All Forum Posts by: Rob B.

I'm inclined to agree with Mark and Peter. This is one of those instances where as long as you provide notice with ample time (ie. whatever your state dictates, so if it is 24 hours, then give them notice of that), then a lockbox could be a great way to avoid these types of issues in the future. 

Sounds like the tenant may be a bit irresponsible though and that would bring up a whole different set of concerns in my opinion. Sometimes timing isn't perfect for people's schedules but to not communicate with your landlord that you're not going to make it / be available each time they schedule a repair person/contractor to come out, that holds up the process. 

Great question, @Jenna Lee. As you may see from many of the post responses above, there are definitely some great tools out there which can help bring a certain level of automation to your rental process. Keep in mind a platform that was built for smaller DIY landlords (1-15 units), that offers state-specific leases (based on the property address; uses that property address to import all necessary local clauses into that residential lease and allows you to add custom clauses and renter rules to it as well). The state-mandated disclosures and pamphlets are also key, and are included in those leases as well (pulled based on the property address). Additionally, online rent collection is key, as are the added benefits of things like being able to report a tenant's on-time rent payments to the credit bureaus to help them boost their credit score (added incentive for making sure they pay that rent on time).

Dennis has the right idea here. It is standard to pay a deposit (or a percentage of the cost) upfront. But a lot of it comes down to their individual references, so I would check those and BBB. Never tried John's route but may need to try that this next go-round. I hope everything works out! @Anthony Porembski

Definitely share in a similar thought as Marc; wait to show the place when it is ready. Definitely ok to use the photos, but I would focus on getting the place together once this tenant has left so you can get it listed and rented as soon as possible. As far as the family, I can understand them wanting to see the place before signing anything (always a good idea to view a place before signing a lease for it). You have some time, so do things right; make sure you properly screen everyone.

Sam is spot on. You set those expectations early on as far as where you draw the line when it comes to late rent payments. Communication is always key and if you're not communicating early and often about foreseeable problems with paying the rent on time then there's really no excuse. And let's face it; there are many things that are made clear from day 1 - ie. when the rent is due, what those late fees are, when they kick in, etc. A lot of systems out there help to automate the late fee creation process to make things easier on the landlord and the tenant. I hope this helps!  

Tackle those student loans, first and foremost. What are the interest rates on those student loans? If the interest rate were lower I might suggest otherwise, but generally on average (and some of this is dependent upon the lender) anything 6% and over, it is best to drive that debt down first. I hope this helps! And I'll defer to others on the matter but best of luck. Once you do decide to get things moving with a rental, I definitely have some recommendations to make managing your rental process easy.

Just want to echo what some others have already stated above. I am not an attorney and don't know what your local law stipulates, but I also think there's a lot of responsibility that rests on the tenant's shoulders (the one who is the victim in the police report). You'll want to be super careful about getting involved. @Lulu Nguyen

@Erica Rodgers this is definitely a tough one, and I'm sorry to hear you're dealing with this situation. The Fair Housing Act states that tenants with emotional support animals cannot be charged extra fees for having their support animals. Based on FHA, if she's claiming the dog as an ESA you must allow the dog, even if you have a no-pet policy, and you can't charge extra pet rent, pet fee, or pet deposit. That said I know a lot of landlords who have run into issues with the ESA process; there's a difference between extra fees and cost to cover destruction of property, and as far as breeds, some insurance companies are a bit more reluctant to insure the property if certain breeds are residing there. I'd definitely lean on legal counsel locally to get a better idea of what options you have; you want to make sure you're not violating law by evicting a tenant for an ESA but you also want to make sure them having an ESA doesn't violate their HOA rules (sounds like it gets a bit more complex now that the HOA has gotten involved). I'll defer to others who respond after this, but since you're ready to proceed with the eviction process, best to seek out legal counsel who is savvy in Landlord-Tenant law where your property is located.

At this point, I would recommend following the appropriate steps towards evicting. Make sure you have your bases covered and the fact that the person included a threat like that... they definitely should have thought about that prior to leaving you a voicemail. As for how you should proceed, I'd make sure to report it to the Housing Authorities and please stay safe and make sure that you document everything. @Michael Healy

Honestly, I am so sorry to hear that you are dealing with this type of situation. Changing property managers can be a challenge especially when the current company is not doing right by you, with no real sense of responsibility for the people/business they're impacting. If the property is in good shape and there's a market for renters, then a 3-month vacancy is absolutely unacceptable. Hendon has the right idea; head on down there, stay a few days to take care of business and always make sure you have a committed team in place. All of that said, there are other options out there though, and depending upon the number of units you have, you may see a better fit in going with a prop. management software to make the process manageable and easy for you to do (save yourself the 6 - 10% of rent charged + that 1-month rent fee). Might only need to find an actual maintenance person in the area and use a software to automate the rest. I hope you're able to get everything sorted out. Best of luck! @Abdul Azeez