All Forum Posts by: Paul McCoy

Thanks all this advice is greatly appreciated and it's a relief to know you would also wait until the unit turns over and I can wait to avoid the hassle and cost with all the logistics!

I have a few rentals in the Denver area, and one thing I really enjoy doing is installing Life-Proof LVP flooring in units each time they turn over.  This generally works and lasts a long time, but I have one unit that poses a bit of a predicament:

I acquired the property a couple years ago, but the current tenants have been there for 6 years.  The existing carpeting is in horrible shape and desperately needs to be replaced - I'm ready to and WANT to install the LVP flooring, but how to do that while the existing tenants are there?

It's a crowded unit - a family of 4 in a 2 bedroom, with more furniture then I could have believed would fit in the place, so it's not easy to work around.  I think the job would take a solid 3-4 days to complete, but the family doesn't really take vacations and I don't want to pay for a hotel for them to stay in during the time that job is done - even if they left, the amount of stuff to work around is troublesome.  

I'm curious how other landlords have handled a situation like this in the past?  Basically, if there is a significant renovation taking several days to complete, but you have existing tenants and don't want to have to turn the unit over, what do you do?  Do you ask them to stay somewhere else for a few days?  If so, do you pay for it?  Or should I just bite the bullet and pay a company to quickly install new carpet for now?  Any feedback or advice you have would be greatly appreciated!

 Thank you very much for this I had not known about the licensing requirement and will get on that ASAP!  Court cases don't sound fun but that is also very helpful info to have!

I've been actively managing my own properties for the past 5 years, and recently I've been considering taking on the management for a few other investors in the Denver area.  I'm wondering what kinds of insurance you would recommend for someone who manages their own properties, but is now taking on others' properties?

I've read about General Liability, Professional Liability (E&O) insurance, and "Landlord" insurance for owners who rent their own homes. I have a couple specific questions that I'd love any insights you might have on!
1. For owners managing their own properties: do you have Landlord insurance beyond your regular home insurance policy?  Why or why not?

2. For those managing properties for others: Do you have General Liability and Professional Liability yourselves?    If so, how much do you pay and for how much coverage?  Was there a certain number of properties you got under management before you got it?  

Let me know what you think I would be curious to know, my goal is to be responsible of course, but not excessive and not sure where that line is.

Hey Jeff,

I'm sorry to hear about the tenants breaking the lease on short notice, I had something similar happen to me this past year that I had to work through and I learned some good lessons from it.  Long story short it's worth negotiating for better terms with both parties, but ultimately if neither will give you anything I would accept the March 1 move-in date, get the lease signed and collect the deposit ASAP.

How I'd approach the prior tenant

Congratulations on having had 10-year tenants!  That's a very successful term and with a relationship that long, you can likely find something that's reasonable for both parties.

Is there any clause in the lease that specifies what happens if they move out before the term ends?  If there is, I would use that as your anchoring point with them.  In my leases, I have a clause (I can share it with you if you like) that requires they pay an additional 2 months' rent in order to break the lease and I shared that with them.

Even if you don't have that, I think it's worth offering it to them, say "Hey I know something serious has happened and I want to work with you on that, but it's going to take me a while to prepare the renovation - if I let you off the lease after March, can you pay me the next 2 months' rent?   If it helps, I can serve as a reference for you with your next landlord."  A compromise is likely better than trying to enforce the lease at this point.

I have filed small claim cases against tenants for breaking their lease in the past, and generally just getting served will convince them to pay.  It's a pain getting a PI to locate them and it costs a few hundred dollars all-in, but if it's worth that to you I've generally been pleasantly surprised with how much I wind up collecting.  Barring that, I would be careful taking the Deposit to pay for the missed rent, because there are some states where that isn't legal and you can wind up getting sued for a lot of money - it's playing with fire if they contest it.

How I'd approach the new tenant:

I would offer them a compromise and see if you can find something that works.  In the past what I've offered is to have them sign the lease for the full month in question (In this case starting in February), but giving them the 1st month half-off.  This can be a win-win for both sides and I've had many tenants accept it:
- You have the unit rented and don't have to show it any more

- You still collect rent for half of February (vs the status quo of $0)

- They can get access the property two week earlier (Start of February) and move in at their own pace while still having access to their current place - this can make the move much easier for them!

If they aren't willing to consider that, I would accept the 1st of March date and get it signed, especially if you're excited about the tenant, then you can move on to the next challenge.  Also I would make sure that if you don't have it in your current leases, you add in a clause about paying 2-months' rent for breaking the lease so you have something really explicit you can point to in case this ever happens again!