All Forum Posts by: Alyssa Wright

My follow-up question regarding the fan is was there any previous issues with the ventilation in the bathroom that would justify their concerns with the mold? If not, then I would not pay them back for the fan as it was not a necessary update. If you really wanted to go there, you could even charge them for the labor if you had your own people install it. 

I'm assuming you had the property cleaned before move-in and at least checked the dishwasher to confirm that it was not moldy. I would not replace the dishwasher but let them know that they would be able to as long as they covered the cost of replacement. Just note that if they pay for the dishwasher, you're probably going to have to let them take it with them when they leave so keep the old one. 

Honestly, this just sounds like the tenant may just be a bit of a clean-freak/paranoid. If you agree to replace these items, I'd be willing to bet that they'd just assume that they can get you to replace any appliance they just don't look of. 

As a few other people have mentioned in this thread, a leak is no joke and is better to get it rectified asap. Do you have anything in the lease for limited/no notice for emergency repairs? I would post something on the door giving her 24 hours notice of the repair and just get the leak fixed asap. 

As mentioned by Michele, smoking is not a protected class and you are perfectly within your rights to deny them as you do have a no smoking policy. Sure you could them that they have to smoke outside the property, but there isn't a way to reasonably enforce that as well you may end up disrupting any other tenants/neighbors who are nearby. 

Say you do let them move-in as well and they end up smoking inside, you could end up paying a lot to get that smell out. We recently had a rental property where the unit needed re-painted and the carpets needed professionally cleaned multiple times to even get the smell out; which your best bet at that point may just to be to replace any carpeting you may have in the unit. 

It depends on a few factors... How severe is the leak/is it causing them to not use the kitchen as expected? Are you planning on getting this leak rectified within a reasonable time frame or is going to be leaking for a while? 

If any items were damaged as a result of this leak, I would 100% tell the tenants to reach out to their renters insurance, assuming they have it. Maybe give a credit here if any items or foods were damaged. 

Personally, I would say no to offering a rent decrease because of a leak. Not only does that change your income flow, but you also don't want to set that precedent for the tenants. Worse case, if you do the rent decrease, is that you have a non-cash flowing property/rentals below market rent as well as you have tenants who expect their rent to be lowered at every inconvience. You could suggest them to put their rent into escrow until the leak is rectified, but a rent decrease seems a bit excessive unless the kitchen is totally destroyed and or unusable. 

Congratulations! It seems like you are on the right track and have taken some good steps here! Best of luck on all of your future endeavors! 

I would just non-renew them and give them proper notice of the non-renewal. To me, it's never worth the hassle of having to worry if they're going to pay their rent on time or not. I don't think you'd have much luck going the eviction route as they seem to be bordering on the professional tenant side of things in terms of avoiding possessions. 

Alternatively, you could also reach out to them and try to figure things out that would work better for them, like possibly changing the time that their rent is due. Do you know if their payment issues are from them choosing to pay or if their pay-periods are more sporadic and just don't line up well with the rent being due? 

At the end of the day, business is business and it's nothing personal. I would set a deadline for her to respond to and if you don't hear anything from her by that time, just send her an email, text, voicemail, and probably even post something on their door. The notice could be something along the lines of, due to not receiving any response from you in regards to your rent increase, I am going to assume that you do not wish to continue with the higher rent and your lease will expire on x date at x time. I would definitely recommend at least prepping to get the property posted on the market.

This could be a bit tricky since the tenants have been there for so long and I do think that even getting close to the market rent is going to cause some upset/tenants moving out. 

I'm curious about if you would happen to know what the current condition of the units as well as how outdated/updated they are. If they'd happen to be pretty updated and in good condition you could probably go for around the $1650-1700 mark. If they are outdated and need some general work then I would think you would maybe want to be a bit closer to the $1500 range. 

I suppose you could work out a plan with the tenants to do a more gradual increase of the rent rather than doing it all at once to be more income-friendly and to allow them to attempt to budget for the increase but you may also risk losing them anyway. 

Overall, there are a ton of really helpful suggestions in the replies here so I think you should definetley weigh some options in terms of if your goal is to keep the tenants or have the units be up to market rent. 

I love this post!

I have worked with Section 8 in the past and within the last 2-3 months have done a huge increase in working with Section 8 and it's easy-peasy. In Allegheny/Washinton County atleast, the paperwork can be a little tedious as the Section 8 offices here are pretty back up and take a while to get the ball rolling but other than that, I would do every rental as Section 8 if I could. 

Hey Misook, 

I get you wanting to be understanding in this situation as it is rather unfortunate and it does seem like the tenant has some valid reasoning for needing to cancel their lease but you have to think of protecting yourself and your assets. At the end of the day, you are going to keep losing money the longer your property sits vacant and the reason that there was a clause in place within the lease regarding terminating was to help yourself out. I would recommend following through with the early termination fee; which in itself is quite generous compared to other termination fees I've seen before. While the fees you collect may not be a lot in covering your costs of mortgages,bills, etc... it certainly would help.