Quote from @Richard F.:
Aloha,
Mistake #1- "She TOLD us she would not renew" and "She said her closing date was postponed". ALWAYS get it in writing! ___we had it in writing. She confirmed that in emails.
Mistake #2- "We found our new tenant...signed lease with them starting Aug1". NEVER commit to start date in writing until unit is vacant AND ready for move in. ___ wait until they move out and start finding new tenants?
MIstake #3- "We sent her the addendum...but put on a late fee $500 per day". "She changed it". Clearly there was no "meeting of the minds", the addendum is invalid. Do not sign it. You simply are not accepting her change, however your proposed addendum is not accepted either. ___no we didn't sign it
Mistake #4- Is her Mom on the lease? Is her mom on her application paperwork? I'm guessing the answer to both is no, so, WHY are you even accepting her calls/texts? Block her number and advise YOUR tenant that she needs to speak for herself. Mom has no legal standing, and you are not paying for any work that was not agreed to in advance, in writing (which would be NONE). ___my husband did received her call and replied a couple texts saying we had not agreed on any projects. She forbids us contacting her daughter (the only one tenant) saying she is having covid.
Mistake #5- Did you keep records of prior issues reported in writing by the tenant? And the receipts for the items noted above that you did repair? Did you ever, in the past three years, inspect the interior of the unit, especially the prior leak areas? I'm guessing probably not on at least two out of three of these. We had the emails she reported and we had contractors changed the dishwashers and fixed the roof. We also checked the floor, didn't see mold. Roof was treated with anti mold spray.
What is local law? Many jurisdictions have a "Holdover" element, that you can invoke if someone stays beyond their scheduled date (the actual process may vary). This automatically allows you to (for example in my locale) double the rent rate, on a daily basis. However, you have never stated that you actually terminated the original agreement, or that it was a fixed term, actually ending on a certain date. You need to do so, in writing, in accordance with local law, now. __talked to a lawyer today and he wound send a notice tomorrow
Your main concern at this point should be informing the incoming tenant of potential issues, and collaborate with them on a Plan B. I can just about guarantee that if you leave them in the dark until the last minute, it will get very expensive for you if the property is not available to them when and as promised, per written agreement. __
Mistake #6- Believing you can effectively manage a rental remotely when you appear to have no systems or processes in place. Plenty of Owners/Investors are ineffective with properties in their own city, let alone from 1000 miles away. Plenty of jurisdictions actually require out of state owners to have a designated local agent for residential properties, and with good reason. Yes, I am a licensed Property Manager. And, I have taken on management of countless properties owned by both local and out of state investors. Very few have been operated as a business...most are, at best, a hobby, where the Owner enjoys doing handyman work (often of dubious quality), at worst, an absolute "investment" Gamble, with no regard for tenants, laws, or much of anything but spending the absolute minimum while collecting the most money possible until their "cash cow" implodes. I literally had one property where the (not so) Handy Owner "repaired" a leaking, plumbing roof vent by wrapping it with duct tape. Tenants, and prospective Tenants, DO have rights, and Owners need to understand and respect those rights, according to local landlord and tenant laws. You cannot just arbitrarily change terms, or make demands, or ignore legitimate repair requests. You need to follow the law, being fair and reasonable in how you do so, with all tenants and prospective tenants.___ we are not remote. We had contractors replaced the dishwasher, fixed the roof, and changed livingroom carpet into laminate.
You are so far into this, my recommendation is to immediately send whatever termination notice is required by local law (10 days, 30 days, whatever is called for), IN WRITING. Further, I would advise the tenant you are still willing to pro-rate rent to the last day of their occupancy, based on when the keys are returned to a specified person/location (what was your plan for this?). The property is expected to be in the same or better condition as when they moved in, as shown on their Move In Condition Form (which you have, correct?). If there is no move in form, you must accept the property as they leave it, since you have zero evidence of what it was previously. If you DO have a signed move in form, remind the tenant of the expected condition in your termination notice. __thanks for the reminder.
