All Forum Posts by: Kathy Johnson

Did you fill out a move-in condition report?  The best thing to do is to compare that to the condition on move out.  Make sure you take all of your belongings out of the rental on move-out so you don't get charges for disposal or storage.  Many times tenants forget about items in drawers or cupboards or garages.  Don't leave any items or trash bags at the rental when you go.  Wear and tear isn't deductible from the deposit but dirt/filth/damage is.

Make sure it isn't a skunk under the duplex.  This time of year all the critters are looking for shelter out of the weather.

Also request the move-in checklist (if they did one) for the tenants so you have evidence about any damage.

Since the carpet was installed during the tenancy, if they damaged the new carpet, you should be able to bill them for that.

If it looks like deliberate damage, you can report it as vandalism to the police department.

If you are thinking of renting to him, be sure and check the court records to verify his story.  Some people get quite creative with trying to cover up their background or to minimize their crimes.

If you have access to an inexpensive used stove, put that in until the eviction is done.  You want something working in there so the judge doesn't see you as the problem, but you don't want to put something nice in there for the current tenant to catch on fire.  Document everything though.  If the current tenant had a grease fire then bill him for the replacement stove.  You know he won't pay, but just document everything so court can go well for you.

How is the door broken?  If it looks like abuse (fist hole for example) then you fix and bill the tenant.  Definitely fix the door though.  Check out the dryer in the shared laundry room yourself to see what is going on.  You will have a better idea of whether a repair is needed or what it might cost once you isolate the problem.  Now is the time to make sure that tenants know you will respond to real repair needs but you have a timeline for any planned upgrades and you determine that not them. We once had a tenant demand a new oven when he had accidentally engaged the timed cooking feature and he couldn't understand why the oven was not heating up.  He had set it to start hours later.

Check your local requirements for rentals since they may be different than requirements for owners.  For example the types of locks you have on exterior doors (California requires deadbolts on exterior doors to rentals.)  Check smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector requirements for rentals in your town/city.  

Fix any of those little niggling things that you 'put up with' like squeaky doors and drawers that don't quite slide easily.  Flush the water heater and check that both elements are working.  These are just examples but may prompt you about things specific to your rental that could be tuned up.  Have a friend look the place over because different eyes really do notice different things.

The alternative is to abate the rent for that number of days and let the tenant choose where they want to stay during the repairs.  Since it is summer they might choose to visit family or friends.