All Forum Posts by: Constantia Petrou

Thank you all. I did all the above except the mentioning my lawyer suggestion. Nothing worked. I just followed your suggestion Mike and send her a note about having my lawyer contact her landlord and she immediately called me back to say she will forward all my communications. That part worked, thank you! Now the tenant is turning this into a nightmare though arguing that the fence can be repaired and not replaced and that she s the one who takes care of the house and not the landlord (the neighboring house is in absolute disrepair so they just simply don't care where as my property is top notch). I had 3 contractors evaluate it and all 3 said it has rotted and needs to be replaced- though they did not put that on their proposal.  The tenant is not getting out of the way and I think the landlord will be using the tenant to get out of her responsibility. How far would you take this? 

Hello,

I own several properties and I have come up against a rather unusual situation. The fence shared with one of the neighbors needs to be replaced. We are in a class A neighborhood in CA. According to CA good neighbor law, the cost for replacing the shared fence is split equally between the two neighbors. I approached the neighbor and she first just ignored me. Once I presented her with the proposal and the cost she disclosed that she is renting the house and that she is not the owner. I have asked her to provide her landlord's contact so that I can discuss this with the neighboring property owner and she refused to do so repeatedly. Given I have provided more than a 30 day notice, I will go ahead and replace the fence. Does anyone have any suggestions/ feedback on how to best handle this situation of the neighboring tenant and owner covering each other to free ride on my buck? Thank you

Hi everyone,

My tenants just moved out after 3 years of renting our single family home. It was made very clear to them in their move out letter and during the preliminary walk through that they were to clean the house thoroughly, including all appliances, bathrooms, floors and windows (it is also stated in the lease). In other words they need to return the house at the level of cleanliness they received it (we provided it spotless). They have not. They did not even sweep the floors, the appliances which they received brand new are now filthy, shower has growth from moisture and the windows are dusty with dead flies on window seals. Based on our business policies, in cases such as this, I hire a professional crew to clean everything and pay out of their security deposit. However, these tenants did leave the house 10 days before the end of their lease (giving us some time to get it rent ready before we re-list) and they also did some nice work in the yard during their 3 years. I want to follow policy regardless and have the house cleaned out of their SD- it is my business. What do you think?

Yes, regular reporting of rent. It can be done; several services available but the ones I find through Google search are expensive. I am looking for more cost-effective alternatives for small investors/ LLs

Thank you Rick. I am not looking for collection agencies. I just want to report rent payment regularly, both when the tenants pay (which would help their credit history) and when they don't (therefore an incentive to pay rent and not damage their credit score.

Hello,

I've had tenants on fixed term leases who wanted to break their lease and move out early. According to CA law they remain responsible for rent until I find a new tenant. Every time I've had a situation like this, tenants cannot swallow it and try all kinds of maneuvering to get out of paying their rent until a new tenant is found. I wanted to explore the possibility of reporting rent payments/ non-payments to the bureaus so that they have an incentive to pay and not negatively affect their credit score. I am a small LL and the fees seem very high from cos that appear when I do a Google search for such rent reporting services. Do any of you know of/ use reasonably priced rent reporting services? Many thanks

Hello,

I am in the San Francisco Bay Area and I am looking for a tax advisor who can provide advice on tax/ cash flow implications of putting RE investment properties and property management under LLC(s) as opposed to individual ownership. I would appreciate any referrals from the group. Many thanks

Hello,

I am in the San Francisco Bay Area and I am looking for a tax advisor who can provide advice on tax/ cash flow implications of putting RE investment properties and property management under LLC(s) as opposed to individual ownership. I would appreciate any referrals from the group. Many thanks

Hello,

I am looking for a tax advisor who can provide advice on tax/ cash flow implications of putting RE investment properties and property management under LLC(s) as opposed to individual ownership. I would appreciate any referrals from the group. Many thanks

Hello,

I am the landlord for a single family home. Yard maintenance at the house we are renting out is the tenants' responsibility. They basically need to be watering the plants regularly. While we were away they decided to put in a sprinkler system to automate watering and make it easier for themselves to maintain the yard. Though they are supposed to ask before making any changes to the property they did not. I don't want to raise an issue over their not asking first, and I will let that slide to maintain a good relationship. Because they did a DYI job on sprinkler installation, I just want to ensure that the sprinklers are installed properly. The guy is in construction (project manager on large construction projects) and claims he is handy, having done work on the home he owns. We will be going over to the property for him to show us what he did. What should I watch out for to ensure a proper job was done that will not create problems now and in the future? (ie, I know to look for any leaks that could damage the house structure over time but any other details from the community would be greatly appreciated). Thank you