All Forum Posts by: Jennifer T.

I'd assume this depends on your jurisdiction as to if the landlord has to provide you with receipts on monies spent that were taken out of your deposit.  At the very least, I would ask for them.

Thanks for the explanation on the door.  Peeling paint sounds like the door wasn't properly painted to begin with and does sound like wear and tear.  I'm not even sure how a tenant would cause that, unless they made the peel worse by pulling on it or used something on it that reacted with the paint poorly.

Me personally, I don't provide damage receipts with the Security Dispensation letters I send.  It's extra work that usually isn't necessary.  However, I do include a sentence toward the end of the letter that says something like "receipts provided, upon request".  

FWIW, no one has ever asked me for a receipt.  Part of that is I've only had one time where a previous tenant questioned repair costs. But they complained before they got the letter, which clearly defined a reasonable material/labor cost for each item.  I e-mailed it to them and said it should make things more clear as to why they were not entitled to any of the SD back, but they could contact me if they still had questions.  I did not hear from them again.  I think they conveniently "forgot" everything I had told them during the walk through, where I had already pointed out areas of damage, approximate costs, and that after repairs they'd either have nothing or very little left.

You may not be able to do anything about the ESA dog, follow your attorney's advice on that or anything else someone on BP (including myself) recommends.  But just because it is an ESA, doesn't mean any damage which includes the lawn, is allowed to go unchecked.

It sounds like they just ignore you and need to be forced to do the right thing.  Unfortunately, some tenants are like that.  I'd post a 5-Day Cure or Quit notice (or whatever timeframe it is in your area) about the dog poop in the backyard and the hammock (assuming they haven't already taken it down).  In the notice, I'd also include how often they need to clean the poop.  I'd suggest every 24-48 hours.

But here's the thing about a Notice, you need to be willing to follow through with either an eviction filing or a 30-Day Notice to Vacate due to them breaking the lease, ie not maintaining the backyard or anything else mentioned in the Notice that didn't get Cured.  If you aren't willing to follow through, they won't take the next one seriously either.

I have primarily C+/B- properties in New Orleans.  Looking for a tenant with a decent credit score would greatly decrease my potential applicants.  I don't care so much about the actual score...it's inherently inaccurate and purposely designed to harm consumers...I look at the actual report.  Overall, as long as there is a good history of paying bills on time (doesn't even need to be perfect), that's fine with me.

Strong, verifiable income (at least 3x/rent) is more important and a substantially better indicator of tenants who will pay the rent regularly and with no issues.

Our other qualifications are no violent felonies and no court-ordered evictions within the last 10 years.  That last one is a big one for me.  It's one thing if someone runs into hard times, can't pay the rent, but voluntarily leaves.  It's quite another thing for someone to not be able to pay the rent, but won't leave either until a court makes them.  You do not want to be their next victim!

Another good indicator?  ALWAYS get a security deposit that is at least a full month's rent, plus first month's rent (of course), before move-in.  In my early days, I made an exception to that twice.  With the deal being I got half the SD before move-in and would get the second half within 30 days, after they got back the security deposit from where they were staying.

Both of those tenants turned out to be some of my worst payers!  One of them had trouble paying the rent on the second month.  They did a midnight move-out the day after rent was due only 4 months later.  The other one is still my tenant and has been for four years.  She paid $100 more toward her security on the 3rd month and nothing since.  On the bright side, she's still my tenant and eventually pays the rent.  But she has ALWAYS been a problem payer and has to be actively managed.

I've had tenants with pets 4 times and had little to no issues with all of them.  Three of those tenants with pets had no damage or odor whatsoever after they moved out.  For the fourth one, the dog had scratched up the molding around the front door.  But I gave the tenant permission to fix it before the walk through.  I was SO pleasantly surprised when, not only did she do a great job fixing that damage, but "while she was at it (she told me)", she also fixed all the dings/damage on the rest of the molding that was pre-existing.  The front door/molding came out looking nicer and more refreshed than before she'd moved in.

However, I will give the caveat that only one of my rental houses has carpeting.  I've only had one tenant in that home with a pet, but they got the dog only about 6 months before they moved out, so it wasn't there long.

A bigger problem might be how extensive is the rehab you need to do?  As in, is it so extensive that people really couldn't be living there while it's going on?  If that's the case, you might need to give them a Notice to Vacate anyway.  If that is the route you want to take, whether for rehab purposes and/or the way below market rent, it would be a kindness to offer them one or more of the following:  longer time to move, assistance with moving expenses, and/or financial resources available for senior citizens.

And I'll be the mean person who says it, "No one is owed a low cost place to stay because they didn't plan properly for their retirement."  I am sympathetic to people in that situation.  It's a tragedy that personal finance classes are largely not taught in school and many Americans are under the delusion Social Security is enough to live on.  It's an erosion of our economy that overall wages have not kept pace with the cost of living, much less having extra room for retirement planning.  But none of this is your fault or my fault.  I'm running a business, not a charity, and my sympathy ends at my wallet.  I'm not selling my services, ie my rentals, at a substantial discount in order to subsidize a stranger's lifestyle, just because they're elderly.

That sounds like a great idea.  However, make sure you phrase it like you are doing her a favor.  Don't use negative language (words like "pursue) when you can state the same threat as a positive benefit of her leaving on Oct. 1st.  Something like, "I agree it's best for us to go our separate ways.  If you help me mitigate my damages by moving out on Oct. 1st, I will return the favor by holding you harmless for breaking the lease.  We can also put that in writing for your protection."  I wouldn't even mention the security deposit, unless she asks.  If she does, then let her know you will have to assess the damages (if applicable) after she moves out.

I just did something like this in July, but also promised to return some of the security deposit ($700 out of $1150) if they moved out by July 8th, left the house broom swept clean, all the belongings removed, and no/minimal damages.  They met the first three criteria but, unfortunately for them and me, they did NOT meet the 4th one.  Not by a long shot.

I wanted to pay them something.  I really did.  Because, while they were awful tenants for many reasons, I was super thankful I didn't need to take them to eviction court because those had just opened back up (at the time) and I knew they must be backlogged.  But they were out and I just couldn't bring myself to give them anything because the damages were due to nothing but utter carelessness and a complete disregard for the property.  Two of the bedroom carpets were soaked in urine.  The countertop and acrylic kitchen sink were ruined because they'd cut directly on both of those items, instead of using cutting boards.  Just to name a couple things.  The security deposit covered July's rent.  But a conservative estimate of the property damages that didn't even include a bunch of minor stuff was $1200.

Sorry for the tangent, but I also have to add that she actually wanted me to allow her, her b/f, and their carpenter friend to fix things so she could get some of the deposit back.  I couldn't even believe she actually said that!  They wouldn't have even known how to fix most of the repairs needed!  But I merely needed to point out that just the materials alone were more than the $700.

Offer them painter's tape, so they can make a line down the middle of the house, lol.

But seriously, there really isn't anything more to be said.  You can't legally remove either one of them off the lease if that person doesn't agree to it.  I know you know that, but rinse and repeat it for her if you need to.  It's up to them to figure it out.

I had something similar happen to me some years ago, but the couple at least did not involve me.  I basically got a notice a little over a month before their lease ended that they would not be renewing, due to their breakup.  I got the impression they'd lived there for a few months under those awkward conditions!  But kudos to them for being responsible people and staying until the end of the lease, so they didn't lose any money.

I think what you are really asking is "is it correct?".  Not "is it legal", because a landlord (LL) can legally take whatever they want out of a security deposit as long as they have a legitimate reason to believe those are their damages.  Which isn't necessarily the same thing as "correct".

You can make the argument to your former LL that fleas did not exist when you lived there and they aren't your fault.  Including that the current tenants may have brought them.

As for the door, I gotta be honest, there isn't much to do with a door that I would consider "wear and tear".  I have doors in my own home and in some of my rentals that are 10+ years old and still look near perfect.  I suppose minor dings/chipped paint would be "wear and tear".  But even that would only be if you had lived there for at least a few years.

Your first shot is making you best case to your former LL.  But unfortunately, if they still don't agree with you, the only step you have left is to take them to small claims court.

I'm sorry to rain on your parade!  I'm not totally sure what you mean when you say "no money".  It looks like you included a down payment, which brought the amount of the potential loan down.

That is the first step because for a non-owner occupied property, you'll need a 20-25% down payment for most banks/lenders.  You'll also be limited in the banks/lenders to chose from because many of them won't be bothered with a loan that is less than $100K.  Not the property being $100K or more.  The loan itself needs to be at least $100K.  I'd also be surprised if you could get a rate of 4% for a non-owner occupied property, but I suppose that might be within the realm of possibility if you have a stellar credit score/report.

And then, what about the renovations?  Were is that money coming from?  if you want to include that in the loan, it's possible.  But it is another hurdle because there will be more scrutiny.  Plus, you'll need 20-25% of the renovation costs included in the loan as part of the down payment.  Lenders don't especially care if you'll have a lot of equity after the purchase.  It's still a 20-25% DP.

In addition, it sounds like you have only seen pics of the property on the listing.  I can almost guarantee you the real thing will be a substantially larger renovation then what you are estimating.  I have many times gone to see a property  where the pics look great on the listing, but there were major defect(s) once I got to the property.

Ah yes!  Like the time I went to look at a great fix n' flip potential.  But you can't smell the stink of feces from the busted sewerage pipe under the house through the computer and just looking at pics!  Or that cute raised house...wow, I can't believe how cheap it is, what an amazing deal...in the great neighborhood.  No pics from the side.  So you don't see until you are there in person that most of the middle supports are missing and the house is about to break in half.  Or the house is advertised as central air/heat.  But the equipment is 30 years old and barely works anymore.

Plus, since you are a few hours away, I assume you'd be hiring someone to do the rehab/repair.  That's a lot more expensive than DIY/mostly DIY.This sounds like an owner who checked out years ago.  I'd bet there is years of rampant deferred maintenance.  This is also evidenced by the fact that the property has been on the market for almost 3 years.  Unless there was a really recent price drop, that's because it's overpriced compared to the condition/repairs needed.

Definitely do NOT pay to have an appraisal or an inspection or any of that until the property is at least under contract.  TBH, I probably wouldn't even travel a few hours away until it was under contract with an inspection clause so I could get out of the deal if things look ugly when I go see the house with my inspector.  Your RE agent can run comps for you.  That will get you in the ballpark of the property's value without costing a few hundred (or more) for an appraisal.  Plus, if you did go under contract and went through with the deal, your lender will require an independent appraisal so you would  have to pay for another one anyway.

So after pointing out all the potential hurdles, lol, what can you do?  Wholesale or collect a finder's fee to give the deal to someone else.  This is not my area of expertise, so search BP on how to best do that.  Or possibly borrow money or partner up from a private source.  Or talk to the owner's agent if the seller is open to owner financing.  Though, even with owner financing, they usually require a DP.  But you never know.  They might just want to get this property off their hands and be happy with short-term payments until you can refinance it.  However, super doubtful they would include repair money in the loan.

New Orleans here!  Medium-small city with MCOL.  Most of my rentals are C+/B-.  Safe neighborhoods, but medium to lower-income.  The rental market here is usually on the softer side.  But in the past couple months, I have never seen it so active!  Rental demand is definitely up, at least in my neighborhoods.

The rest of this post, take with a grain of salt.  It's more my general impression.  Rental prices are about the same.  Maybe a little higher.  But housing prices seem to have gone down a bit.