All Forum Posts by: Lisa Buch

Wow, Nathan, GREAT info.  It's so easy to be overwhelmed and misinformed by what you see on the internet.  I really appreciate your expertise (self-proclaimed or not) and will check out the website you suggested.  

Good advice, Thomas.  Also, we use ezlandlordforms.com for screening applicants.  The screening includes a background check for which they pay ($29.99 for standard and $34.94 if including an eviction report).  That stops a lot of people in their tracks.  (We have just started reimbursing the fee to the applicant if approved.)  I feel that if a person will try to scam an ESA, there are probably other things that will turn up on a background check - IF the application is even completed. 

Savannah, great idea! I have learned so far that HUD and the ADA have different assessments of ESAs and service animals. Whereas HUD doesn't seem to differentiate between them, the ADA states that ESAs are NOT service animals.

We are far more likely to accept a pet if someone states up front that they have a pet and aren't willing to get rid of it.  Then we ask white kind of animal it is.  We have been told by a prospective tenant that she had two terriers.  While we were picturing cute little dogs, we checked her out on Facebook and found her posing with two pit bulls!  Looking up someone on Facebook has been another great tool for us when screening clients.  You can learn a lot about a person.

I hope someone can figure out a way of certifying actual service and support animals and put an end to this mess.

I read somewhere, I think on this site, that an ESA letter must be signed by a mental health professional practicing in the state where the rental property is located.  Now I can't find anything about it.  I have also read online that the person presenting the ESA letter must have actually undergone therapy, and may even be continuing therapy, and have a recognized mental health disorder from the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual).  In looking online about how to get an ESA letter, there are apparently doctors who will certify that the patient has undergone "online therapy."   Does anyone have actual information?  News flash - you can't believe everything you read online!  😜

If a person truly has a service animal there should be no concern about renting to them.  As mentioned above, please check this out:  https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.htm...

These links may also be helpful: https://www.miamiherald.com/living/pets/article125...

I know the ADA is legit, but not 100% sure if the second link provides good legal advice.  This is a sticky issue but I have spent hours looking online and have found that (apparently) an ESA "certification" must be signed by a mental health professional IN THE STATE OF THE RENTAL PROPERTY.  If true, that eliminates a lot of potential tenants who ordered their "certification" online.  

Good luck!

I have been using the professional version of ezlandlordforms.com for a while now.  It works well for background checks and state-specific leases and some documents allow esign.  I am having trouble creating and printing personalized forms.  I use autofill info for existing clients and edit a provided template, which seems to work well.  However, I have to download and create a PDF in order to print and see what the tenant will actually receive.  (I would like to be able to print from the screen I'm looking at.) Today the document was not WYSIWYG.  The document printed from the PDF was not like the saved document I was looking at on the screen.  

The process is not at all intuitive - it should be easy! Does anyone have suggestions for better software? I have an LLC with 7 single-family rental homes. It isn't a complicated business.