All Forum Posts by: Carol Venolia

Thanks for the input, @Rich N.! Very clear and helpful.  :-)

Thanks for clarifying, @Account Closed! I do love getting paid online, but I'm flexible as long as I get paid.  :-)

@Account Closed, are you saying that money orders aren't a good idea for landlords? Not sure I'm following what you're saying...

Thanks for sharing your experience, @Blake Jarrett! Glad to hear it went smoothly for you.

@Tommy F., I'm pretty sure they're not married. Since I'm legally not supposed to ask about marital status, I'm not sure. All their payments to me have been Money Orders, and I haven't kept copies of them. I'm guessing that would be a good idea in the future!

Thank you, @Christine Mwai, @John Thedford, and @Jennifer Bennett!

I forgot to mention one obvious thing: Their rental agreement is month-to-month, so that's not an issue. And I do plan to have the remaining tenant sign a new rental agreement.

Mostly, I'm wondering how to handle the security deposit, with one person staying. John, you make some great points about how to handle this in the future. And I need to talk with the remaining tenant about whether she can make up the difference if I refund half to the departing tenant. Jennifer, my hope is that we can do what you described.

Thanks again!

Hi all,

I'm sure this happens a lot, but it's the first time it's happened to me. A tenant couple has been having problems, and the guy now wants to move out--in a lot less than 30 days. The gal wants to stay on, and apparently can afford to. The couple is behind on paying me rent by a few hundred dollars, and the guy wants to apply his half of the security deposit to pay part of what he owes me (and pay me the rest in cash).

I'm a bit overwhelmed by the newness of this. Anyone have thoughts or advice on how to proceed?

Many thanks!

Carol

Thanks, @Sam Shueh! Unpleasant stuff!

LOL, thanks for the tips, @Account Closed!

@Account Closed, great ideas! I'm studying my Nolo book, composing a letter, and talking with an attorney just in case. Thanks so much for all your input!  :-)

@Account Closed, you're a treasure! You're definitely opening my eyes. Just a couple of responses for now:

1. Yeah, most tenants don't bother to sue and probably have no idea of the complex laws protecting them. Nevertheless, these particular tenants tend to be scrappy, and she works in real estate, so I don't want to take chances.

2. I forgot to mention that the particular situation I'm looking at involves the tenants having recently gotten a dog without permission. I've given them a pet application form, but am still weighing whether to accept the dog. If I do accept the dog, we'll have a brand-new Pet Agreement (which is incorporated into the Lease by reference), so I still have some leeway to add clauses to that agreement; it's not like changing their Lease in midstream.

I really appreciate your input and guidance! You clearly learned some stuff in your years of property management.  :-)