All Forum Posts by: Susan H.

Susan H. has started 27 posts and replied 224 times.

Originally posted by @Kim Meredith Hampton:

@Susan H. our tenants are required to give a thirty day notice, son once they give notice, we start advertising. I find that in the Orlando/central Florida market, thirty days seems to most prevalent. Once I get an application, I ask for a holding deposit, and must sign the lease within 48 hours, I will hold the property for up to 30 days, But not any longer than that.

Kim, it sounds as though our markets are similar. Appreciate your comment!

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Originally posted by @Thomas S.:

I would not be looking for a tenant available February 1st due to the higher risk associated with why they would need a place on such short notice. My add would be for March 1st and I would screen all applicants for that date. Assuming they pass screening I would sign a lease now for March 1st and take a deposit to hold.

Thanks for your input, Greg. The March 1st lease start seems entirely reasonable.

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Originally posted by @Michael Totman:

To answer your last question, you would NOT sign any kind of agreement until you have completely screened this tenant and decided you want this person as a tenant so YES, you would require they complete the application and credit check.

That said, is there a reason you can't find someone to rent it on February 1? Today is January 16, you think it would take you possibly 89 days to find a good tenant so you'd settle for a holding agreement until May 1? If that's the case there is something wrong with your rental and it probably starts with asking for too much rent compared to its quality/location/features.

If that's the case I'd take those 89 days and clean this place up. Rehab it, make it tenant proof, and make all decisions based on what will make this place easier to rent.

Otherwise why would you consider holding an empty apartment for three months? Is this just the first person you liked? Keep looking.

I'm NOT considering holding any rental for that length. I've asked the question about length because this is the first time I've seen so many applicants in this "just looking" stage--something they didn't disclose during the phone screening conversation. It's a weird trend

I'm just interested in knowing how much time others are willing to hold a property. To me, 30 days in my market is reasonable, although my properties usually rent within 2 weeks of being advertised.

I do appreciate you confirming that my process of application/credit check is appropriate. Best wishes in your own rentals.

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I have a rental advertised as available Feb 1st. I'm getting calls from prospective tenants who say they're looking now for a rental with lease beginning in April or May. While I appreciate their willingness to plan ahead, I wonder how many landlords will hold a property that long.

I'm comfortable with signing a Holding Fee Agreement 30 days ahead of lease start with the fee rolling over to the security deposit at time of lease signing. Anyone here agree to hold a property for a longer period of time?

And whatever the length of your holding agreement, do you require they complete the application and credit/background check before signing that agreement? Opinions welcome!

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Originally posted by @Alex Sanfilippo:

@Colleen F. - Thanks for the tips! Do you have any recommended keypad locks that you would use for condo main entrance? I've seen a lot of them with really bad reviews.

@Susan H. - Susan, where could I find this information locally? I believe my attorney and I have checked all of the laws and what we are doing is acceptable/legal, but I would certainly like to continue to confirm! If you know of where I could find documents to review, that would be very helpful.

@Roy N. - My attorney and I have spoken with the condominium development that we are using in regards to doing these 'leases by room' and after checking with them and the bylaws; there are no issues with it from that perspective. But I certainly see where you are coming from! I checked with each of the 17 developments in the area and there was only 1 that this would work in. I'm guessing if I tried this somewhere else, it probably wouldn't be legal.

Thanks for the comments! I really appreciate this community offering advise and the willingness to help.

I found the information about zoning occupancy by reviewing my local ordinances. It also helped that this has been a big issue in this college town, to to the point that the papers ran stories explaining that it was the landlords' and sellers' responsibility to make tenants/buyers aware of the ordinance. We added this as an addendum to our leases and require all tenants to acknowledge by signing.

Does your town have a website that includes such information? If not, you could contact your alderman/rep on the city council.

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Originally posted by @Alex Sanfilippo:

Hello, I am in the process of launching a company that handles the student housing for a small university within my city. There are under 100 students and they all know each other at some level. So more than likely the students living within the condos that I will be using for housing will all know each other.

My question is this, should I have individual locks for the rooms within the condo?

I've not done a rental property like this before, in general, I could use some guidance on how to handle the locks for each unit.

Any advise is appreciated!

Alex, does your town have an ordinance regarding occupancy? I'm in a college town and here we have an ordinance that limits occupancy. For example:

No more than three unrelated people are allowed to occupy a residence in a single-family zoning district.
Up to four unrelated people are allowed to occupy a residence in a multi-family zoning district.
Developers can apply for a special planned zoning district to allow up to five unrelated people to live together in a new apartment complex.

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Originally posted by @Hadar Orkibi:

For closing cost we agreed that the seller will pay 2%.

What I was hoping to understand is what does "Enhanced Title insurance Cover" means..? is it extra cover against the tenant damaging the house? or contaminating it with methamphetamine etc

Re Survey: Is it something that you would regard as must do?

As an investor and property owner in Arkansas, I'll answer your question about surveys by saying "it depends."

Is the property rural or in an underdeveloped area? Then yes, I'd pay for the survey. A few years ago I bought a 3-acre piece of land in a sparsely populated wooded area off a county road. Neighboring property owners had fenced their lands, but I paid for a survey anyway. Good thing, as that 3-acre parcel is actually 4.11 acres and includes land that neighbors had fenced. (That's another story for another day...) Also turned out that the county line ran about 10' in from the road and the rest was zoned for the town.

If it's in an established neighborhood in a town, you might not need a survey, but should get the plat information and legal description of the property. Many counties have that information available online, or the county records clerk should be able to direct you.

So...the need for a survey often depends on the location of the property, what's around it, and how much detailed information you can find on the property.

I hope this is helpful.

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Originally posted by @Landon Lee:

Hey everyone,

I have been trying to do research on the landlord/tenant laws in Arkansas, specifically central Arkansas. However, I have not been able to find an all encompassing comprehensive list/book/website with all landlord/tenant laws in one place. Do any of you guys have any suggestions on where to go?

Thanks!

Have you looked at http://arkansasrealtors.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/2014-Landlord-Tenant-Handbook-FINAL.pdf ?

Your city/county might have additional information. Up here in Fayetteville, for example, we have a city ordinance restricting the number of unrelated persons who can occupy a residence. You might check your local ordinances for same.

Good luck!

~Susan

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Originally posted by @Account Closed:

@Susan Holmes The reason you don't see the SSN on the report you get is because Smartmove will only give you a water down report not a complete report. Landlords should sign up with the other two bureaus, so they can get a full report with correct info.

Good to know, thanks!

1 Vote

Originally posted by @Ruel K.:

Update: I have a prospective tenant. It's a family with a daughter. They did not write their SS#s on the rental application form. They have their driver's license numbers. They also left the credit information blank but they did provide a printout of their credit report but its only from Transunion. Any comments would be appreciated. Is that red flag that they did not provide their SS#s?

Ruel, it sounds like your prospective tenant might be concerned about securing their personal identifying information. You could require the SSN before considering their application (especially if you are running your own checks). Or you could require them to authorize a credit/background check from the company of your choosing. I send applicants a link to SmartMove and they're responsible for inputting all their info (including SSN); I don't see it on the report that's generated.

Personally, I won't consider applications that omit required information, and my qualification criteria (provided when they tour a unit) clearly states that. What does your criteria say?

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All Forum Posts by: Susan H.

Susan H. has started 27 posts and replied 224 times.

Post: How long will you hold a rental with a deposit/fee paid?

Post: How long will you hold a rental with a deposit/fee paid?

Post: How long will you hold a rental with a deposit/fee paid?

Post: How long will you hold a rental with a deposit/fee paid?

Post: Individual Room Locks

Post: Individual Room Locks

Post: Arkansas Contract Question

Post: Arkansas Landlord/tenant laws

Post: Prospective Tenant

Post: Prospective Tenant