All Forum Posts by: Wesley W.

 Entitlement mentality created by class warfare waged by the previous executive administration.

My attorney knocked off $100 when we didn't go to court because the tenant paid on the eve before the hearing.  He's a sole practitioner and can't re-sell that time at the eleventh hour.  Plus all the court filings, process server, and file preparation in connection with the case.  I guess the amount of the refund should be congruent with how far away from the court date this gets resolved and thus how much time he/she invested in the process.

Based on your subject heading, I was expecting your post to cite all of the tenant-friendly laws they are passing in the city as your motivation to sell.  ;)

I would lean towards #3 as well - but ONE TIME means one time.  I would not waive it, as that is not helping them shape their behavior (paying rent on time).

As an aside, as others have said - $300 seems awfully high.  Is that congruent with your market?  Where I am, judges will usually throw out any late fees over 5% of the rent, and having anything higher in writing draws the ire of the liberal court system here.

I usually have them pre-qualify themselves by listing my criteria in the ad (income requirement, background check required, no evictions, felonies, etc.).  

In the ad I have them answer a few questions listed in an email reply to me.  I then send them more details about other policies (no smoking, dog breeds) and move-in costs, as well as my on-boarding process.  I also send them a PDF of the application in case they want to fill it out ahead of time (prior to showing).  I imply there is a lot of interest, so if they want to get a jump on the competition, to bring completed apps, photo IDs and last 2 pay stubs to the showing.  I also have hard copies at the showing.  Some fill them out there, some "take them for later" - those I never hear from again.

I have a template for each step of the email exchange, so it takes little effort to get to the point of me offering them a showing.

The term you are looking for is Notice of Termination.  The rules surrounding it are found in L/T document put out by the AG's office.  You can Google "ny landlord tenant handbook" and it should come up.

The boilerplate response is "what does your lease say?" about the landlord's right to entry.  Mine spells out that I have a right to enter (given reasonable notice) for safety inspections, maintenance, repairs, to show the unit to prospective tenants or buyers, etc.

It's weird if your lease doesn't speak to the landlord's terms of renewal/nonrenewal.  I'm not sure what a judge would do about it, either.  The landlord should have to give you a notice of termination before he could rent it out to someone else.

Maybe talk to the landlord and get something established in writing about the terms of the showings and renewal?  That would benefit everyone and keep the agreement between you both and not in the hands of judge that doesn't have a direct interest in the issue.

Good luck!

I only do M2M leases.  If I want the tenant out for reasons other than non-payment, I can just terminate the lease.  I agree with the OP's friend as to the other benefits.

A problem sometimes with evicting for non-payment, is that they can show up to court and cure on the day of the hearing.  After you've paid your attorney, process server, and court costs, of course.  Now you have to bring a separate action to collect those fees.  Have this happen more than once with the same tenant and you will be wishing you had them on a M2M.

No down side to M2M that I can see other than potentially high turnover if you don't screen out people that are seeking out a short lease for their own reasons (buying a house in 3 months, job is transferring in the spring, etc.).

Despite that, I see the advantages still outweighing the drawbacks.  Find good people and take care of them and they will never leave.

Hi Becca. 

Here's a thread that is brand new that, although may not address your specific question, is still relevant:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/473...

I've seen many other threads addressing your same concern.  There are many people on here that have experience renting to international students, and they will be able to provide more insight for you.  In the meantime, if you use the search bar on the forums, you might be able to get some more information in the meantime.

@Michael Ablan If she has a term lease, in my opinion you are going to have an uphill battle trying to evict her for anything other than non-payment of rent.  I know Jefferson County leans more right than where I am, but you are still in NYS and under our AG's pro-tenant umbrella.

I would start by documenting everything, and going through her lease to find areas where she is  violating it.  You could try and build a case with enough evidence to go before a judge.  You can outline these erratic behaviors as context for the clear lease violations, but as others have said, I would steer away from using any terms (e.g. mentally ill, schizophrenia) that could be used against you as discrimination.  I would focus just on her behavior that is breaking the lease, and let the judge decide.  Unfortunately, despite your best efforts, it is still going to be a crap shoot whether or not you can get a warrant of eviction.

Good luck!