All Forum Posts by: Lily Sellers

  I had a friend who was paying a substantial amount to rent a house so I offered him a room at my house so he could save some money.  Before he officially moved in we had a verbal agreement that he would pay a $550 deposit within two months of moving in (the lease says there’s a $550 deposit)  fast forward half a year he still has not given me one.  He is on a month to month lease and I just gave him a 30 days notice of a non renewal of lease after he denied wanting to pay me a security deposit with his Augusts rent.  

  When we first started out it was a friend helping a friend and now since the time he has moved in I have became interested in real estate and have realized the mistakes that I have made that could have been avoided with proper paper work and addendums. 

  I guess my question is, am I in the wrong? Could there be any legal repercussions? I have practiced the laws that I know for the state of Idaho fair housing to a T and have tried to keep documentation within the last few months of everything.   I don’t have any proof that he stated he would give me a deposit after two months.  Is it a problem that the lease has stated that there is a 550$  deposit to be included? (Such as him trying to scam me for the $550 saying I have it). I’ve written receipts for everything he has paid for and listed exactly for what the receipt is showing in terms of transaction and what’s going to who and the date.   

  Guess im just trying to make sure if he talks to an attorney (which he said he was going to) that the lawyer will tell him that there’s nothing he can do or has the right to do.  Thanks in advance.

@Nik Moushon That's great to know! I looked over a PUD application for my area in WA & it looks like they need the landlord/owner name as well, I'll call them to verify & check out any other requirements. Thank you for the advice, Nik!

@Steven Foster Wilson That's a great idea to call the utility companies to make sure I'm not on it! Thank you so much for your help, Steven! 

@Nathan Gesner @Bjorn Ahlblad @Ray Hage You've all been incredibly helpful, thank you so much!

@Greg M. I’ll look into that landlord policy. Thanks for the help Greg, I appreciate it! :)

Hi everyone! 

I'm getting ready to close on an SF rental property in Washington State & need some help understanding utility responsibilities. I've read that tenants can sign up & pay for their WSG, or the landlord can pay for those utilities, send the tenant a bill, and the tenant pays the landlord for the utilities used. I'd love to hear how everyone handles utilities with their tenants! Any helpful advice is appreciated :)

Highly recommend The Book on Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner & How to Invest in Real Estate by Joshua Dorkin and Brandon Turner. These are two of my favorite beginner books! Both books really helped me wrap my head around real estate investing and answered a lot of my questions! 

Best of luck & happy investing! :)

I will message you both tomorrow! Excited to hear from you both!

My boyfriend is from Oklahoma (Washington/Tulsa county) but we both now live on the west coast.  We are wanting to expand our investments into the Tulsa/Claremore/Collinsville/Skiatook/ and Bartlesville area.   Would love to hear some opinions, ideas, and maybe some suggestions from some local investors in the area!  Would also like to start some friendships in the area to help each other grow!  

 Will do!