All Forum Posts by: Tricia O'Brien

Do you own the rental in your own name or as an LLC? If you own it in your own name and you own no more that 2 rental units, you are exempt from California's statewide rent control. However, if not, you have to abide by rent control which allows you to increase rents a certain amount each year based on some government statistic... I think it's the "consumer price index." In most counties of California, people follow the HUD recommendation of maximum capacity of 2 persons per bedroom plus 1 extra so 3 people max for a 1 bedroom apartment. So, perhaps the appropriate thing to do is give them a 30 day notice to reduce the occupancy to 3 people maximum. Then if they don't do that, maybe you could kick them out and then raise the rents to $1500. But if they took you to court to fight the 30 day notice to vacate, maybe they could win because all 5 of them are already on the lease. Best to consult a property manager in LA county and see what they suggest. I think whether they are here legally or not is irrelevant.

@drew sygit,  Thanks, Drew. That's helpful.

@Carlos Hennings If I did the basic credit check through Appfolio, are there other companies that offer the "Judgement and Liens" check as a stand-alone service I could pay for or the applicant could pay for?

@Adam Bartomeo when did you get out of owning rentals in Stanislaus county?

@Adam Bartomeo when did you get out of owning rentals in Stanislaus county?

Your "free" accounts are with Rentspree and Zumper? 

I know about how you can't flat out refuse to process Section 8 applicants in California.  

Are you saying you cannot require Section 8 applicants to meet a certain standard, like gross income of 3x the rent and credit score minimum 600?

Since I live outside CA, I'm going to have to hire someone to at least do property placement for me, if not full service property management, to fill this vacancy but I like to understand the processes, so PMs don't mislead me or rip me off.  Thanks :)

@Joe Homs thanks Joe!  I'd love to understand your process. For your rentals, do you post photos on a major website like Zillow?  Then direct prospects to apply online through RentSpree to do the application, criminal background check, rental history check, and eviction history check?  Then, if they meet your minimum standards, they are offered a showing with your property manager and the property manager verifies their employment, landlord references, etc? Have a great day!

I hired a PM in California in late March after my SFH rental became vacant because my tenant gave 30 days notice to vacate. She supervised some minor maintenance work and got a landscaper to clean up the yard and do weekly lawn service. The big problems began once she started advertising and screening tenants...she seems overly paranoid about Fair Housing laws and not diligent about tenant screening.

When I initially interviewed her, she said one of the things she does in her screening process is criminal background checks.   On the last 2 applicants, I noticed there was no criminal background check, only a search for "Filtered National Civil Court Records Search."  After I noticed this, I told her there's no criminal background check. She said "Yes, there is for 1 county, the county where the property is." After I insisted there was not, she called her screening company, www.Rentgrow.com, and they told her they have stopped doing all criminal background checks in California.  I asked her if she could do it through another organization, she said no but I'm welcome to find another agency to do a criminal background check myself, but I'd have to inform the tenant of this in advance.  

Then I had another problem that she doesn't thoroughly verify employment /occupation.   Someone applied who works at an outpatient surgery center.  Under "occupation" the applicant put, "Medical Records."  The PM is not willing to inquire as to if the applicant is a medical records clerk, a medical records supervisor, or something else.  Then, when an applicant puts down that they work doing In Home care, this PM is not willing to verify their state licensure as a CNA, LVN or RN.  She is only willing to call to verify that they work at "XYZ Surgery Center" (or wherever) and their rate of pay.

She sent me an excerpt that she says was lifted from a publication from "CA Dept of Fair Housing." Actually, she got the name wrong... the govt agency is "CA Dept of Fair Employment and Housing."  Based on her emails and texts and phone conversation, I feel like she doesn't understand the nuances or fair housing laws, and she is more concerned about avoiding being accused of a fair housing violation than in finding a quality tenant.

The property is in Stanislaus County California. It rents for $2200 a month and is a 3 bed/ 2 bath single family home.

What are your thoughts?  Thanks in advance :) 

@CArlos 

@Carlos Hennings what type of liens are no longer visible on credit reports?  Is it possible to have liens on something other that a property that one owns or a car one owns?

@Peter W. Thanks for responding! So, when you say "With rent around $2K/month, you wouldn't budge much without data" do you mean that you wouldn't lower the minimum income requirement of 3X the rent unless they have super great credit, like 760+ ?