All Forum Posts by: Walter C.

Thanks for the responses so far. Another question... does the city send out notices to landlords when their certificate is about to expire? Because I never got one from the city.

As the way things stand now, it could look like a few months after expiration.

For me, it's property management. I think that I only told a few people how many buildings that I own, but I don't normally volunteer the info.

Hi,

I just learned that the lead-safe certificate will expire this year, in Philadelphia. But I will be away for some time, and won't be able to renew until after the expiration. Has this happen to anyone, where one renewed sometime after it expired? Was there any problem because of that?

I decided to end the tenancy of one of the tenants. I have told him repeatedly, and thought he was actually doing it. But it turned out, it was his roommate (who moved in without telling me, but turned out to be a good tenant) that was doing the cleaning up. And now, that roommate will be moving out soon, and has told me that the main tenant was not cleaning up after himself. That was when I had enough, and decided to end the lease.

He has been living month-to-month for some time now. This is the first time I have done something like this, where it was for other reasons besides not paying rent. I have sent him a letter that he has to move out in 60 days, but did not give reasons why I decided this. Was I suppose to do that, telling why he has to move out?

I feel bad doing this, but I always have to remind myself that I am not a charity.

Quote from @Chris Seveney:

@Walter C.

Other question I have is

How did you vet this tenant?

I will admit, not really. Just by word of mouth from the previous tenant, who was a roommate of this one. And so far, he has kept up with the rent. 

With the current one, it looks like I will have to educate him a little on the concept of "decluttering", even though I am not exactly good at that myself. I am giving him about a month to correct this issue, before the next exterminator visit. If the whole situation does not improve, then I plan to tell him to move out in 30 days.

Has anyone experienced a tenant who is very uneducated? I am currently dealing with one, and now, the issue is going to be on cleaning up the apartment. And I mean, really clean it up, as the pest problem has gotten really bad. Adding to that, he does not speak English, so I had to use Google Translate to communicate.

I wonder... am I going to have make some type of "how-to" guide on cleaning the apartment? I am planning to write down some things that need to be done, and show him, but I am not sure if he will understand the concept at all. I feel like I am dealing with a kid.

I have hired a local exterminator, to spray all the residential units. I have posted multiple notices on their doors throughout the week, in their native language, with help from Google Translate, as constant reminders. I tried to get copies of keys of all rooms, but was only able to get some of them. 

They are not the only ones new at this, as I am new at this too. I have been told by the local pest company, that the chemicals that they will be using, is harmless to kids and pets. And not even a need to vacate their place while the exterminator is there. But I still recommended them to do so, as I want to be safe than sorry.

Fingers crossed on this!

Thanks for all the responses so far. I am leaning towards a local exterminator. Now, I am working on getting the word to all the tenants, and trying to get them to clean up before the visit. And I am very dependent on Google Translate.

Richard, it was renting to several people, and they put locks on their bedroom doors after that. 

I am wondering... should I have a copy of key to every room within the apartment? I wonder if this would be an invasion of privacy. With 1 unit, there are 2 people living there, with their respective bedroom being their own mini-apartment. Now, I did run into a problem when these people were either sleeping or out at work when I had an inspector come in, and their doors were locked. And I did tell them ahead of time, but apparently, I did not do it enough. Not helping matters, is that they don't speak or understand English. And now, I will need access to their room for pest control.

Speaking of which, do you go with a local or national brand like Orkin or Terminix? And should I give the tenants some information in their native language on preparations beforehand and other things to do when an exterminator arrives and after?

Also, I am thinking about having all the residential units treated at the same time, as they are all overdue.

I know this is all over the place, but I am trying to figure out how to do all this without going insane.

Also, I face the possibility of a lawsuit filed against me, by the commercial tenant, for the lost business during the cease order.