All Forum Posts by: Julie Hartman

I think some of it depends on your market. Here, a longer contract prohibits rent increases and we've had rent consistently increasing for the past decade. Some of our owners like 2-3 year lease terms and others like 12 months so they can do rent bumps every year. With the eviction moratorium, we are encouraging our owners to do shorter terms until we get through this thing. Like @John Underwood said, if someone is well qualified and seems low risk for taking advantage, then a 24 month lease is a good move. 

We would all like to think we are the best at what we do and continue to give exemplary service to our clients. The reality is we all have areas where we can improve. Taking criticism isn't easy so I want to ask my fellow property managers, do you ask for feedback from your existing clients? If so, how do you go about it? I am thinking of creating a questionnaire to send to our clients, (possibly anonymous), about areas where we can improve our service to them. Good idea or not? 

She simply informs them at the time they come to view the property for the first time. So far none of them have balked at it and she has had many people in and out of her place. Yes, it's a bit inconvenient but it's for the tenants privacy as well. And people who rent by the bedroom tend to move around a lot, a PO Box is much easier than changing your address every 12-24 months. 

You should be able to contact the utilities and ask them for the monthly average at the property. Though they may not give you the information until you own it. Once things are set up in the tenants name, I would have set it up so you receive a duplicate copy of the bills each month, especially the water bill since they can put a lien on the property if they aren't paid. Once the tenant moves in, you can simply prorate the bills. 

I have a friend who house hacks and she requires her "tenants" to get PO Boxes. Her reasoning is that when they move and have their mail forwarded, some of hers will inevitably get sent along with it plus it's a privacy issue for everyone. She also has one of those pod style boxes and it's quite small, so any extra mail will overflow the box after 2 days. 

I will preface this by saying I am not an attorney: It may depend on the security deposit laws of your state but typically only the person on the lease can receive the deposit disposition/funds unless a legal waiver is provided. I would try to find out the forwarding address for the person listed on the lease and get a sign off from them. Can the current tenant provide anything in writing signed by both parties that they were taking over the lease and assuming responsibility for the property, etc? The previous landlord should have taken care of this situation when the other tenant moved out. A new lease agreement should have been signed with the current tenant. 

Is it a single family home? Is the property within an HOA? If so, you will need to get permission to alter the landscaping. If not, then replacing the grass with something zero maintenance is probably a good idea.

I would email and text them reminding about move out procedures and asking for their forwarding address for the deposit, etc. I would also remind them that someone else is schedule to move in on x date, assuming you have it re-rented already. If they are non-responsive, then it sounds like an eviction filing even if they say they are moving when clearly they seem to be hunkering down for the long haul. 

We let them know that holdover status incurs a 10% bump in rent unless we hear what their plans are. If communication is cut off, we start the eviction process immediately. 

A headache indeed. If the numbers work for what you want to do and IF you can get them out, it might be great. You will need to research the eviction moratorium and laws of your state to see what you'll be up against. If he has already filed for eviction and assuming his method and documentation were completed properly, it might take several weeks or months due to court backlogs. Other landlords have had varying degrees of success with cash for keys, so perhaps that is an option. Good luck!