All Forum Posts by: Greg Franck

All,

 Thanks in advance for the assist with this.  Here is the detail.  We had a tenant which was a problem.  We bought her our of the lease basically by offering an early termination contract and paying her last months rent.  The 30 day mark has passed and from her 1250 deposit I deducted $50 for failure to remove trash and $210 for failure to maintain landscaping.  The detail around the landscaping is that she never maintained the flower beds.  We had a discussion with her about this in July of this year and spent 4 hours pulling weeds and correcting the issue then.  Afterward she never maintained through the end of her lease (Sept. 2017).  Once I recovered the property the bed were destroyed and I had to remove all of the plants and basically do rock over it.  I am only charging her for the labor at $35 for 6 hours to correct the issue.  The stone and other materials used that I redid the bed with has no part in this charge as it is my improvement on the land.  I provided her with the detail around the charges.  She sent a "formal request" for her money claiming that I didn't spend 6 hours.  At this point I believe that she will probably go through small claims (not sure what other means would be available for a $210 claim).  Before I put this out there keep in mind I have already paid this woman over $1200 to vacate the home and incurred holding costs because I did not show the property during her last month because of her volitility.  At some point I feel that a line needs to be drawn.  How would you handle this?  

Deanna,

Thank you for the reply. I should've added that this is a SFR not multi. We were adding extinguishers to all homes over the weekend so this work was scheduled prior. The threat or implication made was not for violence towards us, simple damage to the property. I like the idea of contact PD immediately upon a physical threat being made. Thank you for your input.

Good advice.  Thanks Joe.

Hello All,

  I am hoping to get some advice from the community on dealing with this situation.  My wife and I management several home in the STL, MO area.  Yesterday I was on site to install a new fire extinguisher in one of our properties.  This tenant has historically had issues with management being on site for any reason and always insists on being present.  It was also found Friday that the tenant is delinquent on utility bills.  During the visit while I was installing the extinguisher my wife addressed the default issue and the tenant became enraged.  Cursing and slamming doors.  We immediately removed ourselves from the situation however on the way out the tenant made the following statement verbatim " You have a lot more to lose that me.  All I have is first months rent."  She had also made a statement around who knows what she can do when we aren't present.  My lease agreement is written to allow me to access the home at any reasonable time.  Secondly I have a section outlining Default by Tenant as the following: 

10. DEFAULT BY TENANT

In the event of a default by Tenant of any rent payment or in the performance of or compliance with any agreements contained herein, Landlord shall, without demand, be entitled to possession of the property. Tenant shall, upon written demand by Landlord, quit and surrender said property to Landlord. Tenant’s obligation to pay rent for the full term shall not be terminated, provided however, that Tenant shall be entitled to credit for any rent thereafter collected by the Landlord for re-renting said property during any part of the balance of the term hereof, less any expenses in connection therewith. The remedies provided for in this paragraph shall be in addition to the other remedies provided for herein or as provided by law.

There is also specific lines in the lease around payment of the utilities.  Obviously I just want to get her out of the property, I know the lease agreement states that I can take possession however i ma not sure that she would go willingly and would cause legal proceedings as result.  I would ideally like to avoid legal proceedings or an eviction process, however I am prepared to go down this road if that is the recommendation.  My initial plan of attack is this.

- Send notice of the interaction and outline the concern specifically around the threat of property discussion to memorialize the incident.

- Inform the tenant that due to the threat of property destruction weekly inspections will be held to determine tenants performance under the lease.  (Reasonable times to be met)

- Offer the tenant termination of the lease agreement within 30 days with forfeit to any prorated rent or security deposit refund.

For those of you with experience in similar situations please let me know your thoughts here.  We have dealt with difficult tenants in the past however none that threaten destruction to property.  Thank you for any support that you can provide.

Hello All,

  I am in need of a quality contractor in the STL / STL county area.  Really looking for a tried and tested individual that produces timely / quality work and has great communication.  I am finding it hard to find an individual who we can rely on time and time again.  Please are any thoughts or references.  Any help is much appreciated.  Thank you all in advance. 

@Steve Vaughan Thanks for the numbers.  Love the adjust to prime after 15 yr great incentive that could potential benefit the buyer.  Who do you have draft the agreement?

I would have interest.  

@Frank Romaine That was a topic that I was wondering about. When you say accumulate a few years of tax returns under the LLC, what were you holding / operating from the LLC during your seasoning?