All Forum Posts by: Nicole A.

What is your current financial picture like?

• Do you have debt?
• Do you have savings?
• Do you own or rent?

I don't know how long you have. You will gather this info when you get your various estimates. All I'm saying is do not react out of fear and emotion. Get your facts on the situation and then take the next step. Good first step is your plan tomorrow to look around outside. Next time it rains, see if there is pooling water near your house's edge.

@Maimouna Sow Please get at least 3 different professional estimates. At least one of them will see that you are worred and don't know much about water issues, so they will build on your fear and then give a huge, overpriced estimate.

Do not react too quickly. The house is still standing. It's not in danger of being condemed any time soon. 

• Get educated and get multiple good estimates.
• Check the simple stuff as others have suggested such as downspouts and pooling water near the house.
• Make the best decision for you and your property
• Enjoy!

Do not wait any further. Go and file for whatever the first step of eviction is in your property's area. You can usually Google  "<Your County State> eviction laws" and get something helpful. There might even be businesses in the area that can file and handle eviction for you.

Remember, once you file eviction, it can always be canceled if the tenant pays in full. But filing now is your insurance that you get your property back in the most timely manner.

In addition to filing, you can give a 24hr notice of inspection so that you can go over there and ensure that your tenant is ok vs just ignoring you.

But if she has already given excuses of having bank issues, signs don't look good for her being a responsible adult. If she is taking care of her ill mother--while that is rough and you have empathy--it doesn't give a free pass to not pay bills on time. When my mother was dying, I still paid all of my mortgages and other bills on time.

@Yi Zhao Do they pay the rent on time? You will have a hard time evicting otherwise. When does their lease end? It honestly sounds to me like you are getting too personally involved. When a tenant complains about things like noise and such, it sounds like you try and fix it. 

You can't fix things like that because no one can control another person's actions. You have started to see this for yourself when you said you've repeatedly made attempts to work things out. 

But when the complaining tenant knows that you will immediately answer their calls/texts/whatever and get involved, then they will keep on doing that. Next thing you know, they're yelling at you at 11PM because you didn't respond to them quickly enough. 

Getting too involved in neighborly issues like noise and smells is a lose-lose situation for you. You won't make the alledged person change. And you will still be the bad guy when the tenant that complains to you feels you aren't building a utopia for them.

Keep tenants at a distance. Do not get personally involved like you are doing. Keep it professional.

@Sheila Greene In most places, you can't do a surprise visit. You must give 24hrs notice of inspection. I suppose you could "randomly" stop by and knock on the door, but you *can't enter the property unless invited* if you do it that way. 

@Yi Zhao It's going to be hard to prove anyone is smoking unless you actually catch them, so don't take sides. Also, I don't know what your time is worth, but do you really want to go visit the property every time you get a small complaint? You are a property owner, not a babysitter. 

Now if you do an inspection--which does require notice--and you see obvious signs of smoking like ashtrays, burns, or obviously smell it, you inform your tenants right then and there that they will have to pay for damages if they continue. Follow up your conversation with it in writing and mailed to them.

Also know if your other tenant is just expecting things from you that are impossible. Do not jump every time they contact you, especially if they are contacting you after typical business hours. Your priority is not keeping them happy at the second they complain. It's a balance of putting your life first and providing safe (but probably not a utopia) housing.

Congratulations! It's a never-ending learning process, so keep learning and doing! You're already well ahead of the curve. You may even start to notice some odd comments from some people when they hear you have a (or more than one) rental property. Never let their comments make you feel guilty for your own success!

The renters should have renters insurance, however, I would recommend you just pay the $300 and on the memo line of the payment/check, be sure to say what it's for. Perhaps even write up a short letter/document saying that this situation is considered settled by both the tenant and landlord upon tenant receiving payment. You both sign it. Date it. Both keep a copy.

I would consider seperately going back and talking to the contractor about the situation to try and recoop your $300 if you can.

Also, while looking at your lease is nice and can be helpful, always remember that it doesn't necessarily mean it is legal and/or would hold up in court if things were to go that far. Lease authors can put whatever they want in a lease and it might contradict laws. And not to downplay the value of attorneys, but several get lazy with writing leases and make them state-generic when laws may actually differ within the various counties.

@Daniel Smyth What does it mean when you say, "I also am working on cutting the December rent on half, for current payers."?

If it means that you'll cut December rent for tenants who pay on time vs ones who are not paying on time, you're only setting yourself up for trouble. 

Treat ALL tenants the same. Do not give gifts or rewards to some, but not others. You're asking not only for drama, but also the possibility of being accused of something such as discrimination of those with financial hardship and taken to court.

I like Christina's advice. If this is a good deal, don't not close because tenants are still there. Many times, tenants just don't leave on time, so this isn't surprising. Have a plan to kindly introduce yourself, offer cash for keys by a certain date, and if not, then just file for eviction immediately.

If the tenants promise to leave, still file for eviction. This way you'll have started the process and not wasted time believing their word. If they do move out by the promised date, you can just cancel the eviction filings.