All Forum Posts by: Martin S.

Whats a reasonable fee/penalty for having a cat in a house that is pretty much all carpet, likely close to 1200sf of carpet? They found the cat as a stray kitten, it is now fully grown and likely not trained evidenced by all the stains on the carpets.

These carpets are new, installed by seller right before I purchased the house a year ago.

I was thinking $800 or higher...

@ Peter. I dont think we are at the point where I need a lawyer just yet.

I'm pretty sure I should send out the letters and give them a chance to cure all the issues. If the issues are not cured by the cure period that would be a time when I can hire a lawyer, and I can remind them as per the lease agreement that they would be liable for any legal fees.

If I wait too long, their security deposit may end up too small to cover potential damage, especially while moving out. And if I would try to take large deductions, especially if I had not sent any letters asking to cure the issues, a judge may be more likely to side with tenant. If I had to pay a contractor to replace the door, it would count as additional rent, per the lease, and if I waited until they left, I would have to deduct from the security deposit. I'm sure carpeting in the house is going to be over $1000. I will allow them to cure the cat problem by also obtaining professional carpet cleaning which specializes in cleaning carpets with cat urine and soil, and perhaps a warranty against cat odors.

Thanks Phil

The well maintenance guys already had enough of them. The male tenant threatened the technician and they almost cancelled my contract. They only agreed to continue service if the female tenant would only contact them.

Every time there was an issue with the water, I did inform them to check the breakers. They said it was off and they would not turn it back on. The technician would have to come the same or next day and check the entire system and then flip the circuit breaker back on. I paid $400 for an electrician just to diagnose the wires from the breaker box to the well pumps. He tested them and said they were fine and wrote it on paper. Now a month later there was no power through the lines. The same technician wrote me a paper that they are bad, and the cost to replace would be $1900. I did it myself for under $100 in parts.

I don't mind fixing stuff myself, the hassle is that these tenants would not flip a circuit breaker. Where have they lived all their lives that they never learned to check and flip circuit breakers? If it would have been a consistent problem, it would have been fixed a long time ago, but the technician could not pin point exactly what was causing the breakers to flip, and because it would only happen once a month it was impossible to blame it on the wiring at that time.

In Sarasota and most of Florida you can easily screen tenants online. You can find every criminal offense all the way down to minor traffic violations. You can see marital records, property records, pretty much any court related record online for free. I should have called their previous landlord, but my mom who actually screened them said they were very nice people (last time I rely on my mom to judge a tenants character). I take drivers license pics and a copy of tax returns. I'm a finance guy and the taxes checked out, so it seemed ok.

I did meet them a month or so after they moved in, the male tenant said that his girlfriend is the cleanest person he ever met, so I was hopeful. They are now having relationship issues and the house is suffering along with them, its really messy, not like a crack house, but everything is on top of counters, dirty clothes piling up, floors haven't been washed in months. I feel like they expect housekeeping to magically show up and bleach the bathroom and clean the house.

Neighbor said that police were there like 4 times for domestic violence, but I guess no charges were made. The female did have a dwi pop up while living in my property... Whatever. I am ready for new tenants, of course this time I will have a stricter pet policy, late policy and have them pay for lawn service instead of relying on them. Live and learn. It wasn't that bad, but you better not call me 11pm complaining about mold and an air filter you should have changed and then not take care of my property like you agreed to do. I'm not a magician to be able to predict when a wire underground will go bad and cause water to stop flowing, it can happen to anyone.

It is clearly stated that I must receive rent by the 1st, but I also have a 5 day grace period. I will follow the law and they must correct the items on the list if they plan on staying until the end of the lease. If they still have a cat, do not mow the lawn, and do not get rid of the propane tanks, or do not pay rent on time again then I will file for eviction. If they correct everything then they have under 2.5 months left and they can leave.

Thanks, I guess I will be sending separate letters. It will be a happy day of reading for them when they get all my letters. Also I thought I had 30 days to give notice that I wont renew, but it says 60 days according to florida legislature, so they will get that letter as well.

I should have also mentioned that their lease expires Feb 29th, 2016. They did mention they want to move or buy a house. But after looking at current available rentals and home prices, I don't foresee that happening unless I evict them.

I own 1 rental property in Sarasota, FL, I live in NYC. The home has well water and I hired a well maintenance company, the system has had some issues since they moved in. Every time water is restored within 24 hours, but I could understand their frustration. The maintenance guys showed them how to restore water themselves, and 95% of the time it was just a circuit breaker that tripped, but they would fail to check it and reset it, which caused diagnosis of the exact problem to take months instead of days. Ended up being bad underground wiring, which is now replaced. The tenant made a nasty and even threatening call to me 11pm at night the day after the issue with the water system was fixed. I've been as nice as possible up until this point, but its time for me to address issues with this tenant. I'll list them below.

1. Tenant kicked in the side door into garage, resulting in dented door and broken frame. The door was brand new before they moved in.

2. Their dog which is allowed under the lease has clawed the inside garage door that leads into the house, the wood for the door stop is deformed and needs to be replaced.

3. Tenants got a cat without my authorization or even asking or letting me know. Poop stains all over brand new carpet all over house, most likely urine all over, I would have never allowed a cat.

4. Tenant is using a propane grill inside garage. Lease states no hazardous materials, such as flammables or explosive character. Also has a 2nd large propane tank with torch/flamethrower type attachment.

5. Tenant is responsible for lawn care and to keep plants from touching, rubbing or growing on the outside of house. The lawn has not been cut in months, weeds, vines, bushes and everything is overgrown and rubbing, and growing on the sides of the house. Lawn is shot, weeds everywhere.

6. Tenant complained about the HVAC filter not filtering because it is clean, I explained he can get a higher rated filter and it is his job to change the filter. He stood firm on his complaint that the filter is clean and not filtering so why should he change it. I don't care, that's not my problem.

7. Tenant complained about mold because there was a small roof leak which I fixed 2 days after they told me about it. Claims that once water gets on anything there is mold instantly. I treated the sheetrock with bleach, applied mold resistant paint and then color matched the paint. Lease states tenant must provide written notice to landlord if he/she believes there is mold. Tenant is responsible for keeping the house clean, open windows and shades. The house is always a terrible mess, windows are always closed and shades are always down and shut, never got a notice about mold, and I'm sure I mitigated any chance of mold. Not my problem.

8. Rent was late for December, actually rent is always late. Lease states rent is due the 1st, but I did include a 5 day grace period. They always mail it out on the 1st. I usually get it around the 5th. This time, I had to personally pick up the December check on the 12th after 10pm. Old check arrived in the mail postmarked the 11th... I guess I will be charging the late fee of $25, plus $75 per week. Tenant wants the old check back, instead of letting me just write void on it. That was my last straw, WHY would you want me to send you a stupid check back?

So obviously I have a lot of writing to do.

My main questions are this:

Do I write a separate letter for each issue, or 1 or 2 separate letters, 1 for major issues and 1 for minor issues?

Do I mail everything together with the old check in 1 letter CMRR, or each issues gets its own CMRR? I'd imagine if they were not home and they got 8 yellow slips they would likely not pick up the letters from the post office...

I have a tenant in my SFH whom I saw using a propane grill in the garage of my property in Sarasota, FL. I'm pretty sure it is not safe and would like to ask if you guys can recommend any steps I should take to stop this? or is it perfectly normal and safe?

I was planning on making a fire (with a concrete block foundry/furnace thingy) on the stump to burn it out.

One of the tree guys, who quoted me over $5000 told me that its better not to apply for permits because they may deny it and then you are really stuck with the tree. Such a high quote and he never planned on getting a permit... I don't really care, the neighbors want the tree gone too.