All Forum Posts by: S Harper

Pat L.  - The leak was actually a copper line underneath the master bathroom.  One bad section of pipe surrounded by lots of good copper.

Wilson - FEMA recommends any mold growth greater than 25 square feet should be handled by a professional mitigation firm. The 1200 foot crawlspace is approximately 80% covered in mold growth. The approach so far is containment, water extraction, dehumidifiers, anti-microbials, manually removing mold, sanding all wood surfaces once dry, hepa vac, kilz coating of all surfaces, hepa vac again.

Perfect storm:

enclosed crawlspace, still air, hot water, spraying water leak for at least one and up to two weeks straight.  Dew point is evidently 100 grams per pound - the crawlspace was at 107.  I think this space could have been used to teach kids about the water cycle, as it was continuing to drip and form new condensation droplets on the mold for the first few days after the leak was stopped and mitigation in process.

Thanks for your reply.  I am putting everything down here in case our little journey is of any help or interest to anyone else.  We have been able to learn a lot on these boards, which is much more fun than learning it through an experience like this. 

After speaking with the mitigation manager at the remediation company as well as our county's Department of Public Health - Environmental Services department it has been determined that the property is not uninhabitable.  The on-site tech was expressing a personal opinion that he would prefer to move out if he was living there (with every conversation I am getting more of "the sky is falling!" form of communication).  Per the mitigation firm, the mold is contained to the crawlspace, with no indication it is in the living space.

Environmental Services said that he feels that the home is safe to stay in since the mold is 1) in the crawlspace, 2) there is a plastic tent over the access trapdoor, 3) the furnace is not located in the crawlspace, 4) the mitigation company has established negative air pressure in the crawlspace 5) as well as using anti microbial treatments and 6) water remediation efforts.

I consulted with a real estate attorney.  He advised to put everything in writing, specifically that there was an offer to help pay for alternate accommodations and that the tenants chose to stay, stating that they have been advised to talk to their family physicians to assess their personal risks, and have the property manager and both tenants sign.  I am also having them read and sign off on documents from the CDC and the state Department of Public Health and Environment that give facts about mold and health.

Luckily the reserves are in great shape.  

The homeowner's insurance policy:  Insurance does not cover plumbing repairs attributed to general wear and tear. Insurance has a $2500 cap on mold mitigation (since the estimate yesterday JUST for mold is over $8100, trying to see if we can increase that number going forward).  Insurance will pay water remediation up to a much higher number than for mold, and does a good job separating the two causes and associated charges.  A homeowner's policy does not cover the expense to move out a tenant - that is covered by renter's insurance policy.  Which our tenants did not have at the time of the leak.

Going forward:  

Waiting for a call back from the insurance company to see if it is possible and cost to increase the mold mitigation cap on the policy for any future claims.

Changing the wording of the Renter's Insurance clause in the lease to state proof of coverage with the landlord listed as an interest is required within 48 hours after the lease is signed, prior to the keys being handed over.  

Some wording about any water noises needing to be reported immediately.

Moisture alarms for any properties with crawlspaces.  Per the plumber - one underneath each bathroom is ideal.

Notices out to all other tenants requesting proof of coverage with the landlord listed as an interest to be provided within 2 business days.

As always - any additional advice is always appreciated!

I have a tenant who heard "the toilet running" for "over a week, I guess" - but it turned out to be a big hot water leak spraying the subfloor under the bathroom in an enclosed crawlspace.  So there is mold.  Lots of mold.  The remediation company will not give an absolute move out recommendation, because they refer to a third party company for environmental assessment (minimum 300-1200 not covered by insurance), but the tech has indicated it would be a good idea for them to move out for 5-7 days.  Their renter insurance is lapsed (I now know to add our company as an interest, thanks to this board), so they are resistant.  For their health (and our liability risk) I am going to tell them they are required to move out for the duration of the remediation.  Obviously, they have been told they need to immediately secure their coverage, with us listed as an interest.

Anyone happen to have a letter for a temporary move out due to repairs/environmental risk?  I know it is a long shot, but have not been able to find anything through the insurance or remediation companies or online searching.

Thanks for any help.

I had an appointment show up 35 minutes early one evening with her two elementary aged kids (I had another showing there at that time).  The younger kiddo was running in circles, kicking his sister repeatedly, and turning the lights on and off in all of the rooms while Mom leaned against the wall.  The mom filled out the paperwork, but said she needed her husband to see it.  15 minutes past the appointment time I asked her if she could contact her husband to see how close he was, but she couldn't because their phones had been turned off that morning.

She didn't have the application fees - could I hold the place until Friday?

They had been living with her in-laws for over 10 years - so they have great rental history.  No, they don't pay rent to them. (The application she had filled out states family landlords do not count towards history even when you are paying rent)

So - even though you haven't paid rent for over 10 years you can't pay the $70 total in app fees, you can't pay your cell phone bill, and she asked if having 2 cars repo'ed would count as negative credit history.  But she told me they can afford $1500/mo in rent.

How much notice are you legally required to give when not renewing a month to month lease in Colorado?

The house is in Arvada, CO.  Tenants have been there since 10/08 and have been month to month since 10/09, most recent MtM lease signed in 06/15 but with no end date.

The lease states that notice of 7 days is required for not renewing a lease for either landlord or tenant.  I have been checking online to make sure that this number is legal for the state of Colorado.  I have only found something put together by the city of Boulder (11 days prior to the next rent due date), and other websites that say if it is a long term tenant they require 28 days or even longer.  These are long term tenants, but are on a month to month lease with rent due on the 1st of each month. 

They are in violation of the lease:  Cannot get them to maintain the exterior of the property per the lease requirements (trash, weeds, no lawn care), and due to some work issues, he has been paying me every week instead of on the first for a few months.   I have tried to work with them for far too long as one of his kids is friendly with one of mine (I don't put up with this at any other property- my mistake).  At this point I don't want them to stay even if they were to comply with the property maintenance clauses and get back to monthly payments.  I would rather not have to go through an eviction process if I can just tell them the lease is not renewed and get them out that way.  I have given him 3 day notices before and he meets the requirement, then back things backslide again.

 Since he is paying weekly (and if I don't stay on him he tries to pay late constantly) I am trying to give the minimum notice required legally as I am sure he will stop paying once he knows they are out.  

Thanks for any input. 

Xcel is pretty tough to get information from.  They require that you have your tenant sign a Third-Party Notification form in order to tell you anything.  

I like that the water company is much more forthcoming with info, but I was told that it is because the property owner is stuck with any unpaid balance.  Xcel keeps the unpaid balance assigned to the person whose name is on the bill, even after they leave the property.  

Just curious - does the lease have any clause about growing pot in the house?  

Good luck!

We have only placed tenants 3 times, with one of them not working out very well (so I am gun shy).  There are enough small things that bother me that I thought I would seek input from more experienced landlords.

Single dad (with 2 85 lb mastiffs), his 19 year old son, 24 year old daughter and her boyfriend.  Would you recommend having all four sign leases?

Dad's gross = 1.5x rent

daughter's gross = said 1.5x rent, but am waiting for her to provide 1099s to confirm as she is an independent contractor

son and boyfriend will be another 1.5x rent total, but haven't verified income or run their credit checks yet as I have questions about the things I have found out so far. 

Dad and daughter have credit obligation minimum payments over 20% of their gross pay, our rent would be another 25% of gross.  In your experience, is this a workable set of obligations? 

The dad failed to include a car loan on the app (he said he is co-signer on another son's loan and forgot about it). 

The daughter failed to include a car loan on the app (she said she is co-signer on her boyfriend's car loan and didn't know if she needed to include it as he pays the bill), and told me $100 in credit card obligations vs the actual of $328.

They have credit scores of just over 600 for one, mid 500 for the other, and have no late monthly payments on the credit report. 

I met the dad and daughter and they presented themselves well (and no red flags on their facebook pages).

I am still waiting for their landlord to call back.  They were paying quite a bit less there, but were there for 5 years (they said they are leaving because landlord is selling).

With my limited experience these small things all make me concerned, and I don't have enough experience to tell if I am over-thinking.

Thanks for any input. 

We have only placed tenants 3 times, with one of them not working out very well (so I am gun shy).  There are enough small things that bother me that I thought I would seek input from more experienced landlords.

Single dad (with 2 85 lb mastiffs), his 19 year old son, 24 year old daughter and her boyfriend.  Would you recommend having all four sign leases?

Dad's gross = 1.5x rent

daughter's gross = said 1.5x rent, but am waiting for her to provide 1099s to confirm as she is an independent contractor

son and boyfriend will be another 1.5x rent total, but haven't verified income or run their credit checks yet as I have questions about the things I have found out so far. 

Dad and daughter have credit obligation minimum payments over 20% of their gross pay, our rent would be another 25% of gross.  In your experience, is this a workable set of obligations? 

The dad failed to include a car loan on the app (he said he is co-signer on another son's loan and forgot about it). 

The daughter failed to include a car loan on the app (she said she is co-signer on her boyfriend's car loan and didn't know if she needed to include it as he pays the bill), and told me $100 in credit card obligations vs the actual of $328.

They have credit scores of just over 600 for one, mid 500 for the other, and have no late monthly payments on the credit report. 

I met the dad and daughter and they presented themselves well (and no red flags on their facebook pages).

I am still waiting for their landlord to call back.  They were paying quite a bit less there, but were there for 5 years (they said they are leaving because landlord is selling).

With my limited experience these small things all make me concerned, and I don't have enough experience to tell if I am over-thinking.

Thanks for any input. 

I am not planning on charging her for paint, carpet cleaning & stain removal, cleaning the whole house, picking up dog waste and garbage outside, those types of things. Also not charging her for the 2 hours it took to sand down and re-treat the cedar walls where the teenagers were writing on it with marker and ballpoint pens, or sanding the wall where they had made a booger collection (art installation? yikes). No labor at all even though the lease states that she needs to leave the property in the same condition it was in when she moved in. When I was part owner in a coffee shop, I was told by an accountant that my time is not deductible.

I figure the old doorknob that was broken in 2, or the 2 window blinds that were broken, those types of things are wear and tear.

The light was put in new 5 years ago, and they took it down. Same with the new smoke detectors and one of the window screens - they removed them entirely (she said she didn't go in the basement and didn't know what her boyfriend's kids were doing after she had let them move in, which was in violation of her lease).

When the dishwasher or disposal broke she would call me and let me know, she never did with these things. They were just missing.

Would it change from wear and tear to a chargable item in your opinion when they actually remove something? (Not being snarky here - honestly wanting your opinion.)

Thanks.

We did inspections when we were turning on and draining the sprinkler system - so twice a year - but evidently she just didn't give a darn about anything towards the end. There was nothing to show the bf & kids were either staying over a lot or moved in (except for the damage to walls in the finished basement). Her response when I asked when she was clearing out the shed in back (10x15, half filled with junk) or the shelves full of automotive fluids and junk outside the garage was to say that the new tenants could just put their things around what she was leaving.

I admit I am more interested in charging for things because we lowered rent for her after her partner died (I know - mistake), and then suddenly there are over $300 in repair supplies (not labor, or the abundance of needed cleaning supplies) on things that I wouldn't have expected to have to replace after a few years. And the lease is clear on repairs/property condition expectations.

The house was a foreclosure in bad shape when we got it, so pretty much everything was refinished/new (smoke detectors included.)

I have receipts for all the supplies and an itemized list of issues with the house, so I can show her what I did not charge her for (eg 2 broken inexpensive window blinds that probably don't have a huge lifespan, 6 days of our labor) vs the durable items that I am planning on.