All Forum Posts by: Jeffrey Duck

Thanks to all!

As luck would have it, last night Person A messaged me (late) notifying me that the deposit could be carried over for use by Person B.

Thanks again!

Lease 1 included tenant Person A who paid the deposit and moved in.

After 3 years, tenant Person B was found to be in possession of the unit.

Lease 2 was written to include tenant Person A (who moved out) and tenant Person B. The deposit was carried over.

Lease 3 was written to include only tenant Person B.

From Lease 2, who do I have to and who can I refund the deposit to?

Person A, Person A and Person B, or Person A or Person B?

I'd appreciate a note if you're an attorney who I can contact tomorrow (Feb 4, 2025) to go over this and verify the info.

Thanks much!

My triplex has a ~6'x8' enclosed area for trash cans (55 gallon rolling receptacles). Each unit has one for trash and one for recycling so there are six in total. The cans need to be rolled to the curb twice a week and the city limits the time they can be out, from the evening before pickup, to the night of pickup. 

Currently, I lease one of the three units to someone who keeps it clean. He's someone I already knew, and he does the work for a small rent discount but he's about to move out and I don't think it'll be so easy to find another qualified tenant without losing a month's rent while looking.

Before I bought the building, the tenants were all responsible for taking their own cans to the road and they were collectively responsible for keeping the area clean, but they didn't (and I didn't know they didn't.) After I bought it, I learned that the owner, who lived close by would take the cans to the road and clean up the area. In reality tenants would use each other's cans so they wouldn't have to take theirs out, OR for retribution, because another tenant used their cans. Also, there was regularly raw garbage or trash bags left sitting on the ground. 

How can I keep the area clean and the tenants happy at a minimal cost?

I have a tenant who's 'activated' a number of the sections of the lease and it's become unclear to me what takes priority, and more so, how to approach the problem in the most cost effective way.

Along with that, the market conditions, my current location (away from the triplex), and the sheriffs not doing evictions, make it harder to figure out what to do or how to execute a good approach.

I'm hoping BPers can give me some referrals to a few local landlord-tenant attorneys along with what you like about them. I prefer someone who's easy going and good at long-term, independent relationships.

Thanks much in advance for the help!

(The details are a bit long to type out clearly but I see a lot of curiosity in BP so I'll add the details along with the resolution to the post when I get an idea of how the issue gets handled.)

So the can of worms may be reopened, but I've made a final decision... no evictions allowed! I'm sharing this to show how a small crack can expand.

(Just to summarize, I had a prospective tenant with a long history at their last place but ended up with an eviction request recorded that was negotiated, so there was no actual eviction. Some people commented that something was wrong with the big picture and that was true.)

I'm seeing that current life events can be the secret reason for a relocation, especially with someone who otherwise appears very stable.

The 'husband' was the 'father' of the 2 teen boys. I had reason to believe he has enough money to buy a house but he wouldn't fill out a credit app so he couldn't move in. The woman qualified on her own so she and the boys moved in. She's a school teacher with a near guaranteed salary.

The school district matches teacher's savings for summer so over 9 months, they save 1-1/2 months of pay but get paid during all 3 months of summer. One month in (I later learned), she got a DUI and that left her short on funds so she retracted/cashed-in her summer savings plan believing she would get 3 months salary but since she didn't take it monthly as pay, she only got the 1-1/2 months that she paid in. So now she has to work for the summer but summer school is only 2 months long so she's still going to be short by 1 month. I set an 'absolute' rule for myself that once rent is late, notices go out on THE day they're supposed to, BUT having just started, my head was spinning over this, and she came to me asking for my help with her finances so I decided to work with her.

So... I know what she makes and when she can make it. And she's VERY a very clean housekeeper. So I made a new lease from $1540/mo to $915/2-weeks and she gets 3 pay periods each year that she doesn't pay rent (xmas, summer start/end). It's working perfectly! She's very happy and I'm getting my money back, and over time, I'll be ahead (although my plan was to give her back the 'extra' and/or bring the lease back down once things stabilize.)

The second summer rolls around and she's not able to pick up a class for summer school. She can't get any work tutoring and she stops paying the rent because an Alien ate her Buick and various other excuses. Oh, AND she got another DUI, and went off on the officer, and was now wearing ankle jewelry.

Fortunately I didn't break my eviction rule this time and the documents went out on time so with the help of Judge Miniana she was removed in about 1-1/2 months.

After the increase rent, missed rent, and eviction costs, I lost a total of $300 and I'll chalk that up more to luck than skill, but I can see now how you need the best of both to succeed.

<soapbox>Some people have bad luck, some make bad decisions, and others just live with the decisions of their parents but they all want and need a home. As their stuff was being carried to the curb I tried to explain it to the 6'3" 250# 19yo weight lifter (not the point your thinking) why his and his 18yo special needs brother's stuff was being placed in the street. Both of the boys may always blame me and that's fine. When I drove off, that boy was sitting on his mattress in the street crying in his girlfriend's arms. It was a sad sight. I guess my point is, it's not my fault they got evicted but the better job we do of screening prospects, the less likely we have to see people like that.<\soapbox>

I know it's been awhile: @Thomas S. I'm not clear how the 3 year lease works against me. I think a tenant either meets my requirements or needs to be evicted, and the eviction would be the same either way. When I got the building I started with a M2M eviction which cost me a lot. I feel I'd have less management anxiety if I'm not worrying about a M2M tenant, but I'm still too new to see the benefits.

acuityscheduling.com

calendly.com

These will work directly with your Google and other calendars. Consider Zapier if necessary.

(I don't use these for my rentals so I don't know how they'll work on sites like Zillow.)

Thanks Dana but how do I get the deposit when they sign an electronic document from their home? And what form of payment can I take to assure it clears and isn't a bad payment?

They can sign it electronically but in FL the landlord has to sign the lease and have it witnessed by two people if the lease is for more than one year. Otherwise just the electronic copy would be fine.

I'm about to get my first leases signed (for two 5/1 moving-ins and one 6/1 move-in) but I'm out of the area today and want to get them signed tonight. I'll be there tomorrow afternoon and can give out keys, etc. but I've had a lot of interest in the property and want to get the leases done ASAP so I have a chance to find another tenant if necessary. Also, the leases will be signed electronically by the tenants but I have to have two witnesses so I plan to print and sign them here at home then bring the perfected copies to the property tomorrow.

My main question is, how and when do I collect the initial payments? Before I return the counter signed copies or when I do? Although I seem to have very clean tenant prospects, I don't want to take a bad check and get stuck with an instant hold-over. I plan on allowing ACH payments or deposits directly into my account which is 1-1/2 miles from the property.

Any feedback on my entire process is greatly appreciated!