All Forum Posts by: Timothy Murphy III

If you need legal assistance with drafting or modifying a lease, you may PM or email me.

You can PM me if you'd like to arrange for some legal consulting.

You can PM me if you need to arrange for some legal consulting.

I prefer Fairmount Title Agency for Ohio deals. The owner is a very knowledgeable RE attorney and investor.

I believe @Drew Sygit is correct. PM for third parties needs to be done by a licensed broker, or at least under the supervision of a broker. 

Treble damages and attorneys fees are typically only awarded to the tenant and not the landlord. And only in cases where the landlord is found to have inappropriately deducted charges from the security deposit. If the court doesn't find that the deductions were improper, no treble damages for the tenant. If the damage bill from the tenant ultimately exceeds the security deposit, you're also able to bring a claim for the excess damages, though you cannot recover trebles or attorneys fees for that.

Even the best property management will lead to occasional vacancy, it's a regular part of RE investment. I'd think it's only problematic if the vacancies are long and ongoing, or recurring at too high a rate. I do agree there's a bit of a perverse incentive there for a PM who gets paid whether the property is vacant or occupied. 

I've always been quite happy with Fairmount Title Agency.

Monthly fees for vacant properties is not unheard of, as a lot of times the properties are more work for the PM when vacant than when occupied. I've never heard of a fee for placing a lock box as part of the tenant placement though.