All Forum Posts by: Russ B.

Who cares why they're leaving, if they're forcing you to evict them? The sooner they're out, the better. If they have a solid income, that's a plus - it means you have a better chance of eventually recovering the money they owe you. 

Carpet and paint aren't that big a deal unless the unit is enormous. If it's an older building, I would look under the carpet - there may very be hardwood floors that are still nice, or can be cleaned up. 

C rentals don't have to be fancy.. they just need to be clean and fresh looking. 

Also, if you're doing a house hack, why are you using a PM?

Of course the fleas "weren't present" when she was there.. They were all busy biting her poor cat. 

Seriously, who can't afford a tube of Frontline? The stuff costs like 10 bucks. 

The fact that there were fleas in the house when she moved out, is proof that the cat wasn't being treated. The minute you treat the pet, the flea population rapidly drops to zero. 

Making death threats (in a recording, no less) is a good way to receive a different type of subsidized living arrangement.. 

It is important to know what the laws are in the specific city where you'll be renting. There are various places to get this info.. the important part is, you don't want to learn about a law by getting caught on the wrong side of it (sounds like you already understand this). 

CA is known for having laws that are more tenant friendly than most places, so not everything we do in other states will apply. 

This will also impact how you word your lease. This part is important - consider how many replies to questions on BP include something like "hope your lease covers this". It might be worth paying your lawyer a few hours to check it over. It costs money, but then you can use it as many times as you want. 

Finally, renting to family is something that most people will advise you not to do... 

Sounds like a typo. The "not" clearly doesn't belong.

They sound like the type who will ask for something else the second you fix whatever they want now. This is a common problem. 

If the basement isn't part of their rental, which it sounds like it isn't, I'd definitely close it and pull the units back out.

Lead paint (like asbestos) is generally not a problem unless it's falling apart (and if it's not, I'd get some pictures of it in case it mysteriously starts to).

I was so excited until I read that some other poor sap got stuck with the bill.. Of course the deadbeat gets away again without paying 🤨

Seems like kind of a silly request.. Like you're going to install a new AC just for them, when pretty much anybody else would be perfectly happy with it? 

I would tell em, sorry, I've done pretty much all I can on my end. Maybe try to reduce heat sources (turn off some electronics / get LED bulbs) or close some blinds if it's still too warm.

As everybody else said already, I'd ignore the dog for now. The problem is the tagalong boyfriend. 

If she's month to month, I'd consider non renewal, based on lease violations, noise complaints, and late rents. 

If not, I'd offer a new lease pending credit checks and such (also a petscreening check), but with rent changed to market rates. 

If they leave instead and you re-rent, I'd list it for the same amount you wanted to raise it to for them, so it doesn't become even a really weak discrimination claim for them. 

Just spitballing a couple more ideas here.. 

You could Google the doctor's name, find out what city they're in, and find their real contact info (it's probably a different number than the one on the letter - which I'm sure rings straight to the ESA mill). Maybe call their office directly and ask if they're treating the applicant before mentioning the letter. If they say yes, you could ask them straight up if they've ever actually examined the person. See what they (or their secretary) say. A legit doctor would verify the letter, while one that never saw the person would act weird. Calling the number on the letter but giving a made-up name could be telling as well. If they're in your state, and it's a one party state, you could record the call. 

Likewise, you could ask the applicant if the doctor actually examined them, and when they say yes, ask "Where's Dr So-and-so's office located? That name sounds familiar." (good chance you'll get the deer-in-the-headlights look, and they won't even know what city it's in). 

You would have a good shot overall at finding out whether the doctor ever met this person by asking a couple simple questions. 

Also, it could be useful to establish a database of these letters (with applicants' names blacked out of course). I'm guessing lots of landlords would be happy to upload these, and once a bunch are uploaded, the computer generated ones with copy-pasted identical signatures would start to stand out.