All Forum Posts by: Rory M.

@Tanner Sherman thank you for your input. We are allowed to charge late fees so that just might be the route we end up taking.

@Alexandre Marques dos Santos they want to renew their lease but I highly doubt that’s the route we are taking. We value communication and this isn’t the first time we haven’t been able to get ahold of them.

My tenant complained they saw a bug in their unit. I paid an exterminator to come in as there were no bugs two months ago when I lived in the building (a duplex).

The exterminator said there is evidence that the lower unit tenant brought/is the cause of roaches. There was droppings, rotten food, and garbage all over the floor/tables. Pictures were taken for our records.

Per our lease if a professional can tell the cause of bugs/infestations it is that tenants responsibility for remediation costs.

I tried to talk to the tenant about the exterminators findings, however they have been avoiding/ignoring us. I have delivered a formal letter, provided notice via Cozy.co, left a voicemail, and spoke to them in person. They paid their rent but not the extermination fee.

We’ve had issues in the past with these tenants for cleanliness (I.e garbage bags in yard, overflowing waste bins, open intoxicants scattered around multi-family property). We don’t intend to resign a lease with them come August.. but that’s still 7 months away.

How much would you guys push to get the tenants to pay this fee? Should I add late payments to try and drive home the point? I have a security deposit, but I’d rather not allocate a portion of that to a lease violation.

Thanks in advance!

@Shafi Noss thank you for responding to my post. I have reached out to my tenants first in hopes they mistakenly packed said items and to clear up any confusions. However, they deny breaking items (even with picture evidence before move in and after) and taking items (with photos prior to move in). I don’t want to continue to “battle them” as they continue to challenge me. I like to look at people as genuine and trust worthy, as you make a very good point.

@Kenneth Garrett thank you so much for your response. Thankfully I do have the cost of cleaning and repairs in the lease. I just wasn’t sure how to go on from here since they are denying we provided said items or that they broke items even though we have photos prior to their move in and now after their move out. I figured we could provide the itemized list and remainder security deposit and be done with it since it’s all signed and agreed upon in the lease.

Prior to renting out our unit we did time stamped photos & provided a move in checklist for our tenants. Upon move out time we provided a move out checklist.

During our final walkthrough we noted they left the unit dirty and uncleaned (Kleenex, ear swabs, dirt, wrappers, peanuts) everywhere. Although they did clean the carpets. They also left rugs, poop scoopers, and kitchen gadgets behind.

As landlords we provided fire extinguishers, a dryer gas line, dryer vent work, bathroom drain stop, and all new blinds/appliances. We contacted our previous tenants and asked if they accidentally took the fire extingushers and gas lines/vent work. They stated they bought them themselves and sold them. Some of the brand new blinds were snapped in half and they stated they didn’t break them.

I have proof of what we provided and the units condition via photos as well as how new things are via receipt . My question is do we have to continue going back and forth with them providing said pictures or receipts? Or can we provide an itemized list with the remainder of the security deposit via mail and be done with it?

We weren’t going to charge them for cleaning or the belongings left behind because we liked them. Although it states in their lease we charge hourly and per item cleanup.

@Corina thank you for your response.:)

@Marcus Auerbach thank you so much for your response! I love the idea of doing an orientation.

I had an applicant today apply for one of our units who is a US Citizen. There would be a second person living with him who is here on a tourist visa for 2 years. The individual on the tourist visa is okay giving us passport information but there is no SSN to do a background check or income information. The original applicant meets all criteria. What would you do in this situation?

Hi all, I own a duplex that has the electrical panel in the basement. The panel is in a finished room I would like to be locked up. I’ve read that if you own less than 3 units, tenants do not need access as long as they have a maintenance number to call if power or fuses go out. However, I’ve also read that every tenant needs access legally. I live in Wisconsin and can’t seem to find anything legally. Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!:)

I’m closing on a duplex this week that was tenant occupied. The current tenants moved out without giving the 30 day notice as required by their lease and the current landlord was unaware that they moved out. I anticipated having at least two months rent given the 30 day notice and when they could give notice the earliest (mid month).

My thought was to ask for a credit from the landlord since he didn’t honor his lease agreement. As well as he didn’t do a walk through before they moved in so I would loose the security deposit completely. Also do I need to track down the old tenants to get them to sign something saying they are termination the lease effective immediately or should I pass that onto the current landlord? Any advise is greatly appreciated!