All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

It renews automatically without the tenant signing it. 

Nancy Neville

She is legally responsible for the lease as well until the lease is terminated.  

It would be the same if there were no police involved.  Boyfriend and girlfriend get into a fight.  Boyfriend kicks the girlfriend out.  Legally she has rights to the apartment until the lease expires. (Same with just plain ol' room mates.)

The decision is this.  Police removed her from the premises, reasons for you to terminate her tenancy with you and reason to draw up a new lease agreement with just the boyfriend.  

Normally you would have to give a notice to terminate the other tenant, but in this case she was legally removed by the police.  If she tries to contest it in court, you have the evidence that she was removed by police which is a  reason for terminating her lease with out the normal notice. 

But the laws change from state to state so it is always best to seek legal advice.

Nancy Neville

No.  Everything you do in this business should be put in writing.  In Michigan we don't need a reason to Not Renew someone's lease.  However, if it is because they have been argumentive with me, I will say "Due to the breakdown of our landlord tenant relationship, I will not be renewing your lease with us,  making your last day........"

If it is due to a lease violation that they have been told to do and have not done it, or ignored me, then I say, "Please be advised that I will not be renewing your lease due to the following lease violations, making your last day with us on......"

Nancy Neville

When you terminate a tenant's lease with you it is not an eviction, but a "Termination of Tenancy".  A lot of people mistake not renewing a lease as an eviction (tenants mostly).  

I think giving them the option to go on a month to month is a good thing.  This way you only have to give a 30 day notice (or whatever amount of days notice your state allows you to give to terminate their tenancy) and you would so via a Termination of Tenancy Form.  (not an eviction form).  If they don't leave then you need to fill out a Summons and Complaint to start the "eviction" process. 

But it is summer and people are on the move. So you will have to decide what you want to do.

Nancy Neville

"Ditto" Steve!

Nancy

Steve, you always come up with good questions (like you don't already know the answer to it)

I guess I'm a real "nerd" when it comes to the latest gadgets and office equipment.  But, it's a good thing I am a "nerd", because my interest in machines and buttons, and what makes things tick saved me thousands of dollars in the long run)

This business is a business of people management, evictions, damages, court scenes, proving you are right in court, and having the proof and evidence to back up what you say.

With that in mind, and me being my own attorney in court, I found the following useful "Technology" that enabled me to never lose a case in my 13 years as a landlord.

The following is what Technology did for me, that helped me in all phases of this business.

• QuickBooks:  
  • Kept track of all my tenants
  • Kept track of all Repairs
  • What tenants owed
  • How much each tenant paid in Security Deposits
  • When I purchased a rental
  • How much it cost
  • How many square feet
  • When I sold it
  • For how much
  • Profit and Loss Report to see where I stood financially
  • How much money I owed to my Vendors
  • And everything I wanted to know about my tenants

  Next

• I had Vonage Phone (An internet phone) that did the following
  • Acted as an Answering Service
  • Kept track of the date and time the call came in
  • Could view the call in audio and in written form on my computer
  • Could print out the message and take it to court with me
  • Kept track of the date and time I called someone Allowing me to print this out as well if I needed it for court

  Next

• Stamps.com

  • This kept track of every piece of mail I mailed out
  • The day and time
  • The person I sent it too
  • Allowed me to print out a report if I had to take it to court for evidence; 
  • And it served as a proof of sending

  Next

• Printer
• Computer/laptop (in my case if it had keys or a laser pen, I had it.  (Over kill))
• File Cabinets to hold tenant files
• Dymo Label Maker to make my Index Tabs

You see, the more organized you are and the more professional you are, speaks a great deal as to your credibility.  It impresses the Judges, your tenants, your friends, and your HARD MONEY LENDERS!!

So Steve, to sum it up, my office is a replica of Best Buy.  However, the money I saved in attorneys fees, (by being able to do it myself) and CPA fees, (because I had everything they needed right from the start due to QuickBooks) that it covered the expenses of me having the latest "Technology" in my office.  And it just didn't get any better than that!

Nancy Neville, the Nerd

In the Real Estate Business, like ours especially, there is no sure thing.

Tenants can damage a property that is 100% in good condition down to nothing.  

Roof repairs, caused by fallen trees, Cable Dishes on homes, natural disasters from heavy winds, can puncture that theory to pieces. (budget)

When you run a Profit and Loss Report each month and throughout the year, you can tell by your bottom line per property, what property is creating revenue and which ones are causing you grief.

You also have to take into consideration the Vacancies, length of Vacancies, and how the market is doing at the time.  You may someday have to decrease your rents, and then again, thinking positively, raise rents.

So I would just relax, make your tenants happy, but also staying firm when needed, take care of repairs when needed, and keep your eye on your Profit and Loss Reports by class and you will know when to make changes.  

My husband and I always told ourselves, if we make $100 clear on each property and each unit, we are good.  Of course many times we made 100% on our properties each month, (paid off homes).  But then next year we had a ton of roof repairs, garage roof repairs, and vacancies and other junk that just came up.  

If being a landlord was easy and a sure thing, everyone would be a landlord.

Nancy Neville

QuickBooks Online is expensive to use.  I believe $39.99 a month?  Whereas QuickBooks Pro Desktop, you only pay for once and it last you as long as you want it to.  Cost is between $189 to $229.00 depending where you buy it. 

If you have a CPA do your taxes at the end of the year, you can list all your LLC's as a class, but make sure you link all transactions to each individual LLC and Property.

Make sure you have sub bank accounts linked to the correct LLC.

If you are doing your own taxes you will need to setup each LLC as a separate Company file.

I highly recommend making each LLC a separate company file, but I am hounded to death by people wanting to have them in one company file. So the only way you can do it, is by having a CPA do your taxes for you, and you just Print Out a Profit and Loss by Class Report and a Balance Sheet per class as well. (new feature in QuickBooks)

Nancy Neville

You have to take into account is the software in stores everywhere?  And, has it been around for a long time?  Does it have a track record?  Does your CPA use it over any other program?

Many programs have come and gone, but QuickBooks seem to stay forever.

As I said, I would be open minded to review the program in its entirety, but just looking at their webpage, doesn't do anything for me.  

But I'm all for people trying all different types of software programs.  When I began I spent over $1,000 trying every software program under the sun, and kept coming back to QuickBooks. 

So, absolutely, I encourage people to experiment and find the one that suits them!

There is no such thing as the "Best".  As someone always seem to have something better than the next guy. 

Nancy Neville

CCWong is right on the mark when she says "it's about managing your tenants".  

They are trying to wheel and deal with you.  So where does it stop?  Two years later, will another decrease be in order?  What about new carpeting be part of the deal during the two year deal already in place.    What about allowing a dog or two? Deals, deals, deals.  I never make deals even if it is a $5 decrease.

Now, with that said and done.  If I have a good tenant, who has been with me a long time, and I know their struggling, I will decrease their rent on my own.  $50 bucks at times.  But they have had to have a proven record with me of paying their rent on time.  

But I am deciding this is what I'm going to do for them.  Not them making a deal with me! 

You should see their face when I tell them I've just reduced their rent until they can get back on their feet.  

The best form of advertising is when a tenant tells their friends and their friends ask them if I have any openings!

Nancy Neville