All Forum Posts by: Chris Sones

Would either of you have a link for a reference to check out?

Thanks!

I've tried searching this and also asked the question in a class the other day, but haven't come up with a solid answer. It sounds like there is a general rule that you can limit your occupancy to 2 people per bedroom. It seems like a grey area. Can you make this a part of your policy for screening? Is there a problem with denying an application because they exceeded the Occupancy level.

The other day I went to a property management class and got some beneficial information from it. One of the questions I asked was if a person can take late fees from a deposit. The answer I received was probably not, but I could use it for damages and back rent.

I've been in a situation with a past tenant that moved out. The company he works for has informed me that they will pick up the cost of past due rent to help him get out of the lease. I said if they would pick up the past due month and the month of Oct. so I had time to get another tenant in that he could quit his lease. I said I knew that the company helped him get in and that I could release the deposit back to the company so long as I had a written statement from the tenant for me to release the deposit back in the companies name. I haven't received anything from the company yet so I called today and they said they did get confirmation that they could send a check to cover the rent fees. He said he would check on the status and let me know how the payment is coming.

I didn't plan on releasing the deposit until I receive payment, but aren't I suppose to release a deposit within a period of time. I feel like I'm at a threshold of where I should do something with the deposit. I'm wondering if there is any problem keeping the deposit until I see the payments come through and then releasing a deposit statement? Also since I've been without the rent for a few months, can I take the late fees out of the deposit? I'm also still trying to fill the vacancy.

I wonder if you could take it from the deposit if it isn't something spelled out in the lease unless this would be considered "damages".  Maybe a first time offense would be to write a letter stating what caused the problem and that future re-occurrences will likely be acknowledged damage to the property leading a breach in the lease. I'd be curious what others consider this type of problem.

I'd be curious how people handle this situation also.

I have a potential tenant with 2 kids interested in my place and at first I wasn't interested and said most likely he wouldn't qualify, but he said his parents would have no problem being a co-signer/guarantor. He claims that his reference will give him good feedback and his parents have a great credit history and a clean background. His part time job isn't enough to cover the 3x rent rule, but he said he has school checks coming in each month that will help cover expenses and also coaches that helps bring in a little. He's been in school for a few years so he isn't a new student. I'm not sure if I should be counting the college checks that he has coming (assuming financial aid money). I'd have him verify all working income. He should be able to verify his college money coming in right? Thoughts? I'm pretty sure he would be a long term tenant if all works out.

I'm thinking about renting to a student that will have his parents be a guarantor. They are out of state. The question I'm wondering about is if I can do a background check on the parent through smartmove? This will be the first time I am going to use smartmove for credit, criminal, and eviction check so I'm a little fresh to it.

Thanks for the feedback. That helps!

I'm currently trying to find a new tenant to rent a house. I had a call from someone that inquired the house. They said they were looking for something for 6 mo. lease or less because they are looking to buy a house. I'm new to the rentals and I usually try and do a 1yr. lease then it switches to monthly after the 1yr. I wouldn't be opposed of doing a 6mo. lease agreement.

I'm going to show the place today and after a quick interview on the phone I think this person would qualify with flying colors. One thing I'm questioning is she said it is her, her daughter and that she has a fiancé that is working miles away and I'm assuming living away from home most of the time. She mentioned that he would only be there once a week or less. It was almost like she wouldn't consider him a tenant.

My thoughts are if he is going to partially live their, even once a month, then he probably needs to be on the lease agreement and also go through a background check. Even though he isn't going to be there all the time I figure things can change and he could end up in the house full time. Also if she is on the lease I can only qualify her income and not them jointly. I'll have to explain this to her if she didn't intend on having him in the agreement.

What are your thoughts?

Continuation of the story.

I ended up contacting his boss and got a call after a few weeks went by. He had the tenant contact me and tell me he was out. The company said they were going to send a check to cover the costs. I told him that I understood their company covered his initial cost to get in and I'd be able to return a deposit remainder so long as I got a check and there wasn't anything wrong with the place, under the condition that they received a statement from the tenant to release deposit back to the company.

It's coming to an end and now I can find another tenant.

One question. If the tenant is out and I have documentation what do I do with the utilities? Should I put them in my name until the next tenant or is it the tenant's responsibility to shut them off since it's in their name?