All Forum Posts by: Jason Allen

i am an out of state landlord with a 3bd 2ba SFH outside of Atlanta and am looking for some advice in whether to take an ex-tenant to small claims court. This person and his partner broke the lease early as they bought a home. The damages plus cleaning fees could exceed $10k. This person is a pilot for Delta Airlines but never left a forwarding address. I've never taken anyone to small claims court so any advice on how to proceed or whether it's worth it at all would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Two options, get an attorney to handle this (in many instances attorney fees are also recoverable). The other option is 1099 them this amount whcih means they will have to pay taxes on that. you get nothing but another avenue.

I did hear you can 1099 them and continue to pursue, and if you get the $ then you file a revised 1099.

I've talked to an attorney who 1) thought there was a reasonable chance the legal costs would not be recouped even if judgement is in my favor 2) the legal costs would most likely exceed the damages.

how do you 1099 an ex tenant this expense?

If you take them to small claims, you will have minimal to no legal expenses (other than the filing and service fees), at least in Ohio. I suspect GA would be similar, but check the local laws.

0 Votes

Atlanta, Georgia

Quote from @Penina Rapaport Kalatsky:

Hi fellow friends,

My tenant is complaining that the oven isn't working.

The stove top works but the oven doesn't. Is there a way to fix this or I have to replace the oven?

I feel like every property I own needs a new stove right now.I

Honestly, unless it's something trivial that you could do yourself, it's cheaper and more expedient just to buy a new one. Check for home center/ appliance store sales and just replace it.

2 Votes

Jersey City, New Jersey

Quote from @Dheeraj Raj:

Quote from @Adam Martin:

I am assuming by your post that the lease is signed but the tenant does not have keys yet, keep it that way. Yes you have a signed lease but that lease also says that move in funds are paid but they are not so they are in violation. There was also clear fraud on the application front which is another strike to back out. Keep showing and ignore her threats and cease communication. People threaten to sue all the time but unless you hear it from a lawyer it is all smoke and do you really think they would win even if they did. Keep moving forward and ignore it.

That said there were mistakes made that it seems you are learning from. Move in funds need to be made in certified funds through a certified or cashiers check, without this there is no move in or keys. I have also accepted a wire from a tenant who did not have a local bank where they could get a certified check. I also have them send me a copy of their drivers license after the background check so I can verify their info before the signing. All said though you dodged a bullet and overall got a far cheaper lesson in screening and move in funds than others have.

I will disagree with the last part of your post though on hiring a property manager which no doubt you are going to get suggestions anyway you need one. Nobody is perfect starting out but really this isn't that hard especially if it is local and you don't have many properties. Keep your head up and keep moving forward and you will do great. While they work out great for some people nobody cares about your money like you do so don't let one setback scare you off.

I already gave her the keys after she signed the lease. Getting the driver’s license was aftermath. So i really cant do any showings yet unfortunately until she returns the keys. She stopped responding to me. Feel like trapped!

If you gave her the keys, you need to contact a local attorney to find out if her lease is valid (I suspect it's not) and then if it's not, change the locks and start showing it again. You should never have handed over the keys until whatever is demanded in the lease (first month rent, deposit, last month rent, etc.) was paid.

If you're going to be out of town or they delay and you can't wait, you can always put the keys in the lockbox and text them the code when they meet the requirements. Many jurisdictions place a huge amount of importance of the actual physical possession of the keys. You should never just hand them over.

0 Votes

Quote from @Bob Stevens:

Quote from @Jason Allen:

Quote from @Bob Stevens:

Quote from @Jason Allen:

Quote from @Joshua Thang:

Hi Everyone,

Does anyone have experience or frustration with CMHA not paying back rent during the inspection period? In my scenario, Sec 8 came out to do their inspection on the property around end of March but it didn't pass inspection after several tries until end of June. I paid my property manager in April for the repairs that needed to be done on the property as soon as I knew about it. Now that inspection is cleared, CMHA refuses to pay back rent for May and June. Some of the reasons why it got delayed was because tenant got covid and it had to be delayed for another several weeks. Is there anyway I can recoup back rent I didn't get during the inspection period?? My PM said it's not possible.....even though everybody says Sec 8 provides guaranteed rents...

Ha, we had CMHA not not only not pay back rent, but when we completed repairs on time, they didn't even show up to their own inspections. We completed all the repairs, scheduled an inspection before the deadline, and they re-scheduled multiple times (last minute when they even bothered to call) and no call/ no-showed on at least one occasion. We were ready for 2 months before THEY showed up to their own inspection. Still stiffed us for almost a grand.

I commend them on saving the government a few hundred dollars. I am sure it will be put to good use.

Does anyone actually wonder why landlords are wary (and weary) of this program at this point?

Hmm I have done 100s and 100s and 10OS probably more then 1k, CMHA inspections. Not only do they pay the back rent, as long as not abated, I get increases yearly. If I have an issue, I send an email to my collogues there and they take care of it. Its ALL about knowledge and your team. How did you lose 2k? Was your rent abated as you did not do the repairs in the 30-day window? Did they show up after the 30 day window? If so well yes 100% they would pay as they are the ones who delayed it.

I have 3 inspections this week, all will pass,

All the best

Ha yes, they didn't show up... 100% their fault. 100% we wasted probably 6 hours on the phone trying to get the money THEY owe us. In addition to all TBE time we wasted showing up for inspections for them not to Eve. Bother to cancel to call. May just try suing these scumbag tax maggots in small claims, but not sure if its worth it... 2nd section 8 contract... This is why we will never do a 3rd.

Something is not adding up, they ALWAYS show up, and suing lol, good luck with that 100% waste of time. It seems someone on your team is screwing up, NOT CMHA. ONE call/email I would have it taken care of

BTW I have about 200 CMHA and another 100 or so other govt programs. I am moving another in in about 10 days, LOVE the programs, they pay like clockwork.

Good luck

Ha, always show up.... That has never been my experience... in fact in the handful of inspections we've had, they have only actually one time shown up the first scheduled time. And then for the re-inspection resulting from that, they cancelled the day of, or no-call no-showed all of the re-inspections that they scheduled (we wasted our time showing up), for TWO F*CKING MONTHS, and then stiffed us the rent for the time they failed to show up for their re-inspection.

The final sec 8 unit (hopefully last ever) we have, they cancelled the inspection 2 times this November. Was scheduled for beginning of the month, and the day of the inspection, they call and reschedule, and then reschedule again, finally do it at the end of the month. We purposely left 2 items for them to "find": a broken door closer on a screen door and a handrail that had come loose going to the attic. They missed them both and *shockingly* passed the unit.

0 Votes

Cleveland, Ohio

Quote from @Bob Stevens:

Quote from @Jason Allen:

Quote from @Joshua Thang:

Hi Everyone,

Does anyone actually wonder why landlords are wary (and weary) of this program at this point?

I have 3 inspections this week, all will pass,

All the best

0 Votes

Cleveland, Ohio

Quote from @Kevin Sobilo:

@Adam Christopher Zaleski, this is a great opportunity if you haven't gone through the small claims court and judgement collection process.

The first thing I would do is look into whether your fees/charges are in line with state laws. Just because you put something in a lease doesn't mean anything if it doesn't conform to state law.

For example, you may have a $25/day fee for every day the lawn isn't mowed past 14 days, BUT the state might only allow you to charge the actual damage cost aka the cost to mow the lawn which might only be $75 total!

Beyond that I would look at this as an opportunity because the issues are pretty clear cut if it doesn't go well the amounts are small so the risk is low and there is a high probability of collection because this cosigner parent likely has assets and can be forced to pay any judgement.

^^^ this. It's never fun to go to court, but this is a very low-stakes learning experience, where worst case, you learn something for a small amount of $. Best case scenario, you get the judgement AND actually have someone with assets to go after.

Usually winning an eviction case means that you get to house the deadbeat for free for a few months until the writ is executed, and then also get to pay for the legal fees, cleanout, trash-out, rehab ...and the writ. I almost always get a judgement on principle, but I have yet to actually collect a single penny. Consider yourself lucky.

1 Vote

Quote from @TaRa Mehta:

Hello all,

I've a tenant who has been paying her rent late each month (along with the late fee). This month, however, she has not paid the rent so far.

Here is the sequence of events that happened.

1. Issue #1 - a rat entered the house and caused damage to the pipes which caused a massive leak - This issue was addressed properly and promptly. The rat was trapped, and the leak has been fixed.

2. Issue #2 - She lodged a maintenance issue asking for the ceiling tiles to be replaced which had water stains from Issue #1. We have not yet addressed this issue since we incurred a lot of expense from issue #1, and don't consider this as urgent.

After several attempts to contact her, she replied back saying that she has "taken" some of the money from the rent to pay and get the ceiling tiles replaced herself. She says she will pay the rent late. There's no indication of when, or how much of it she is going to pay.

We have been very courteous with her and been very reasonable and patient with her so far. What is the best approach to handle this situation?

Thank you in advance !

Tara

Seriously, if you don't post the 3 day notice and start the eviction process, you're literally training her to walk all over you. ETMFA

1 Vote

Yep, that's what your unit will look like a few months after they move in...

0 Votes

Fresno, California

Quote from @Jims B.:

We used Zillow to screen them. The background check and credit report came in. It looked okay on our end and something we could live with, but I guess we just have to be more firm next time. Thank you for the insight.

Zillow's background check is notorious for missing things like evictions. Often, I'll use the addresses from the credit check and turn up several evictions that were missed by Zillow when I run the names through relevant local court. In reality, you should only use Zillow as a pre-screen (if they already paid for it and are spamming area landlords with their application) and when some actually wants the house run a real background check.

0 Votes

Fresno, California

Quote from @Twannisha Jackson:

just bought a property, inherited a tenant. very nice property, side by side. 1bd 1ba. she has been there for over 10+ years, maybe 15. she pays $475. the lowest rent surrounding is $775. I want $850. mortgage is $1,200. I’ll cover the rest. she’s aware of the rent increase when I take over. she’s older woman late 40, early 50. not even sure how to price this. suggestions?

The question you need to ask yourself is, I am I running a business, or a charity? That will determine your answer...

1 Vote

Cincinnati, Ohio

All Forum Posts by: Jason Allen

Jason Allen has started 3 posts and replied 100 times.

Post: Suing an ex tenant in small claims court

Post: Can I fix a stove that doesn't heat?

Post: Tenant identity fraud

Post: CMHA Section 8 Refuse to Pay Back Rent During Inspection

Post: CMHA Section 8 Refuse to Pay Back Rent During Inspection

Post: How to deal with a wealthy co-signer parent that is a financial bully

Post: Tenant withholding rent due to minor maintenance issue

Post: Headache Tenants (Warning: Long Post)

Post: Headache Tenants (Warning: Long Post)

Post: how to raise the rent without scaring the tenant