All Forum Posts by: Craig S.

Hi @Alexander Merritt,

Thanks for your comment. A few clarifying items:

1) I may have worded it confusingly, however the tenant was NOT 4 months behind, they were 5 days late on their rent, so I immediately served a 3-day notice in which they left at that time. They had 4 months remaining on the initial lease term when I served the 3-day notice.

2) As you probably know, if I serve a 3-day notice, that basically ends their lease, so I am able to re-rent the unit as soon as I possibly can.

3) Yes, I am keeping in mind that I have a security deposit, helps a little bit.

4) I do screen my tenants VERY thoroughly, however this tenant was inherited and already living in the property when I acquired it so I got stuck with them.

Hi Guys,

I wanted the advice of some other landlords on collecting fees/damages from deadbeat tenants that you have kicked out?

I recently served a 3-day move-out notice to a tenant, luckily they left and I didn't need to file for the formal eviction. However the tenant caused damage to the premises, and the tenant still had 4 months left on the lease term. The total 'damages' came to about $2,500 and the 4 months 'lost' rent adds up to $2,840 ($710 per month) for a total of about $5,340.

I have several ideas below (and maybe there are better recommendations):

Option 1) Have my attorney file an action in the general civil division of the municipal court and go after the full amount of money. However, I assume the judge wouldn't allow me to collect 4 full months of lost rent, as I am sure they would expect me to re-rent the unit much faster (in maybe 1-2 months).

Option 2) Reduce the amount to $3,000 or less so I can file suit in Small Claims court myself and hopefully win a judgement.

Option 3) If I were to win a judgement (however I go about that), I could attempt a wage garnishment.

Option 4) I could forego all of the above, cut my losses, and turn this over to a collections agency who will charge me 50% on a contingency basis if they are successful in collecting the funds. (The collection agency can also get a wage garnishment, but I am not sure if I need a judgement for this?)

Option 5) Or a combination of the above options.

One one hand, I don't want to spend any more money on this tenant, so I am thinking of just cutting my losses and turning this over to the collections agency to [hopefully] collect some/all of the balance and not waste any more of my money or time.

On the other hand, I am confident I would win in a judgement (either having my attorney file, or by myself in small claims) so am wondering if this would be worth the cost to get a judgement and then attempt a wage garnishment or if not, at least I would have an official judgement that would strengthen my position.

What are your thoughts and what has seemed to work best for other landlords?

Thanks for the feedback guys. Any other ideas, anyone?

Hello, I served a 3-day notice to a tenant recently and they should be completely moved out by tomorrow, January 23rd. There were drug-related issues and they violated the lease, so I served the 3-day. My tenant paid me January's rent in full. My question is: Am I supposed to refund any "unused" portion of January's rent since they moved out early? Or because they violated the lease, are they NOT entitled to any refund? The monthly rent is $695. If they have vacated the unit by tomorrow (23rd) that means there would have been 8 days remaining in the month, or $179.35 "unused" and prepaid rent for the month. I plan to give a refund of security deposit (less any damages) however I am unsure if I need to refund any portion of the actual rent or not? Thanks in advance for any advice!

Thanks guys for the feedback/ideas. I haven't been a LL long enough to determine my true opinion on the pet policy, but I will start with what I have.

Regarding co-signers, I am probably not going to allow it for now, if the tenant can't qualify on their own, I would rather move on to the next.

What do you guys look for as a minimum credit score to be approved?

Does anyone else have any more ideas/feedback on my original post?

Bump

Hello,

As a relatively new landlord, I have a few questions I am facing, and wondering what is the best way to handle each of these situations. Can some of the more experienced guys/gals give me some advice?

1) Roommates: How you do you view tenants requesting a roommate? Initially, I was hesitant about allowing roommate tenants, however after I thought about it--it is really the same as two separate tenants. After some thought, I think accepting roommates would be fine as long as I screen each of them separately and make sure each of them meet the requirements (income, etc.) on their own. If each of them have enough income, clean record, etc. and they seem like good honest people (not young punks who want to party and trash the place), I guess there should be no reason not to rent to them. Opinions?

2) Co-Signers: If I process an application for a potential tenant and everything looks good, except either A) they do not have enough income to quality, of B) their credit score is too low, I could allow a co-signer. What do you guys feel about having a co-signer? If their income is not high enough, should this be an auto-decline? What about credit score, should I allow someone with a low credit score if everything else checks out ok? What do you all feel is an acceptable minimum score anyways, 600? I would require a co-signer to complete an application just like a tenant too.

3) Boyfriend/Girlfriend: What do you allow in this situation? Do you treat these lovebirds as "roommates" and subject to "roommate" income requirements (as I mention above), etc.? Let's say the girlfriend doesn't work, or makes minimal income--do you allow them to move in as long as their total "household" income meets the minimum standards, or do you require them to both earn enough income on their own to quality?

4) Smoking: In my lease, I have a "no-smoking" policy. My lease goes so far as to say "no smoking anywhere on the premises" and that this is a smoke-free facility. I don't want to damage my property and have other tenants get injured/killed because of a house fire. It is simply not worth it to me. However, I have thought this may be too strict, and that maybe I should still "consider" a potential tenant--even if they smoke, as long as they understand the smoking policy and "promise" to only smoke outside. I am concerned though that if they smoke--they will eventually smoke indoors, especially in the 5 degree winters. I don't trust tenants not to smoke indoor, even if they "promise" they will. Thoughts?

5) Pets: In my lease I will allow pets, however with restrictions. I guess each landlord will have to determine their acceptable pet policy, but do you experienced landlords have any additional advice to my restrictions below? Should I be more restrictive (like cats) or maybe less strict on certain items?

• 2 pet maximum
• 40 pound maximum
• Restrictions on breed for dogs
• Cats and dogs both allowed
• Non-refundable pet fee and additional pet rent (per pet) apply
• Pet must be at least 1 year old and housebroken
• Pet registration papers must be provided

Thanks in advance for your help/ideas!

Craig

Hi Guys, I am preparing to make an offer on another investment property (duplex). Do you think it would help or hurt my negotiating power if I disclosed my math on how I came up with my offer? For example, My personal goal is to shoot for $200 per month in cashflow per unit, and I also factor in property management in as an expense, even though I self-manage. If I disclosed my spreadsheet on how I came up with my valuation/offer, showing my $200 per door cashflow goal, do you think this would hurt my offer and negotiating ability? I am concerned the seller may think that $200 per month per door cashflow after all expenses is too high of a goal. Or they may think that my estimate for property management or other expenses are "too high" and not be willing to come down on the selling price because of my "unreasonable numbers". What do you guys think? Do you think I'd be better off using other negotiation tactics, like comparable properties and such, rather than disclosing my actual math on how I came up with my value? I always like the element of the "unknown" when negotiating, and if I disclosed all of my numbers I'm afraid I may not have any leverage to argue against. Thanks, Craig

Thanks guys!

Hi @Corby Goade, thanks for your feedback! Glad to confirm my thoughts.

How far would you go with the screening of the 18 year old "kid"? Would you require a separate rental application, background, eviction, and credit check with references, etc?