All Forum Posts by: Dawn Johnson

@Kevin Sobilo

Thank you for your detailed response. This has helped me a lot and I really appreciate it..

@Chris Seveney & @Nathan Gesney

Thank you for your thoughts/perspective on this.

Hi!

My tenant called me up 10/09 to announce she is moving out on 11/8 and giving 30 days notice.

I had a yearlong lease in place, and when it was up for renewal, I reached out by text “were you planning to renew your lease”, and she texted back “we love it here and want to renew the lease”. She never completed the renewal form.

I screenshotted, printed, and filed it away as renewed for the year. Text and verbal agreements are legally binding in Virginia (where the rental is).

I really believe she initially intended it to be a year long renewal, as she also remarked she was very happy, as it is only a block walk for her daughter to school.

She now has a boyfriend (he hasn’t moved in), and a house they want to move into together, so she is giving notice.

She is focusing on the clause in the lease that states: “HOLDING OVER: Any holding over after expiration hereof, with the consent of the Owner, shall be construed as a month to month tenancy in accordance with the terms hereof, as applicable. The terms and conditions of this lease will continue to apply.”

My point is that the Notices section directly above it states: “NOTICES: Any notice which either party may or is required to give, may be given by mailing the same, by certified mail, to Tenant at the premises, or to Owner at the address shown in Section 2. Rent or at such other places as may be designated by the parties from time to time. This includes notification or requests for repairs. Tenant is required to notify Owner in writing of Intention to Vacate or Intention to Re-new at least 60 days before the expiration of this lease. Tenant agrees to immediately notify Owner or Agent in writing by certified mail of any dangerous or hazardous conditions existing on the premises.”

It was my understanding that even if she were on a month-to-month, she would still have to give 60 days notice.

Am I the one who is wrong here? I am trying to make sure I am only enforcing the lease and not reading it with a biased perspective.

I would happily consult an attorney for a reasonable fee (any recommendations are welcome.)

The original annual lease had an end date of 3/31, if that is helpful to know.

Hi!

So my tenant called me up 10/09 to announce she is moving out on 11/8 and giving 30 days notice.

I had a yearlong lease in place, and when it was up for renewal, I reached out by text “were you planning to renew your lease”, and she texted back “we love it here and want to renew the lease”. She never completed the renewal form.

I screenshotted, printed, and filed it away as renewed for the year. Text and verbal agreements are legally binding in Virginia (where the rental is).

I really believe she initially intended it to be a year long renewal, as she also remarked she was very happy, as it is only a block walk for her daughter to school.

She now has a boyfriend (he hasn’t moved in), and a house they want to move into together, so she is giving notice.

She is focusing on the clause in the lease that states: “HOLDING OVER: Any holding over after expiration hereof, with the consent of the Owner, shall be construed as a month to month tenancy in accordance with the terms hereof, as applicable. The terms and conditions of this lease will continue to apply.”

My point is that the Notices section directly above it states: “NOTICES: Any notice which either party may or is required to give, may be given by mailing the same, by certified mail, to Tenant at the premises, or to Owner at the address shown in Section 2. Rent or at such other places as may be designated by the parties from time to time. This includes notification or requests for repairs. Tenant is required to notify Owner in writing of Intention to Vacate or Intention to Re-new at least 60 days before the expiration of this lease. Tenant agrees to immediately notify Owner or Agent in writing by certified mail of any dangerous or hazardous conditions existing on the premises.”

It was my understanding that even if she were on a month-to-month, she would still have to give 60 days notice.

Am I the one who is wrong here?

I would happily consult an attorney for a reasonable fee, but learned this afternoon the one I had used once in the past, has since retired.

The original annual lease had an end date of 3/31, if that is helpful to know.

Are there any recommendations for a good real estate attorney? I would like to pay a fee to have them look over my lease, and possibly be able to email or call them with questions for an hourly rate, if needed in the future.

@Account Closed

@Account Closed

@Carlton B.

Thank you all for your advice, it is appreciated. I will call the city and see what else I can learn about their process, and I will then be better prepared, and can file an informed dispute next year.

 Teagan, 

would you have an idea of what cap rate they might be using to calculate the property value? Or know how I could find this out?

Dan,

Thank you for your feedback. I hired an experienced appraiser last year, when I was assessed a 35% increase, and the city lowered the increase to 17.8%, despite the appraisal showing comps in the area at roughly a 10% increase. I think I will sit on it this year, and re-evaluate next year. 

I called to do an informal appeal of my property tax (SFH with an ADU) and was told I would need to also submit my rent rolls to be used in their reassessment. Has anyone heard of this, or granted this request and had it work in their favor??

I suspect they have some percent of my income they would target for their taxes using this information. It almost makes me not want to file an appeal (maybe that was the intent). 

Helpful information: this is paid off property, so depreciation is what is helping keep the income low for now. Assessment increase 7% in a market that is falling (C neighborhood)

I appreciate any feedback/thoughts regarding this.

Welcome to BP Kyle!

I too have difficulty with the scheduling of the local REI groups and have found the podcasts invaluable. They may not cover local issues, but are great to get the wheels turning in where to look next to grow. Best of luck to you!

Hi @Roger Lin, Do you have any upcoming meetingsscheduled?