All Forum Posts by: Silvia B.

My tenants of 3 years will be moving and I will be going through the application process again.  I was thinking that I would begin to process the basics of the applications first : verifying employment, income and previous landlords, etc.  If the applicant meets my qualifications in these areas, then I would request the consent and  fee to run the check via SmartMoves. I was wondering what you all think about accepting this fee in the form of a check? This way I would not have to ask the applicant for their checking account info on the application. Some  people do not feel comfortable about disclosing this on an application. If the check bounces then it is an automatic disqualification.  It will also provide me with a current address to compare to the application information provided. Since I would only run the credit check on an applicant who passes the first "basics" this would help alleviate the need to return fees to several applicants who never get that far in the process. I would credit the fee to the applicant that I sign the lease with. 

What is the best way to handle the criminal background/credit check fee?

 What have you found that works for you ?

Note: I only have one property and I am not a real estate agent.

@Marcia: In what form do you accept your application fee? (check, cash, etc.) Is this fee separate from a credit/background fee?

 You also said " If a tenant is denied because we selected someone else, we return their application fee" . What if you run the credit check (cost of $35)  and it comes back negative, do you still return the application fee.

Follow this advice. It sounds as if you might have a leak in the pipeline from the meter to your house. This is very common and will continue to become worse over time until it is replaced.

Yes Jeff, that is what I'm planning . I think this is the fair thing to do. I will also let the tennant know this ahead of time( within the week) in hopes that he actually WILL smoke outside.

Will do.

He says he's not smoking inside but time will tell. I have placed some sand filled cement pots around the decks and outside the garage where he smokes. Since I do the lawn maintanance it will be obvious if he is using them and picking up his butts.
Thanks for the replies.

Last year when I advertised for my rental I stated "No smokers, no pets".Applicant stated on his applicantion that he does NOT smoke. We even talked about this in our interview with him, also. Although my lease states "no pets" , I failed to include no smoking (thought I did but now see that it was omitted in error). The lease does state that tennant will leave the home in same condition that it was in when first rented, except for normal wear/use.
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My non-smoking tennant moved in last November.Last month he started dating a lady who smokes and now he has begun smoking. She does not live in this home.
The other day he approached me and told me that he was honest with me when he first moved in (that he didn't smoke at the time) but has since picked up this old habit. "My girlfriend and I are trying to quit and neither of us smokes in the house."

So what now? He is a great tennant otherwise, keeps place very clean and always pays before the rent is due. Do I just wait until the day he moves out and subtract from his security deposit any costs that occur due to cigarette smell in the house, if there is any?
Learning from my mistakes...

I agree with Jon. I used the Bigger Pockets Smartmove site and it works great. Very easy and the tennant has a sense of privacy since they do not have to give out their SS# to you. I think it is $25 for credit and background check. Plus it is considered a "soft hit" on their credit report so it's not held against them.

Steve~ In my situation: what about things like blinds and lights that were purchased before the place was placed into service.Do you think I can depreciate them over 5yrs from the date they were placed into service or do they have to go into the cost basis and depreciated over 27.5?

Mitch~ I don't think you can deduct your own labor, only what you pay out to someone else for their labor. My husband built a new front porch on the rental. It started out to be a repair but we found some rot and decided to replace it. The supplies will be depreciated but his time/labor cannot. I have been reading "Every Landlord's Tax Deduction Guide" for the past year and it has been very helpful with most things. But, yes, there are so many gray areas that it gets confusing at times. I really want to do whatever wil be best as far as IRS goes since they are the bottom line in returns.