All Forum Posts by: Kathy Brasby

We use Weebly for our property management site. We would like to put our application form on the Weebly site in a format that would allow applicants to fill out the form online. Have anyone used a plug-in or work-around for that? Thanks for any ideas.

We are property managers in Fort Morgan. The rental market here is hot.  People are desperate to find a place to rent, meaning we have low turnover on our rentals and usually have excellent applications for any new rentals before a unit even comes open.

It's a seller's market right now, making it more challenging to find new rentals. And, because it's a seller's market, several landlords have sold their rentals in the last year which has made the rental market even tighter. 

An example: we looked at a (supposed) three bedroom/1 bath SFR last week, priced at $60K. It had no furnace, foundation was shaky (cinder blocks stacked on old bricks, car jacks and poles in buckets of sand), the 220V for dryer and stove were apparently pig-tailed together. It needed a new roof at a cost of at least $12k, new siding, lots more issues. The third bedroom was really the landing upstairs. There were so many problems that we wondered if it was better as a scrape. Anyway, it was on the market about a day and under contract. There are a lot of houses similar, in bad need of rehab, that are being thrown on the market right now. It's challenging.

@Kate Stoltzfus We just did this last spring. We talked to our real estate agent and she was willing to do the deal for half her fee (2.5%) We might have been able to do better through a lawyer but we'd have had to do a lot more legwork. She met with the tenant, informed him he needed to get financing in place before she'd move forward, helped him get an inspection and appraisal done. She comped the house and did a lot of work knowing she wouldn't get paid if we didn't close. But the tenant was able, with her help, to get his part done. We were pleased with the entire deal. She held his feet to the fire a couple of times but everybody was happy in the end. 

@Bill S. Thank you. A little tough love is necessary in this business. We do property management and this particular landlord has a soft heart. He's resisted our efforts to tighten up collections. However, you've made very good points and we will be incorporating them. There's always something new to learn in this business. Thank you. 

The tenant is on a month to month lease so we could cancel the lease - and probably will.  We run the risk in that scenario that she just doesn’t pay her last month's rent.  I need to do more research into this portion of Colorado law. I appreciate all the advice, thanks. 

@Tracy Streich Thank you. That's exactly what I needed to know.

We have a tenant who consistently pays late in the month and has refused to pay the late fee. Our lease calls for a $50 late fee if rent is not paid by the 15th of the month (this per our lawyer's suggestion) and our tenant generally pays around the 22nd or 23rd. She owes $200 right now and we don't see her ever paying them. We'd like to evict her. Can we do so just on late fee nonpayment? We're in Colorado. Thank you for your input.

I've managed several rental properties over the years but have run into a new issue. A local company brings in employees from other areas and helps place them in housing. These employees are looking for inexpensive housing and willing to share a house with other employees that they don't know very well.

So far so good but the employee turnover is high. We finally went to a month to month lease and told tenants we would not renew their lease if they left the company. But what we are getting now is one roommate stays and another moves out after a month or two. We're constantly re-writing leases to include new and old roommates.  Do you think a room lease situation like is used for college students would work in this situation? That would allow a tenant to remain without having to sign new lease.  And might help guard against their tendency to try to sublet. 

The upside to continuing to rent to this company's employees is that the company will pay rent between tenants and help us secure tenants that pass our background checks (because of their hiring requirements)   They will also help us communicate with tenants and sometimes put pressure on them for rent payments.  They also pay damage deposit and first month's rent.

I'd appreciate any input since this is new for us.  Thank you. 

Kathy

We manage several rental units in our small town and were approached by our local meat packing plant a few months ago with an interesting proposal. They recruit legal immigrants to work in their plant and provide them with a housing allowance. They also help the new workers find housing. The packing plant pays the deposit and first month's rent on any units we can provide for workers. Because they also verify employment/pay scale plus run background and drug checks on their employees, that simplifies the process for us. And they promise to keep the units filled, which they do if a tenant moves out of the area. (And they have done so when we've needed them to, so that's not a problem.)

In many cases, we have multiple roommates sharing the rent but the lease seems mostly a suggestion to them. If one of the roommates doesn't like the job or the town, they just leave. Most of the time we have no forwarding address for them. We have made all the leases for the plant month-to-month. 

Today, I am meeting with a tenant who wants his girlfriend to move into the house after one of the other tenants moved out. Of course, I haven't been officially notified  of anyone moving out but he probably did. I think I'll just write a new lease (since the unit is month to month) and include the girlfriend (assuming she meets our criteria). I assume I need the OK from the other tenants who haven't moved out.

On Friday, I am meeting with a tenant from another packing plant unit. She is leaving the country for three months and wants to transfer the lease to her boyfriend and brother until she gets back. She signed a year's lease three months ago. (Before we started our month-to-month policy) Although I won't tell her this, I know I can't really do much about her breaking the lease if she chooses to leave the country. If I add the boyfriend and brother to the lease, can I charge a fee for the extra work of doing so? 

I would appreciate any ideas or suggestions regarding either of these situations and also if there are better ways to write these leases with revolving tenants. 

 There are some risks to this property, as you've pointed out and I appreciate the heads up. Thanks for input.