All Forum Posts by: Alex Tang

Quote from @Chris Seveney:

Quote from @Alex Tang:

Hello,

i am an out of state landlord with a 3bd 2ba SFH outside of Atlanta and am looking for some advice in whether to take an ex-tenant to small claims court. This person and his partner broke the lease early as they bought a home. The damages plus cleaning fees could exceed $10k. This person is a pilot for Delta Airlines but never left a forwarding address. I've never taken anyone to small claims court so any advice on how to proceed or whether it's worth it at all would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 Two options, get an attorney to handle this (in many instances attorney fees are also recoverable). The other option is 1099 them this amount whcih means they will have to pay taxes on that. you get nothing but another avenue.

I did hear you can 1099 them and continue to pursue, and if you get the $ then you file a revised 1099.

 I've talked to an attorney who 1) thought there was a reasonable chance the legal costs would not be recouped even if judgement is in my favor 2) the legal costs would most likely exceed the damages.

how do you 1099 an ex tenant this expense?

I recall reporting rent payments to credit bureaus was a feature on Cozy, but I'm not sure if apartments.com does it.  Does anyone know?

Hello,

i am an out of state landlord with a 3bd 2ba SFH outside of Atlanta and am looking for some advice in whether to take an ex-tenant to small claims court. This person and his partner broke the lease early as they bought a home. The damages plus cleaning fees could exceed $10k. This person is a pilot for Delta Airlines but never left a forwarding address. I've never taken anyone to small claims court so any advice on how to proceed or whether it's worth it at all would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Hi,

What are people's opinion on using the DCA Payment Standards as a proxy for market rent? For my first rental property I was relying on rentometer, but according the latest DCA guidelines, I may be underpricing it by a decent amount.  Thanks

Alex

Hi,

I've noticed that it's not uncommon to see homes where the garages were converted into separate living space. The listing prices don't appear any different than homes w/ garages, so the owner isn't getting any price appreciation benefit.  Does anyone know if the converted garage adds any markup to the rent?  TIA 

Alex

Originally posted by @Nathan Gesner:

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. If they are the sellers and kept the home nice, surely they will keep it nice as renters. IF you feel there's risk, charge them the same as you would a renter.

My concern was a final walkthrough is a chance to spot anything that an inspector might've missed, was hidden by furniture, or happened subsequent to the inspection.  If the Seller is staying on as a short term tenant, then a security deposit will provide at least some of the same protection.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions/input.  I told the tenant that signing the lease accepting that the yard was not completely fenced off.  However, when I offered to split the cost of the fence, he declined and said he would find another way to keep his dog within the yard.

A tenant is asking me if I can install a fence in the backyard because his dog keeps running into the woods.  It's a rather big backyard and the costs to fence off the unfenced portion is 2x the monthly rent.  Wondering would anyone else install a fence or ask the tenant to try the electric fence solution ( I've heard some dog owners may not agree to this method ).  Thanks

When a Seller wants to rent out the home until their new place is ready, is advisable to charge them a security deposit? Since a walkthru prior to closing doesn't sound useful, would a security deposit offer similar protection? If so, how do you determine what's an acceptable condition that the Seller has to leave the home in?  TIA

Alex

I read that Fannie's Desktop Underwriting does allow for appraisal waivers in certain situations.  My appraisal waiver form references that Fannie's DU isn't requiring an appraisal.  Interesting.