All Forum Posts by: Bill Hoo

There's no visible evidence, aside from the 42 pound bag of cat litter.

I did some research and found I can photograph urine stains if I illuminate them with a UV light.  Going back Friday night with a UV flashlight to take pics and find where the cleaners may have missed.  My guess, they had a litter box in the kitchen, and the cat sprayed around the cabinet area or doorway.

I'm not going to bring them back to clean up.  I have their deposit for that.  

Just looking for options.

I had originally thought they hired a professional cleaner to remove the smell of marijuana.  That was another thing I noted to them, as my place is "No Smoking".

Are there cleaning services that specialize in getting rid of pet allergens?

I don't even know where to start on DIY.  Their cleaning service did a good job making the house and carpet clean, but apparently still lots of pet dander around.

What is the best way to get rid of cat dander after tenants have departed?

Tenant violated the NO PETS policy in the lease and got a cat.  Claimed it was his mother's and only had on weekends.  

I had reminded them of the no pets policy a few months ago when I was escorting the hvac tech thru the property and I saw cat toys and a litter scoop on the kitchen counter.

Lease was ending anyway and they decided not to renew.

Did the walk thru with them last night and was suprised at how clean the place was.  I noted that departing tenants had never wiped the window sills, or cleaned the carpets before.  They said they had hired a professional cleaning service and I thanked them for that.  As I was walking thru, I started sneezing and my sinuses were irritated.

They left behind an unopend 42 LBS bag of cat litter.

30 minutes after they had left, my nose was watery, eyes had swollen up, throat got a bad tickle, and I felt itchy and fevered.  CAT DANDER!

Also notice the smell of piss all over the kitchen area.  I still have their deposit.  ($2750).

I define the Holdover Rental rate in the lease if the tenant refuses to either renew for another 1 year term, or sign a new lease.

So, if the rent on the lease is $2000 per month, the Holdover Rent is defined at $3500 per month.  That ensures me that they make a decision to either renew, or get out by the end of their term.

The 5 day letter just has to be posted somewhere on the property.

In my first try, I entered the property and posted it on the refrigerator.  This embarrassed my tenant into paying up rent THE FIRST TIME, as she was renting out the spare bedroom via Air-B-N-B and her "guest" saw the notice.

When I found out the Alexandria Sheriff has to post it, I went thru them a year later when she was really late with the rent THE SECOND TIME.

I don't think the legal verbiage allows for email delivery.  And many times, she has denied getting emails from me.  Certified mail would work in most cases, except when your county requires the sheriff to do it.  Alexandria is very Pro-tenant since they have a 3 year backlog on Section8 requests and do not want to deal with a bunch of people thrown out onto the streets.

To file for eviction, you go to your county clerks office.  That is where I was notified that my 5 day letter would not be honored by the courts.

The sheriff delivered the letter when my tenant was out of town.  So he put it in an "official Alexandria Sheriff's Department plastic shopping bag" with their star emblem on the bag and hung it on the door handle in the hallway for everyone in the building to see.

I saw it when I visited the property and put it inside the property where my tenant could see it.

In Virginia, it's a 5-day notice, but the city of Alexandria requires that they generate the letter (I think it was $15) and that the Sheriff has to deliver it.

Check your town, and county in case they have rules that override the state.
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btw. In my case, it took the sheriff 14 days to deliver the letter and a week to send me confirmation.

From there I could file for eviction after 5 days pass giving the tenant time to resolve the rent.  So 5 more days pass, and the clerk has no hearing dates for 3 weeks.

Go to court and assuming the tenant does not show up to contest the eviction, the judge rules in your favor, and submits eviction notice to the sheriff to serve the eviction notice.  

It takes the sheriff 10-15 business days to serve the notice and the tenant has another two weeks to leave. 

If the tenant showed up to court to file appeal, add another month or so to the process.

In my case, the tenant paid what she owed me before I could file.  

I have three rental properties across two states.

Been renting since 2004.

Till now, I simply tally up expenses and log into a spreadsheet and bring to commerical tax preparing service (ie. HR Block, Jackson Hewitt, etc.)

My fear is I don't know what I don't know and maybe my tax preparer may not have the expertise to get me every nickel.

Any thoughts?

Also, a good idea to install a door sweep at the entrance.  Roaches and mice can come in from other units from the front door!

If no one is occupying the unit and you are in the cold winter months... unplug all appliances including the fridge (they love nesting near the warm compressor motor, and the dishwasher also provides a warm humid environment), open all cabinets and appliance doors.  Then open the windows and patio door for a day or two.

Roaches and their eggs die if exposed to temperatures under 40 Deg F for 10 hours.  Freeze them to death.

Then, look behind all cabinets, appliances, heating convectors and seal up any holes and voids.  Use "Great Stuff expanding foam, plastic sheet and tape, whatever does the trick.

Then use Gentrol capsules to stunt their growth so they do not reach egg-laying maturity.  Gentrol is good fo 2 to 3 months.

Get a duster and some Cimexa dust.  blow a light film into cracks, under cabinets, stove, bathroom cabinets, etc.  Cimex is harmless micro silica that sucks up moisture (it is used to keep electronics and beef jerky from getting damp and moldy).  Roaches walk across it and ingest it when they clean their legs.  It dehydrates them and kills them.

Apply roach baits.  Most exterminators just put baits on cabinet edges.  Rutgers university did a study and found baits are most effective in tight spaces as roaches feel safer when eating if they have at least TWO sides of their body making contact with a surface.  They recommended making "roach tacos" - basically take a 4 inch square of wax paper.  Fold it in half to form a triangle.  Aplay a pea sized gob of roach bait at the center, and leave them around where roaches hang.  They found a significant reduction in surveyed roach population when applying bait this way.

As for the dishwasher, I too had a tenant in Alexandria who NEVER cleaned the kitchen and NEVER notified me of the roach problem!  The roaches bunched up in the control module and shorted it out.  It was an older dishwasher, but still worked fine until the roaches.  The control module was sealed in a way I could not open it to get the dead roaches out and repair the circuit.

Repair person came and tried to sell me a new dishwasher to include a $50 a month maintenance program to cover any repair.  Hmm $50 a month x 12 months = $600 plus the $350 for new dishwasher!  I paid him the $100 service visit and told him to get lost.

Got a new dishwasher at Home Depot and found a huge hole in the wall behind the old dishwasher that building maintenance had cut to access pipes in the wall!  I sealed that up with plastic and tape!  Roaches had been coming in from other units via that hole!

I think the NJ Tenants Rights Handbook states that Tenants can change the locks and are not required to give the landlord a key.

I provide the handbook to my tenants, but ask that they do not change the locks as I need to get in for HVAC maintenance, repairs and emergencies.  All have been compliant so far.