All Forum Posts by: Karen F.

We have a strict no smoking of anything in any of our units clause, because we're so afraid of fires in multifamilies.  And we enforce it.  Funny - it seems that the ones who violate the smoking rule, also can't seem to pay rent on time, so we evict them for non-payment of rent.  I don't care if they eat the marijiuana - I just don't want them smoking it on my property.

She's figured out that she can pay late, now she's trying to figure out how long she can stay there without paying at all.  Let her know - no longer.  Start the eviction process and get rid of her.

Of course you need to evict her immediately.  You're never gonna be able to prove she hasn't been living there long enough to have established a tenancy, so hire a local attorney that specializes in eviction, and put them on it.  Be ready to change the locks and secure the unit the second you get her out.

If that policy were instituted in my state, I would restructure my leases thusly: Annual rent is X.  Rent is to be paid as O.2X each month in April, May, June, July, and August.  Along with the highest deposit my state allows, I should be okay.  If they pay in April - August, they've paid the year's rent.  Since they often get a big tax refund in March, shouldn't be much trouble getting people in in April under such a deal.  So no rent due during winter.  And if they don't pay during the summer, there's plenty of time to evict them before winter.  It's like the student housing around colleges, where they have to pay the entire rent in 9 months of the year, and then summer is free.  If they think that landlords are going to stand for this, and risk having to let a tenant stay for free all winter, they've got another thought coming.  All these laws that are meant to protect tenants only make it harder and harder for people to find housing.  Landlords would prefer to see units sit empty than rent to a tenant with less than perfect credit, plus no one wants to build new rental housing in such tenant-friendly areas.

You know, I think that this has to do with whether you are a LL used to dealing with class C/D rentals or class A/B.  We're class C/D. We deal with plenty of awful tenants.  We provide clean, painted, safe units with everything clean and working when they move in, they beat the .... out of the units, and stay if they pay the rent.  As long as they pay their rent, we don't worry too much about what they do to the units.  Our goal is to get paying tenants to stay as long as possible, and pay their rent.

Sorry, Scott, I just saw your reply.  Clearly, you and I think alike in this matter!

The place is already ruined.  You now should try to keep them in there as long as possible.  Seriously!  They've destroyed it already.  You're not going to get more rent for it from a new party.  You're going to have to spend a tremendous amount of money fixing it up again, only for the next family with kids to destroy it again.

This is what it's like to rent to people with kids.  Get used to it.  Always take the highest deposit you can possibly get, document the condition of the unit before they move in, and pray for the best.  They want to live like animals?  Let them.  As long as they pay the rent.  Look at it this way - if they stay for a decade, you get a decade's rent from them.  You keep their deposit when they leave, and you renovate.  If you think there is money to be gotten from them, you can take them to small claims court after they move out, to try to get more from them.  But meanwhile, if you get ten years' rent from them, you've done okay.

You should be doing the dance of joy.  No kids.  Less wear and tear.  Less water usage (although with a single family, maybe she pays the water?).  I'm assuming you're charging something extra for pets - rent, deposit.  

If there's a lease in place, then you theoretically could go after them for the money for the time it takes you to rent it.  But I agree, let them go, rehab, and rent at higher rate.

Give her a new lease, with the full increase to market rate.  Get ready to evict her for non-payment of rent.  The reason you have to give her the new lease now, with the increase to full market rate, is that non-payment of rent is the easiest eviction by far.  You want to have her miss paying rent, and then you can start the eviction process.  Once you start the eviction process, if she calls in the health department for supposed deficiencies in the unit, they're considered "retaliatory" and they don't stop the eviction.  Make sure you name her parents (John Doe and Jane Doe, if you don't know who they are).

Let's say you don't do this.  Let's say you tell her that in the future you will raise the rent.  Let's say that meanwhile, she makes some claim of defect in the unit to stave off rent increase or eviction.  You'll be stuck at that low rent level until you can get her out through the courts - the judge won't let you raise the rent on her during the time it takes to correct the deficiencies.

In addition to giving her the new lease right away with the full market rent on it, I suggest you DO offer her money to move right away, since it will be cheaper and quicker than the eviction.