All Forum Posts by: Eric D.

Thanks guys,

Good suggestions, I like the large earnest money idea.

Yeah Minot is a pretty hot market from the oil boom, there is some talk of over building lately which is bringing the rents down a bit it seems.

I'll keep looking and be patient.

I've been in the market for another house for a few months but whenever i find something that i like and works with the numbers I get out bid. Any suggestions? I've started looking at houses that need a lot of work to have better odds.

Can you get it inspected and included?

You could do thin flat wood trim.

http://img2-1.timeinc.net/toh/i/step-by-step/11/08-panel-bedroom/03-panel-wall.jpg

Works on my android phone not on chrome/win7

Great posts everyone,

The answer to some of the confusion/questions is that I got the lease off the Internet and made very minor changes. It seemed like a good sample lease but I didn't tailor it enough to my specific needs/state laws.

@Bill S. I gave her more back than I should have because I am out of state and even a frivolous lawsuit would be very costly for me at this point.

Good points/comments I like the early termination fee idea, I wasn't thinking about using the liquidated damages until I felt she may take me to court and cost me a lot. In hindsight she probably did bully me a bit with the lawsuit scare but it's a learning experience.

@Account Closed Some damages you don't want the tenant trying to fix themselves.

I would think the labor amount per hour could change? Depending on what your doing.. for example a finish carpenter would charge more than someone cleaning a floor?

Great post @Marcia Maynard it seems you have a lot of experience with this. Definitely using some of your procedures in the future.

@Account Closed I'm 2000 miles away :-) or I would.

Thanks Joe. Have a good week.

Thanks again everyone,

@Jose Rubio I haven't mentioned the breach of lease to her, I guess i'll make her aware if she decides to press legal action.

@Elizabeth C. Very good advice, thanks

This all started when I was trying to get a forwarding address, Even though I had a letter written up I engaged in conversation about it, bad idea.

What I learned from this:

1. Long distance land-lording is difficult and expensive (property is now with a local management company, my other rental has a long term tenant)

2. Hire companies to do all the work besides normal cleanup.

3. When a tenant makes you aware they are moving out, get a forwarding address as soon as possible, be proactive in inspecting and fixing damages while tenant is still in place.

4. Discussion of security deposit should be left to certified mail professional letter with an itemized list of damages(if there is any)

Well, thanks all..

I'm going to return half of her lasts months rent and not charge her labor for the repairs, only for materials which should be more than fair.

Happy Holidays

I came across this:

Some lease agreements contain clauses that allow the landlord to retain all or part of a security deposit upon the breach of the lease. This is known as a liquidated damages clause. If you are a landlord, this might be a nice thing to have in your next lease. However, you have to be careful in drafting such a clause. Courts make a distinction between permissible liquidated damages clauses, and impermissible penalties imposed on tenants to to force their compliance. It’s a delicate balance.