All Forum Posts by: Deb Sala

Well, just about everyone agrees that the furniture is dominating, so I’ll skip the commentary. I am always suspicious of a listing that doesn’t put the front of the house as the first picture. The advice you were given about taking a picture at dusk with all the lights on was great! About the “no cats” policy- why not? Maybe instead of saying that , the ad could say “dog friendly”. You could advertise $1295 as suggested and maybe get another $25 for Fluffy on the back end or a NR pet deposit . Good luck!

Here’s what I said: @Arteevie Burch , you can do it either way. I do separate agreements and bundle the utilities wiIh a utility cap for overages. Kids are unbelievably disorganized and trying to get them to do everything they need to do to have cable, water, electricity and pay YOU on time is asking a lot! Take first, last and security if you can and try to get a parent or co-signer if needed. Forbid couples to live in rooms rented to singles and put in a $500 non refundable fee for unauthorized or even visiting pets. I am a stickler when it comes to these two things. Nothing will turn a good tenant into a miserable one faster than a mooching girlfriend/boyfriend or a neglected animal. I have been managing my son’s rental since 2012 and then bought another place myself to manage. I have heard every excuse in the book. The kids will agree to anything before they move in. Cover all your bases up front with policies on overnight guests (what is an occasional guest vs a rogue tenant), illegal activities (can you evict over underage drinking, marijuana-what evidence is needed?). If parking is an issue, you have the final say in all parking disputes. I think you will make more doing it separately but a lot of people opt for keeping it simple and getting co-signers for 3x rent vs income on the entire unit. I know my place stays in tip top shape vs my sons, which has really taken a lot of abuse renting out the entire place. In the final summation, its up to you and how hands on you want to be,

Do you mean my post?

@Arteevie Burch, you can do it either way. I do separate agreements and bundle the utilities wiIh a utility cap for overages. Kids are unbelievably disorganized and trying to get them to do everything they need to do to have cable, water, electricity and pay YOU on time is asking a lot! Take first, last and security if you can and try to get a parent or co-signer if needed. Forbid couples to live in rooms rented to singles and put in a $500 non refundable fee for unauthorized or even visiting pets. I am a stickler when it comes to these two things. Nothing will turn a good tenant into a miserable one faster than a mooching girlfriend/boyfriend or a neglected animal. I have been managing my son’s rental since 2012 and then bought another place myself to manage. I have heard every excuse in the book. The kids will agree to anything before they move in. Cover all your bases up front with policies on overnight guests (what is an occasional guest vs a rogue tenant), illegal activities (can you evict over underage drinking, marijuana-what evidence is needed?). If parking is an issue, you have the final say in all parking disputes. I think you will make more doing it separately but a lot of people opt for keeping it simple and getting co-signers for 3x rent vs income on the entire unit. I know my place stays in tip top shape vs my sons, which has really taken a lot of abuse renting out the entire place. In the final summation, its up to you and how hands on you want to be,

I would get rid of her ASAP. Inconsiderate people don’t make good tenants. Give her whatever notice you have to for the month to month situation and part ways. Did you do any kind of lease addendum when she swapped apartments? I document every little thing with tenants. People will agree to darn near anything when they need to move in. After they are in, nobody ever seems to remember things the same way as I do. Getting specifics signed off on , and of course being in custody of their deposit + last months rent is the best way to get cooperation.

Good advice! I think you’re both right! I will tell the guy to communicate with my son rather than go to his dad. I’ll check out the post you recommended too.

Hi Ian- this guy is a little different because he just turned 18 and his parents are very involved in his schooling. It will definitely be the parents paying. A lot of kids are away at college and on their own but this is not the case here.

I have a home in a college town where my son resides. He always has a few roommates and generally we look for quiet, brainy kids and have been successful to that end. In the past, his roommates have been military reserve students or friends from class. I was pretty comfortable with the fact that they were not criminals and usually at the University on scholarship. We had an unexpected vacancy and now need to fill a room. I am contemplating a tenant who is a stranger to our family, but he fits the bill as the quiet, studious type. 

In the past, since I have dealt with the kids directly and they have limited credit, I take F,L&S and they are always very motivated to be helpful and get their $ back when they move, which is great. Now I am going to be dealing with a parent rather than the kid directly. We are in Florida, so I believe the eviction process is pretty fast if there's a default (I have never had to do it but I have read up). So my question is, do I go with my instincts and take the usual deposit or do I credit and background check the father? He just got his US Citizenship, so there may be limited data if I run a report anyway. And qualifying for citizenship would mean he has a clean background. I have a pretty tight lease and my son lives in the house, so what would an experienced landlord here do? Thanks!

I feel your pain on this one. I had a rate hike mysteriously occur during a closing and my mortgage broker was on vacation, conveniently out of cell phone reach. I dug my heels in and held up the closing for 3 hours. It was painful, but I eventually won the battle. I think the difference with business entrepreneurs vs your typical mortgage broker is the way the deal is done. They want to get and close the deal without attention to detail beyond " do you qualify"- we want to crunch the numbers and squeeze every last dollar off our monthly expenses. Paper pushers vs critical thinkers. It's worse when its friends and family pushing the paper sometimes. I reserve the right to be exasperating ;)

Maybe the first letter sent certified should come from an attorney? If they think they are just dealing with you they may just dig their heels in. It depends how experienced they are in gaming the system. I think someone else suggested sending the letter via UPS , signature required. That's pretty brilliant Bc many people wouldn't sign for certified US mail if they weren't expecting it knowing that it couldn't be good news!

On another note, you could approach John or Jane Doe and try to divide and conquer them away from tenant #1. If they aren't friends/ relatives you could take a " Look, I know you don't know this but this was an illegal sublet situation . Did they take deposit and security money from you or give you a lease? I can help you." At this point though I would have an authority figure do the negotiating (attorney most likely) Bc you're not getting any respect from Tenant #1. Ask yourself this though- once you get rid of Tenant 2, what's to stop Tenant 1 from putting another sublet ad on craigslist? I know it's financially painful to go the lawyer route, but this is going to take someone with experience in these types of entanglements. A property manger is another thought. It would be worth some more phone calls until you find someone with absolute certainty the most cost effective and expedient way to tackle this problem.