All Forum Posts by: Rich N.

@Ned J.

Wait, how can that be...CA is crazy friendly tenant as MA ?  You are so lucky.  We screw it up over here and even miss something like the condition statement and it could be triple damages.

The market is still high warm to hot and even lower income areas with 3 bedrooms can be 1300-1500 and better class areas still get 2500-3500. So triple these numbers and ouch if thy get the right judge.

@Ned J.

As @Steve DellaPelle stated but also, the account is suppose to be a Massachusetts bank account.  Also, by having separate escrow accounts using their SS#, they will get the correct interest and they will have to "pay" the tax on the interest ( I know its a little, but over $10 total and its a 1099 to you).

One last thing, by setting it up as a LL/tenant account using their SS#, it is protected from your creditors.

 see my response to Michael

 Mike,  There is no specific law on the extra rental amount that I know of, but it opens a bunch of potential headaches.  If a tenant questions you on the extra rental and you mistakenly respond back something like its to cover the potential damages, they will say that is covered under the sec dep already (hence illegal to charge more than the 1 month) or at move out, they can say, well there is no damage, so you owe me back everyone of those months. 

Another way a tenant could go after you later in court is to say you charged for a pet rental when by law you can only go after F,L, sec dep and key.....our state!

 In my mind, I would just added it to the actual rental amount and this would even allow you to charge a higher sec dep amount (equaling the month).  So few places accept pets, so if one place charge $2200 and you charge $2250 with the rental listing stating you accept a pet...they will love you for it !

Also, trying to avoid any chance of discrimination cases, why have someone come with a service dog and then say so you are charging me more? We are in a tenant friendly state.

@Steve DellaPelle

Gosh, where do we begin?  lol

1. You can only accept lock/key, first, last and sec dep and no other fees. Not even a pet fee.
2. First month - you can deposit into your account and use.
3. Last month - must provide interest too ( I usually get lazy and put it in the sec dep acct). Can not exceed first month total.
4. sec dep account - must provide interest, separate MA account and interest paid out annually. Can not exceed first month.
5. When signing lease and exchanging the funds make sure to perform the walkthrough and provide a "condition of statement" for the unit.
6. when they leave you have 14 or 30 days (check law) to return the sec dep escrow with a detail list of all expenses and copies of invoices.
7. You can not use the sec dep for the last month rent unless the courts says so.

Seeing as it takes forever to evict a tenant, I recommend getting last and sec dep or at least last and 1/2 sec dep.

if they are on the same page and everyone knows what they are bringing to the table.

also, on a side note. your lease should recommend they buy renter's insurance.

assuming you meant paid the security deposit and the remaining (1/2 month) of September.

then your rent should be Oct 1st.

if other toilets/sinks are not having issues, then I doubt its the main/sewer.

Can you see the piping under the toilet or in the basement ?  Could the house settling have caused the proper flow?   This might happen if it was an add-on / remodel and not part of the original house.

Does it have slow draining/flushing ?  Could it be partially clogged and needing a toilet auger? Is the fill valve slipping an not filling the 12 year old tank with enough water to do its job ?

I would not use the seller's PM.  Start looking for a PM company. In fact post in a new thread for BP recommendations for that area.

Also, depending on how long the tenant has been there. The area maybe 1350, but if the tenant is for 2+ years or more and it has not been refresh, it might of been prudent to go with the 1250 for a few months.

Even better for more months to get it to a better renting cycle or out of the winter timeline.

Most important.......congrats to you and your husband on your first of many properties !