All Forum Posts by: Brian Wojcik

@ Monteria Cook

Be sure to understand the "Fair Housing" law. In some cases, if you own three or fewer SFH units you might be exempt. Get familiar with the law first.

There are seven "Federal" protected classes for discrimination: race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, and familial status. Your state may have protected classes "In addition to" the federal protected classes. For instance, in Maryland we have 3 more, (one becomes effective starting 10/1/14). Then there are local/county protected classes for a total of 12 more. In total, Maryland Landlords could have up to 22 protected classes they have to know about.

Research your state. Google "Fair Housing Protected Classes New Mexico." Go to the source for the facts, either the state website itself or a reputable source, such as the state association of realtors. 

Err on the side of caution - it only takes an accusation to bring a case against you. Your then left with different individual interpretation of the law and a legal process to deal with.

@ Nicole W

Take a trip to the county offices. Ask for them to print a history of the water consumption for the last 6-8 quarters. Clearly there will be an anomaly in the last quarter. Combined with your pictures, you have a case. Ask what your recourse is. If the clerk can't answer, ask to speak to a supervisor, then a manager. Half the challenge in these situations is finding out who to talk to and finding someone willing to help.

In Baltimore City, they have a process called an "informal hearing." I've been through it with some multi-family properties we used to manage. I'm not familiar with the County procedure but suspect they have one. I"m sorry you paid $900 for a plumber, hopefully you got some good pictures while the hole was dug. If they have a hearing process, perhaps you'll have an opportunity to argue for some credit against future water bills considering you had to come out of pocket to provide evidence of the county responsibility.

No! 

Would you become business partners with someone who is cheating on his other business partner? 

It's really the same thing - if he'll do it to her, his same value system will rationalize questionable behaviors to another.

In the end, contracts are only as good as the people behind them. They alone won't protect you from pain and suffering. If left to the courts and lawyers, it can be painful and expensive to go down that path. 

If he lends the money through a promissory note as debt, you can protect your risk. Prevent giving him any business control or banking access or authority. That will protect you more also if he were to end up in divorce.

Mold is that other four letter dirty word. Just be careful and evaluate all your risks. Yes, you could try to convince the tenant that you're right and it's not a problem after cleaning it with bleach - but if they disagree and are looking for a way to not pay rent it could make managing the situation a nightmare. What is the disposition of the tenant? Do you have experience with them as reasonable historically? 

We have rent escrow court in Maryland - when you involve the system suddenly everyone has their own interpretation of the law and the situation; you're best to avoid it all together even if it costs you a little now - it'll save you in the long run. I've experienced judges award rent escrow money partially to tenants for their "anguish."

I agree with Bill Bell, if you can ditch the doors and use a curtain rod - that'll make it "rent friendly." Make sure they know cleaning with a 10% bleach solution is their responsibility - it should be in the lease as part of maintenance of the premises.

@ Joe Gore

First-hand experience with not paying:

• Old Republic
• BGE Home

Several other client stories before they hired us to manage have expressed similar experiences with other Warranty companies, since it's second hand information and I wasn't intimately involved, I'm hesitant to list them.

Most recent was BGE Home. They claimed they couldn't find parts to repair our client's HVAC system; they quoted him new systems between $7-10,000. Our HVAC tech found a new coil and were able to repair his system. The client was amazed at our inexpensive repair estimate and asked us to quote him a replacement system. We installed a replacement system at 1/2 the price with a 10 year warranty.

How about other readers, do you have names of companies with first-hand experience that didn't pay?

The key is to set the expectations up front with your tenant. We typically will do an inspection every 6 months with 24 hour notice (whether they are there or not). 

We find prevention is best. How? Our leases are written with specific language that holds them responsible for repairs and damage. We have a paragraph "REPAIR AND TENANT MAINTENANCE OF PREMISES" dedicated to this purpose and list a number of things they are responsible for, and have them initial that paragraph and an addendum in the lease that lists a variety of repair costs if they are the cause of damage. 

Short answer, save your money. 

As a third party management company, we've got experience with several home warranty companies. None of them pay - and will give you a headache for the runaround. You're better off saving $1 per square foot per property annually as a maintenance fund ($0.83/sf/monthly). This is what we tell our landlord clients and it works out better for them financially - and it's easier for us to service their needs.