All Forum Posts by: Dale Walker

3/4 in OSB works great for flooring and carpet on top. Hardwood might give you issues.  I suggest you get the foundation reset then put floors down. 

Check your lease. It should detail the bill and how it is to be paid. If you are on a month 2 month. Did you have an agreement with the tenants to pay it? If not, you are responsible for it and not your tenants. 

If they know the bill is their responsibility and they agreed to pay for it, then I recommend you make a copy of the bill and send them an invoice for half the bill. Make the payment due in 30 days or the next months rent. 

John Chea

I recommend that you screen any new roommates they want to bring in. Filling out the application and getting their information is just the first step. What will you do when the husband and wife don't like what the roommates are doing and move out. Then you have 2 tenants whom you know little about, you do not have any formal agreements with, and they decide to squatt on the unit. It will cost you alot of money to get them evicted and out. Have them fill out an application and screen them. Then have them sign a lease even if it a month 2 Month lease. They will then be bound by your expectations and conditions. 

I assume you inherited the 3 new tenants when you bought the property. Introduce yourself to the new tenants. Have each tenant fill out an application to get their information.  Next, get them on a lease to agree to your terms. If they refuse to sign a new lease, give all of them notice of termination and find new tenants which you know will be good. 

@Sam Taylor

Read your lease about what your procedure is. Idaho is a fairly pro-landlord state. Judges will go with what you have in your lease. I have a clause in my lease which states that any money received by the landlord is applied to fees, unpaid utilities, etc and then to rent. Send them an invoice for the late fee for the 10 days and make it due in the next months rent. If they only pay the rent amount, post their 3 day notice to pay or quit for the balance of the remaining rent owed.   Idaho Legal aid has made it very easy. Its also free. :)

http://www.idaholegalaid.org/node/2206/landlord-an...

Post the 3 day notice. Personally, if my tenants tried skipping on late fees, I would get them out as it may be a sign of very bad days to come.  If they are on a month to month, give them 30 day notice to vacate and get them out. Take the late fees from their deposit. If they are on a lease, you should go with what the lease says.  If you have any other questions, I would be glad to help as I am fairly familiar with Idaho landlord/tenant rules. 

@Tamir Alush

First off, get familiar with the requirements for the state you have the property in. Many states require that a landlord send the deposit back within 30 days or a list of damages which justify why they didn't get their property back. Inheriting tenants never is good when it comes to deposit returns. You may not have the evidence of what the place looked like before they moved in and so if they take you to court, you will need to prove they did the damage. You often times cannot prove it. That means you loose. Next, many states have a penalty for not giving the deposit back or a list of damages within the 30 days. The penalty varies by state. Some states penalize the landlord 3 times the amount of the deposit. It does not matter if you can prove damages, they will win 3 times the deposit because notice was not sent. When I inherit a tenant, I do not hold their deposit if I cannot prove they did the damage.  I think you will be responsible for the return of the deposit and possibly ALL the lawyer fees if the state is tenant friendly. Good Luck.

I am not a lawyer and do not know Arkansas rules but typically you give them the proper notice to correct the lease breach or quit. Each state is different. If they correct the issue, you cannot evict. You can institute the punitive measures which should be in your lease for that breach such as a fine, etc. If on a month to month. Give them the proper 30/60 day notice to vacate. If they don't, then you can evict.

No problem. Always video when you move in and video when you move out. I also recommend that you show the days local newspaper in the video to prove when it was taped. Hang in there and there are good landlords out there.

Idaho does not have a statute of what happens if the landlord doesn't return the deposit or send a letter within 21 days.  The judge would be sympathetic though and may give it back to you to teach the landlord a lesson but it is not a statute which I am aware of. 

@Mikaela Cekalski

Hey Mikaela, I am sorry you have to go through this. I am very familiar with Idaho landlord/tenant law (I am not a lawyer and not giving legal advice). It is common in Idaho leases to have the tenant pay for carpet cleaning as part of the lease. If the tenants don't pay for it and leave a receipt, the lease often states that it will be taken out of the deposit. As to the toilet seat and air filter, that really is normal wear and tear unless you have severely damaged the seat. Cleaning the apartment may be taken out of the deposit as well. I don't appreciate having to clean my tenants frig or stove. My leases state exactly what I will charge them if they don't clean up. When you turn in the keys, the apartment is surrendered to the Landlord and you don't have the right to enter without permission. I recommend you video the apartment after you are done cleaning and have all your stuff moved out. 

If you feel that you are not getting the correct amount of deposit back, you can take her to court. The landlord has 21 days to send you a itemized damage list and the remaining deposit. Some leases can extend the 21 days to 30 days but Idaho will not permit beyond 30 days.  Idaho is fairly Landlord friendly. If you want to take her to court, you will need to show how the place looked when you moved in. Show pictures of the extra stuff in the basement and how the place was cleaned when you moved in. Then you can show the judge how it looked when you moved out. Compare the stuff left and the cleanliness of the apartment. Unless stated in the lease, landlords cannot charge for their time to clean and repair the apartment. They can if they hire someone to do it though. If your landlord has not sent you an explanation within the 30 days, you will have some leverage to take her to court and the judge may be more sympathetic. 

You can find the owners/landlords name by checking with the county assessors office or county clerk. It is public information to see who owns the property and their address. You may need to go down to the county clerks office to look it up. Alot of Idaho's systems are not online.  Hope this helps.