for proof. The onus is on the tenant here.