All Forum Posts by: Nathan Gesner

My policy is to ensure that the property is pest free before the tenant occupied and then they are responsible for maintaining it pest free. Like you, if I have a good tenant and they are keeping the home clean but still experiencing a problem, then I may consider a one-time extermination. 

Welcome to Bigger Pockets! I'm in Cody and manage 200+ rentals. Let me know if you have any Landlord-type questions.

Yes, it it is what I refer to as "office hours" and they take place Monday - Friday, 8am -5pm. Outside of those hours, they can leave a voicemail. I also have an emergency extension that enables them to leave a message and then I am notified immediately by text message. I listen and determine if it is an actual emergency and then handle it or ignore it accordingly.

@James Paine I think that fee is fairly normal. I charge a flat fee of $50 for a lease renewal of an additional year. This covers a mandatory inspection of interior/exterior, signing a one-page renewal agreement, and the tenant rent is automatically increased 3%. The rent increase is enough to cover my fee.

It may seem like nothing is done, but your PM should be inspecting the rental, reviewing the tenant's record, and verifying everything is good before locking the tenant in for a year. Half a month's rent seems exorbitant to me but the market must support it. You will have to shop around to see who you click with. I'll tell you right now that some managers charge fees without producing results and others are worth their weight in gold. You need to familiarize yourself with what your market supports, what your manager does for his/her money, and how it compares to others. 

My fees are lower than what you've pointed out, but I am definitely the most expensive in my market. However, I also put more money in the pocket of my owners year after year. You sometimes get what you paid for.

I should have been more specific. I worked through a local attorney, everything was in writing, and I communicated with the tenant the entire time. I'm not kidding when I say she had some expensive stuff so I wasn't haphazard in my approach. When she paid and collected everything months later, she actually thanked me - profusely - for taking such good care of her stuff. Truth us stranger than fiction.

The title is misleading because they don't actually attempt to collect anything for you under the "flat fee" program. All they do is send out an official collection notice to scare the tenant into paying you directly. If the tenant refuses to pay, nothing happens. They aren't reported to the credit reporting agencies, they are not tracked, nobody tries to confiscate assets. You pay for one letter or you pay for three letters and then three months later realize you just wasted a small amount of money. I suspect their success rate is probably somewhere around 1%.

The "contingency collection" is a standard collection process you would get through any collection agency. However, I do notice they are licensed in all 50 states whereas the agency I am using is unable to touch clients in about six states. But do you know how much they charge for the full service? Neither do I!!! They don't post it on their web site which tells me it is probably a pretty hefty percentage.

There's nothing wrong with giving them a try and comparing them to whatever you currently use. Collections can be filed without a court judgment but be sure to provide everything you have for supporting documentation (rental application, lease agreement, copy of driver's license, tenant ledger, police reports, pictures, etc.) I also include a cover letter to explain exactly what happened so the collection agency can better present my case if they are ever contacted by the tenant.

If you try them, please let us know how it works out!

@Renee R. I am not an attorney but I think you are misunderstanding the law. When a lease expires, there is no requirement to extend the tenant for an additional year or even to allow them to stay month-to-month. You fulfill the terms of the agreement and then let it expire. I've read a lot of state law around the country and it's the same everywhere. I would still recommend giving them 30 - 60 days written notice. Consider sending it certified with a signature requirement so you have proof of receipt.

I highly recommend you contact a local attorney that specializes in Landlord-Tenant law and learn what you can/cannot do as a Landlord. You are setting yourself up for failure if you do not know your local laws and have established policies in place to deal with problem tenants like this.

The great State of Wyoming considers it abandoned if the tenant is gone for 15 days with unpaid rent.

I once had a woman abusing prescription medications that was unreachable for weeks. I discovered the houe trashed, but full of her stuff. Literally everything was there. Two doors wide open, no propane so the heatwas off, and temps were below freezing. Turns out she had taken a traveling job in another state. At this point ahe was almost a month behind on rent.

I spent two days with four people putting all her belongings in storage. Then I cleaned the house and rerented it. A month later, she still hadn't paid anything so I started preparing her stuff for sale. Brand new hinting rifle, three computers, TVs, tons of real jewelry, etc. I could have recovered my costs but it would have been a lot of work.

She begged me to please hold everything and she would eventually pay. After three months of storage, she handed me a cashier's check for the total of unpaid rent, cleaning, movers, and storage through the end of the week. Almost $8,000 and she packed her stuff up and was gone two days later.

Glad you are safe and glad it happened to you in Wyoming where people still take care of strangers!

I started charging application fees four years ago. Charging a fee will automatically screen out some potential "problem" applications. I manage 210 rentals and you'll be amazed how many times people want to rent an apartment or house but can't even afford the application fee. I also disclose up front what my screening process includes. I am telling the truth when I say my applications were cut in half within a few months but so were my problems!

I charge $20 per adult and the background check costs me $16. My fee is 100% non-refundable. If granny dies 15 minutes after they submitted the application and they have to go back to Kansas, I still keep the fee. Be sure to disclose this up front.