All Forum Posts by: Wesley W.

Another layer of protection for next time on a occupied acquisition is an estoppel agreement.  Mine has the tenant list who owns which appliances, among lots of other useful things.  That could have been exhibit A for your small claims case, or for your criminal complaint.  (Although, in my parts, the standard answer from the police is "this is a civil matter" on just about everything but violent crime.)

It's going to depend on what your lease says.  My lease requires utilities be connected in the tenant's name before occupying the unit.  If this were my unit, I would not give them the keys until utilities are connected, and during this time they would still be responsible for the monthly rent.

I minimize this issue by requiring all move-in fees paid up at lease signing, well before move-in.  I remind tenants of utility switching at the lease signing as well as in writing with a "move-in cost sheet."

I call the utilities provider the day before or day of the move-in, and confirm a connect order has been issued for another customer to take over that address on the specific date.  If that is not the case, I would proceed as stated in my first paragraph.

For pets I charge $200 one-time fee per animal, and $20/mo. additional rent (per animal).  This is less than most of the other operators in my market.  About half do not allow pets, and the others charge $250/$25 or even $350/$35.  No one even bats an eye with my pet fees.

All my units have street parking or single off-street parking lanes - nothing extra to monetize.

I have drafted a letter and a formal notice to cure that will be delivered this morning.  I appreciate your help, @Nathan Gesner, for sharing resources to help me establish a template of my own.  I just recently added lease language that adds a violation fee for unapproved pets, and this tenant has an executed version of that lease.  They are being hit with those fees (Sept & Oct), and must pay the new pet onboarding fee and additional monthly rent moving forward as part of their cure. 

Hi folks,

My lease requires all animals to be approved prior to their being kept in the rental unit, and there is a one-time fee and additional monthly charge for each approved animal.

The subject tenant has approval for one dog in their unit.  During an inspection today, I observed a litter box (and evidence of its use) in the bathroom as well as cardboard cat food boxes in the recycling bin inside the unit.  I did not see a cat food bowl, nor did I actually see the cat.

I'm looking for feedback on my written communication to the tenant regarding this incident.  I'm considering a "Notice to Cure", but I'm concerned that since I did not actually see the animal, the tenant can just concoct a story about how he was "watching" a friend's cat (a violation, nonetheless) but that he's gone now.  I don't want to get into a "cat & mouse" game (pardon the pun) where the cat hides when I visit to follow up on this, and the tenant continues to deny its existence.  I'm struggling with how to write the notice without bluffing about me actually seeing the cat as well avoiding getting into the minutiae of my "proof", which may come off as creepy.  I'm wondering how others have handled the situation themselves, and how your notice toed this line on circumstantial evidence.

Yeah, this is a tough one.  You absolutely need to get an attorney involved.  I think your best course of action from a strictly "piece of mind" angle is to sell the property as-is.  I know if one sells a tenant-occupied property, any lease in place survives the transaction and the new owner has to honor it.  I am not sure if this situation would also apply (see attorney, above).

This house is in a market with extremely tight housing inventory where it is not easy to find a place to live.  Some investor with a long term vision will see this property as an opportunity and buy it from you.  (They may be thinking "cash of keys" or just wait out this person and enjoy a huge appreciation of the asset in 5 years' time, when the housing inventory is even tighter.)

The bottom line is you will get less than market value for the property, but you will be disentangled from this mess and you will be able to properly grieve and heal from your loss and turn the page on this stressful chapter in your life.

Your biggest challenge will be getting your siblings to oblige, as getting consensus is typically the biggest challenge when there are multiple heirs to an estate.

Best of luck to you and I am sorry for your loss.  Make your first call this morning be to an appropriate attorney to advise you.

Hey @Nathan Gesner, as huge fan of capitalism, I'm perplexed by your answer.  Shouldn't your fees be higher, absent market competition? 

You gotta love the common refrain from section 8 fans about how "the government is always good for rent" until they decide the rules don't apply to them and they don't pay.

I'll bet if you decided to prorate your property taxes 4-10 days per annum for any reason they would have a decidedly different opinion on the matter.

The boiler plate answer is, "what does your lease say?"

Mine has a provision that says:

14. PEST CONTROL: Your Rental Unit has been inspected and deemed to be pest-free. If you have a specific problem with pests, notify us. You are asked to assist our pest control by maintaining a high standard of good housekeeping. If the sanitary conditions in your Rental Unit are such that it attracts pests of any kind, and it becomes necessary for us to undergo remediation in your Rental Unit and/or on the Premises, you will be held financially responsible for reasonable costs thereof, paid as Additional Rent.

While there would be no question whose responsibility pest control is in my case, CA does some wacky stuff to property owners to the benefit of tenants so there may be legal statutes that dictate otherwise.  Check your local laws, and then tighten up your lease for next time.

If you don't have lease language covering pests, you might offer the tenant "just this one time, as a courtesy" to pay half.

I don't really see a question, here.

Yes, by all means - evict.  Although, depending on your jurisdiction and your tenants' application status with ERAP, the eviction may be stayed.  Consult a local L/T attorney ASAP.

There was a reasonable chance of you arriving at this outcome, given your tenants did not have the financial means to live in your rental unit from the very onset.