All Forum Posts by: Leo M.

I was wondering how to best gauge the assessment of a two new quadraplexes I plan on building.  The mills are 94 ( county, twp and school ).   But that is only part of the equation as the assessment can vary widely in my area.   And the market values listed at the appraisers office are of course diff than true market value.  For instance one property I own appraised at $240k but the total market value from the assessment office is 80k.

A quadraplex so far is hard for me to judge given that there are not many in my area and again even just being a few streets away in my township tends to change the assessments.

Thanks for any thoughts/advice.  I am going to speak with the assessment office tomorrow as well.

1st your lease should not permit the tenant to bring in contractors and quote repairs or perform repairs.   I do not allow my tenants to do any such thing...you want to keep control of your property, don't let her set the rules or rewrite the rules.

2nd, it may be hard at this point to prove if the toilet was clogged and if she was responsible given that there were some parts apparently broken.  I wouldn't worry about that now.   If possible, have your contractor or a carpet repair company check a small area so you can be sure your floor is not rotted and it was a small leak.  If that is all it was, then have that area of the carpet cleaned professionally and explain to the tenant that you understand her concerns and that the problem has been professionally handled.  Document of course with proper notices etc.

Further, if not in your lease, make an addendum that makes it clear that the tenant is responsible for clogged toilets she causes including carpet cleaning etc...put the burden back on her and her security deposit. 

If otherwise she has been reasonable, takes care of the place, pays the rent etc then it should not be an issue going forward.   

It can seem at times that tenant wants to cause problems ( and some do ) but not always the case.  Where they do you probably have other reasons to not want them their and they probably have other breaches of the lease and simply need to find a new home.

Hope that helps.

LM

Joe,

I agree in large part but I think it is a matter of style of management, I do not think everyone is as far apart as it might seem.  Some may prefer contracts in writing, some verbal or none.

Matthew,

I agree with one exception. This tenant was planning on moving.  That's great.  I hope she has a great new home, really I do.  But my point is that since she was planning on moving I just needed to know so I could get ready to rent it again.  So had I not forced her hand I am not sure she was going to tell me until the last minute. 

   Her understanding was that the 60 day notice to renew by both parties was no longer in effect since the lease was up.  To her, no lease meant no rules.  Sometimes this is a psychological exercise vs. a legal one.  Legally she was wrong.  But if I had the up to date lease she may have viewed things differently although no real legal change had occurred.

But yes, the less interaction I have with a tenant the better I like it.  Usually means things are going smoothly.

LM

Just to add to the topic a bit....The reason my landlord agency does NOT auto renew is to avoid problems with changes in landlord tenant laws, increases in expenses or to simply be able to take back control of the residence without giving any reason for nonrenewal. 

 A tenant that will not sign a new lease is a probably a red flag as it is a very simple process and unless they are planning on bolting will want to sign up again.

So there are many options.  Auto renewal, new lease each year or rent increase if m-m and I am sure many more creative methods to run your business.

Joe, I appreciate what you are saying but the main whole point is to give the tenant some incentive to sign.  If I desire a yearly lease and that is the agreed upon contract why would I do anything less than agree to and enforce the terms bargained for.  Otherwise I see little need for a lease.

It is pretty simple.   Sign the new lease or find a new home.  Eviction is a last resort and I am sure the $300.00 bump in rent is a last resort as well.  But otherwise some tenants simply will not enter into any reasonable discussion regardless of how well you have treated them and maintained their residence.  I personally like the auto renewal but until this instance never had anyone not sign.  I have had them sign a bit late but never not sign.  Perhaps it is my area, nice properties vs say section 8?  Not sure, but it is not something I encounter much. 

That would work as well....something that gets their attention.  The leases I use are from a professional landlord agency but lacked my attys auto renewal so I just need to add a provision like that which my lawyers lease did have.   

Thanks

"It is a shame a new landlord will treat a paying tenant like crap. Now when she moves, and your next tenant is a crack head and stop paying and damage your property you should be happy."

Joe, I am hardly new at this as you assume.  ( New to this site but not new as you state, not sure why? )  My family has been in real estate since the 1950s and I am 3rd generation.   Tenants do pose unique situations to all owners/investors and so I was simply deciding if I should enforce my lease and systems or allow the tenant to decide how things should play out.  I am very happy that I did not allow this tenant to skip out on me or remain as a holdover.  I have many past tenants who I am now friends so assumptions on how I run things are not helpful.   

I appreciate the other replies .  I do use an excellent real estate law firm and a landlord service company that provides excellent leases and other services such as credit screens to avoid crackheads, damage etc.  Both firms have great leases.  I only need to ad an auto renewal to make my leases complete.  I often use addendums to permit pets and other circumstances as well. 

  I have had few problems as a landlord and I credit this largely to following legal advice and having a management systems in place.  But situations arise where I think of deviating from my systems which is why I made my original post.  On occasion I have deviated to accommodate a tenant.   For instance I had a tenant who lost his job last winter.  He contacted me and explained.  He was with me for 5 years so I let him move without any problems and leased the place in in Feb with no problem.  My systems said no he can't but you have to work outside of that framework at times I agree as others posted. 

 I attempted the same with this tenant but she felt no need to have any sort of dialogue.  What did I have to gain by playing nice?  Nothing, no goodwill as she had already planned on moving. 

As to her credit rating, had she stayed as a holdover and ended up being evicted I would have posted it with the landlord service and had my attorney file the eviction for the world to see on a credit report.  If I have to spend money to get someone to communicate and go to the point of an eviction then they should not be surprised when their credit stinks. 

I am fine with an empty house for a bit.  Greed makes one hope they get just one more month out of a tenant or let the tenant dictate/change the contract.  Or the owner/investor is so overleveraged that they have to keep every tenant or risk being evicted themselves. 

 I may not be as flexible as others on this site but it works for me and for the majority of my tenants.

LM

Just an update on my tenant situation...it might be useful for others in the future.  Yes an auto renew is a must so I am adding that to my lease.

But here is how things went.

 I sent one letter that was polite and gave room for negotiating a new lease etc.  Crickets.  No call, zip. 

So I followed this up quickly with a nonrenewal of lease letter which included a possible eviction warning.  Amazing...she replied, yep she is moving but failed to communicate that to me until I she felt her credit might get hurt. 

 She noted that she did not have a lease so the 60 day requirement to notify me didn't apply.  While she was wrong technically it doesn't matter.  What it shows is that you must make the tenant renew or move.  No holdover tenants even if they have the rent every month.  Had I waited she would not have give me a notice of her intent to move.  So lesson learned.    A new lease/auto renewal, then on letter but not more than two is my advice and the 2nd with a firm time limit before you begin an eviction proceeding. 

I know others feel different or have a diff policy but be careful with not keeping your tenants lease up to date.  If they care about their credit you might have more luck getting some reasonable communication from them.

Also I had obtained 1st and last months rent and security.    I am out nothing by doing so in this situation.  In PA you can get as much prepaid rent as they can pay, which is better than a security deposit in some instances.

Tks again.  Lots of great advice.

Good information.  My lease is structured by attys for a large landlord association.  It gives an option to renew and the tenant was to notify me 60 days prior to the end of the term of her intentions...stay, or go etc.  The lease also allows for rental increases at anytime during the term.  So by failing to send in the renewal, yes the tenant is making setting the rules to a degree, albeit not the worst issue I agree.

I do like the idea of the auto renewal though as steve noted ( and I read the older post ) and will contact the landlord company and see if they have any like that or I can create my own.

I also hear what Mr. Nemeth is saying ( which is partly why I put the post up ) but if she is planning on moving say in November, I'd rather some of the propane be covered vs me trying to rent the house near the holidays.  I keep my rentals in excellent condition, perform almost all my own maintenance and am kind to my tenants.  But I only have bad memories of "good tenants or bad tenants" whom I have let dictate the terms of the lease.  I personally do better when I stick to a consistent format/system for all my units.  Why should this tenant not have to sign and my other very good tenants have to sign my leases? 

I have actually had tenants in the past say " hey you didn't raise their rent" or I don't have a new lease so I have all the rights".  Absurd as it was  it led to the tenants thinking that I had discriminated in someway  or in the last case that they could do as they pleased ( false, but that was their perception and they had paid on time for 5 years ).

So I don't like to give different tenants different treatments when it comes to the basics such as contracts. And I'd rather have the house empty now in july/aug than have a surprise in November by going month to month unless I am being paid a larger rent for doing so.

Thanks for all your responses, all were very helpful.

Replies appreciated!   I did leave a voicemail telling her I was willing to be flexible if she was planning on moving including month to month.   No reply.  It could well be procrastination.   Of course when  something needs fixed my tenants don't hesitate to call etc.  I suppose I am most irritated by no reply to my flexible and reasonable request.  I find it rude.  I have been trying to get her to sign or at least reply for one month now.  

I could let it go as she is obligated by the prior lease terms by PA law and worst case she moves in January which is unlikely.  I think I will try again to meet with her face to face and see what she has to say and then I will send a certified letter to sign or pay a higher monthly rent.  I like that idea.  

The old lease had provisions for raising the rent at any time.  So now we are month to month I will copy that section of the lease, mail it to her certified along with a letter stating her options.

Thanks, it got me on the right track and I think it is fair for me and the tenant.