All Forum Posts by: Heather Canoles

My cursed rental continues. 

Balto County voucher tenant stopped paying rent in sept. Gave til end of sept to pay or be evicted. Went to courthouse on Oct1 to file, but law had just changed saying I needed to use their form to give notice to tenant. So wouldn't have been able to file until mid-october now with lease up at 10/31. 

Decided to just have the tenant move out when the lease was up and not file yet, probably a mistake in hindsight. 

Tenant texts me today saying bring security deposit to final walkthrough or he can't move out. I say, 'you didn't pay rent for 2 months so the deposit will be kept'. He then says bring it or i won't leave and spend 4 months evicting me. 

I have a lot of choice words for the type of person this is. 

I am just going to refund the deposit so he gets the heck out, but do I have any other recourse with the housing agency maybe? I want to file a complaint. This guy should not be able to prey on other landlords with the support of the state/county. 

Thanks to all for the responses.

Talked to Housing this morning. While the tenant made it seem like the voucher being pulled was a done deal, Housing said the case is with their criminal investigation unit. Payments will continue until they make some sort of decision. It sounds like the decision could genuinely go either way, which still is not comforting. 

I will probably talk to the wife and suggest they find somewhere else, so we will see if they are willing to do that. 

I have had nothing but problems with this house since I bought it. If the wife moves, I think I will sell it and buy something else in a better neighborhood. 

Didn't expect anything like this when accepting my first voucher tenant, although I guess domestic disputes can happen in any situation. 

Ugh. This property is cursed. 

Married couple. Voucher is in husband's name. They had some kind of dispute. Husband went to jail for a few days and now wife has a restraining order against him or something so he isn't living in house.

Husband is now saying he is pulling his voucher. Wife would be on the hook for rent, which she definitely cannot afford. 

I don't see how they can legally pull the voucher. We have a signed lease. Of course this comes up at 5pm on a holiday weekend. 

Anyone ever have a situation like this? Or know anything about the county trying to cancel the voucher mid-lease. This is in Baltimore County. 

With the water coming into the basement, you can probably tell them you will withhold rent until it is fixed. You said mold is growing, which is a clear health and safety issue. I assume/hope you have written proof of how long ago you informed them of the issue. In MD, failure to make necessary repair for a livable property is one of the few reasons you're allowed to refuse to pay. I think you might have to put the money in an escrow or something. Check NY laws. Although I know you said you don't want to tick them off, sometimes pushing back can remind them that you have power too. 

I have language in the lease that says repairs required due to tenant misuse or negligence are the responsibility of the tenant. For a bill as high as $250, I would probably push back about it. It can be tricky for smaller things because I don't want to discourage a tenant from reporting maintenance issues.

I have a different bank account for each of my properties (4). I also have separate savings account for each so that I can get more interest on them. I keep just enough in the checking account to pay mortgage and transfer excess to the savings. I do this through Ally Bank. Super easy. All in one dashboard. Very user friendly. I don't have an llc or anything though. Just managing as an individual. 

@Ken Wang did you ever get a good recommendation? I was just about to post asking the same question.

I don't know about a warehouse supplier, but I used Trafficmaster Lake shore Pecan laminate wood planks from the home depot in my rental. I highly recommend it. Attractive, well made, and easy to install. 

I bought it for $0.79 a sq ft, but for the amount you need there may be a cheaper bulk price. You can also always go to the pro desk and ask for bid room price. 

Thanks, Ken. Will your basement 'room' have its own kitchen? 

I have heard about the 2 exits thing, but wasn't sure if it applied when a basement has its own door to the outside. 

If I ever find the answer to my original question, I will post it here. 

Is it possible to legally convert a SFH to a MFH (i.e. legal basement apartment) in Baltimore County, MD?

A few months ago, I had a very frustrating search for a duplex to buy, but every time I called the county to verify a listing's legality, I got bad news. I then asked if it was even possible to have a duplex/MFH in Baltimore County. The answer was "it's hard".

So now I am just trying to find the laws/codes I would need to follow to legally convert a basement into an apartment. Does anyone know where I can find this? I feel like I've googled to no end, but maybe I'm missing something. I've tried reading through the zoning regulations, but it doesn't tell me how to make a legal MFH. It just says that that it is legal in some areas

I hope someone can help. Thanks.