All Forum Posts by: Frank Jennings

I have a duplex that I manage myself. I collect the rents and I find new tenants, no problem. And I have all my contractors that I like lined up, so I really don't have any problem managing the property. But I was wanting to travel internationally and I was wondering what should I do in this case? My tenants are both very hard-working and they're always working during normal business, the hours that contractors can come.

Is my only solution just to hire a property management company and sign a normal 1 year agreement?

I am going to start the eviction process and serve a tenant with a Notice to Quit. Never had to do this before. Would you recommend paying a lawyer to guide me through the process?

Which online payment site do you use for collecting the rent? There are a good many of them and I was wondering if there are any that stand above the rest or are they commodities.

I have tenant that signed a lease in September for $1125/month. She has paid in full every month, but a couple things. I have the water and sewer in my name because they are lienable. She never put the electric in her name so I bill that to her. She was supposed to pay the security deposit over the first few months but didn't.

So the total due 1/1/23 was about $1300. She gave me $500. Not good. She wrote a note saying Christmas and her son's birthday was why and she will send the rest later this month.

What should I do right now? And what should I do if I get less than the balance again? Because this can get out of hand quick. Never had a tenant not pay in full on time before. Been lucky.

Thank you.

Yes Bob this all started with a plumber wanting to replace all the bathroom group drainage pipes over this leak. Insurance is paying for any restoration part and opening up of the ceiling so that's why I wanted to use a restoration company.

I have a leak above the kitchen in a rental that's coming from the bathroom somewhere. It is leaking through the light fixture in the kitchen and dripping down. There is water damage to the ceiling and bulkhead. Consequently, I have to have a restoration company come out, open everything up and let it dry, have a plumber fix whatever is going on, and then get it sealed back up.

My main concern is the tenant. He is a very anxious person and this isn't going to help. This might involve him having to go somewhere to stay, like a family/friends house or hotel during this time.

So for everyone that has gone through something similar, how have you handled things with the tenant to make it go smooth. Did you volunteer to put them up somewhere or tell them to just be gone for awhile? And any other advice in terms of how to handle it. Thank you.

I have an applicant that has a credit score below the 630 I stated I'm looking for. She definitely has the income though. And she has a co-signer. How do you feel about co-signers? And if you have allowed them, do you have to run their credit?

I guess I was thinking that raising the guy's rent by 28% in one shot would be rough on him. And I know he has the right to leave if he wants. Could I raise it by $125/month 2 years in a row instead of $250/month at 1 time? Is that unfair to the other tenant and do I get into an unfair housing situation then? 

I purchased a duplex 1.5 years ago. We did some rehab which involved new brick work on the exterior and a new deck. This was so we could replace garage door lintels, which was mandated by the borough. This was paid for by the seller as a price reduction and done by me after the sale.

I told the tenants the price was going to go up due to this rehab. Even though I essentially didn't pay for it just overseeing it was a lot of work and I felt that the property was worth more rent afterwards anyways. Then one tenant moved out and I told the other tenant that we would let the market decide how much the new rent should be.

The tenant is paying $860 a month and it looks like I'm going to get $1100 a month on the other side. Both sides are basically the same except I put some new baseboards down and fresh paint on the vacant side living/dining room.

I just don't know exactly what to charge for the remaining tenant's rent. The tenant always pays on time and never has parties and is very quiet. Model behavior.

But what is fair to him, me, and the new tenant???? I honestly don't know what would be fair everybody. I would appreciate your thoughts and if you have direct experience even better!! Thank you!

Well that is definitely very thorough! Do you present your verification criteria to the applicants and show them exactly what you use to verify tenants such as income, credit score and criminal background? In my research I saw that one apartment complex showed in great detail their criteria and even made the applicants sign it stating that they had read it.