All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Welcome to BP.  Sounds like you're in a great position and bought at a good time. Nice work! 

I agree with @Jennifer L.  Work with the tenant as much as you can, but don't penalize yourself in the process. As she states, protecting your income stream is the objective. It's great when you can give a good tenant some leeway, but be fair to yourself and your business at the same time.  Good luck with this!

Hi Dan,

As others have said, you must screen that other tenant. You can send them a pdf of the lease agreement by email and they can mail it or Fed Ex it back to you on their dime.  If either of the tenants balks at that, move  on.  

To protect your property and yourself, you have to know who your tenants are.  Each tenant who signs is agreeing to the lease terms such as:  they will pay rent on time, take care of the place, not engage in criminal activity, etc. You can't hold them to the terms of a lease they didn't sign.  Sorry if this is overkill. You've likely gotten the message by now. This one just made my landlord "danger alert" go off.  Best of luck to you!

Hi Tyrone,

I don't like to negotiate rent with tenants for two reasons: One, it gives them the impression they are in the driver's seat and your rents aren't set in stone. Two, if they disappear before the lease is up, you got less rent than you might have otherwise. 

I haven't been in your shoes at all, but I think I would carefully review the lease and charge them exactly what they signed for. If they want out of a lease six month's early, then they owe six month's of rent payments (according to my lease agreement anyway). I'd work with someone who had been a good tenant, but these people don't sound like good tenants.  

I'm unclear on the deposit situation. If they used it as earnest money for the purchase, can you now use it as a security deposit to handle damage etc. since they're backing out of the purchase? Was that addressed in your purchase agreement? Good luck! This is a tough one. 

@Alex Applebee Beautiful work! Congratulations! I am so impressed.  So sorry you've had to deal with some silly trolls with no better way to use their time.  I hope it doesn't discourage you from posting in the future.  

I so admire your artful transformation, your tenacity and your honesty in posting about your foibles and missteps along with your great success. Best of luck to you in the future!

Hi Roy,

Congratulations on your purchase. I use EZlandlordforms.com. Their site generates forms specific to your state. It's not free, but I've found it to be a good value. 

For credit an background checks I've been using RentPrep.com. Their service is great. They have different packages. I have RentPrep do the credit and background check. I call to verify employment and talk to previous landlords myself.

Best of luck!

Hi Robert,

I'm assuming he's offering a really fantastic price?  This would really scare me, honestly. Have you already gotten estimates on what it would take to get the place up to code?  My biggest concerns (beyond safety and liability) would be surprises down the road, when you need to fix or upgrade something and you find the the workmanship is shoddy and has to be completely re-done.  And as @Jeremy Pace mentions, zoning could be an issue - maybe you've already looked at that. I'm pretty risk-averse, so I'd need a really low purchase price, and I'd need to have enough reserves to do the major upgrades necessary, and possibly get rid of current tenants. Who pays all cash for rent?  Criminals?

Welcome to BP, @Evancia Baron  It sounds like you have some business experience, that will definitely help to keep you on track. Best of luck!

I'm sure you know you can't discriminate against them because of their size.  Have the original tenants broken the lease or rental agreement?  Most leases don't allow additional tenants to just move in without the approval of the landlord and would require a new or amended lease.

You can tell them the proper way to use the fridge in writing, but be careful that you don't sound like you're saying they eat too much.  How much they eat isn't the landlord's business, and again, you don't want to discriminate against them because of their weight. 

If you do an inspection with appropriate advance notice, you have a right to see every room. So if you didn't see the bedrooms last time, I suggest you do another inspection.  If the rental or lease agreement has been violated, take the steps outlined in the agreement to correct it.  For most issues, my leases give the tenant 7 days to make it right. If they  don't correct the issue in time, they've broken the agreement and I can ask them to leave.

Good luck with this!

As a landlord, I want to know if they have a flat fee for evictions and how much experience they have with evictions.