All Forum Posts by: Linda Thomas

Potential tenant. Meets the 3x rent requirement. Only source of income is ssi and ssd for herself and 2 other family members. Is this normal for 3 people in one household to receive. I was planning on giving her the approval and moving forward to rent to her but my mother planted this seed in my head saying something seems off. Thoughts? 

Happy new year to all!!

potential tenant. Rent 1100 per mth. 3300 required to move in. Tenant has good rental history, no prior evictions, been at job for 4 yrs making 60k a year. Doesnt want to move in till 2/1 because he doesnt have the 3300 required to move in. Would you rent to him , this seems like a red flag??

Looking for thoughts.

Hello All,

I have a question regarding items left behind at the rental. I will provide a timeline of events to try to make it easier.

9/27 notice provided to tenant and sec8 housing of non-renewal of lease (60 day notice by certified mail was given)

11/30 Lease expiration date 

12/1 tenant vacated the unit and asked me to come at 7pm to pick up keys that way her dad would have time to help her get out her washer and dryer. She was not there as she had to work. Dad handed over the keys. Apologized for the mess left in the unit said he couldn't take the washer/dryer that day because he couldn't find anyone to help him. 

12/2 I asked for forwarding address, but she never answered so i mailed certified letter about abandoned property left behind to my rental address since it was her last known address. In PA, - she has 10 days to pick up abandoned property left behind and if requested can be stored for 30 days.

12/3 tenant messaged me at 1130am asking if her dad could come pick up washer and dryer at noon. I told her that she was not giving me enough advanced notice. I can't get there in 30 mins. She then said her dad changed his mind and wasn't coming anyways because it was raining, and he again couldn't find anyone to help him. 

 12/9 tenant reached out and told me that her dad would like to pick up the washer/dryer between 2-4pm. I wasn't going to sit there at the property for 2 hrs so I kindly asked if he could come between 3-330 instead which was still within the timeframe that he wanted. She said yes. I went there at 3 and waited and her dad never showed up. Her ex showed up instead and said he was there to help her dad w/ the washer/dryer. He called her while we were waiting for the dad, and she said the dad had an emergency and couldn't make it. (Thanks for letting me know! and wasting my time lol)

12/10 tenant asked if her ex could come grab some other belongings left behind and come get the washer and dryer out. He wanted us to provide him with 2 hours grab stuff and put in totes and take stuff out. I told him we could kindly give him one hour to grab what he needed as they had 60 days? (I think one hour is quite fair) We scheduled the appt for 2pm. Come 2pm the ex calls me saying he couldn't find a truck or anyone to help w/ the W/D and didn't plan on coming anymore and if he could come another day. I told him that I was already at the property waiting for him and asked why he didn't let me know in advance if he didn't plan on coming. He then said he would be right over. He came and packed up a few things and was leaving and I asked, aren't you going to take the stuff? he said no, I don't have a car. I will get it when I come back another day? (really)

 I am still waiting for the tenant to reach out. Tomorrowm12/12 is day 10 from the notice I sent. She never picked up the certified notice.  I have had contact with her. She has wasted a lot of my time while I sat there waiting for them. Do I now have to store it for 30 days or is it something that she MUST request?? or does she need to physically ask for that or is it assumed since I know she wants it and can't get it? how many more chances do I have to give them?? 

'

thanks everyone

Hello!

Looking for advice on sending rent increase notice and signing new lease. 

Lease expires 1/31/23 and i am sending a notice to increase rent this weekend (60 day notice) i would also like them to sign a new lease as they have been with me for 12 yrs and my lease has changed drastically (higher late fees, increase yearly etc) since then as they have never signed a renewal. 

Should i send the new lease along with the rent increase for them to review or wait till mid Jan if they do decide to stay. If i send it with the renewal would i jus have them get it back to me by 1/31 and date 2/1??

Thks

@Brent Benoit 

I don't have them sign a new lease? what does everyone else do? Thoughts? 

I also do include in the letter I send something to this sorts that the tenant needs to check mark which option and initial and date. 

1. __________I/We agree to renew lease for an additional one-year term with an expiration date of February 28, 2023, at a rate of $1000.00 per month.

2. _______________I/We do not agree to the new rate and will vacate the property no later than February 28, 2022.

BP,

I have a tenant that moved into a property Jan 2021. I did not raise the rent at the one year mark. The rent is $900.00 a month for a 3bed house. Rents have gone up drastically and after doing a market analysis they are going for about $1350.00. Would you recommend increasing it that much 60 days prior to the lease expiration - a $450.00 increase? or maybe somewhere in the middle at like $200.00? So far they have been a good tenant. Always paid the rent on time and taking care of the place. What would be the best approach and how would I go about justifying it? just put in the letter that it is due to increases in taxes and insurance costs and rent market rate? 

Hello all,

I just wanted to thank you all for all the tips and advice that you all have offered me. I have been a landlord for over 10 yrs and have learned so much from you all. I had a tenant that has been in the unit for 8 yrs and for the past 5 yrs has always been late on her rent and water bill. I have always worked w/ her and based on your feedback and advice I finally said enough is enough and put my foot down. She always had an excuse and always paid the rent in parts and it wasn't paid until around the 25th of each month which was unreal. So, I gave her a 10 day notice to pay or quit and guess what by day 7 she paid all the past due rent and the water bill (coughed up over 1000 bucks) and in a few days here comes Oct rent so I was like this is all going to reset and start again and I'm going to have to give her another 10 day notice but I was so surprised that by the 3rd she was paid in FULL. wow. I should have done this a long time ago. She hasn't spoken to me yet or messaged me since the notice which she always does so I'm assuming she's mad at me (like I did something wrong right! ) but wow in a matter of 2 wks she coughed up 2500.00!!!!! 

Hello BP,

Tenant is late on rent as usual, he has not paid Sept rent, and we decided that it was about time to do something as we let it slide way too many times. (I am learning a lot from you all so thanks for that!) On 9/17 we sent a notice to pay or quit giving 10 days to pay or vacate or we would start the eviction process at the MDJ - yesterday the tenant sent me 1/3 of the amount due via VENMO - I am looking for advice on how to proceed with this? I'm hoping he pays the rest before the 10 days are up and starts making payments on time. Looking for advice should I refund the 1/3 he paid? or? 

Hello everyone, 

i have a question about sending the list with deductions to a tenant that was evicted for having more pets than permitted. She provided an 850 security dep upon move in and a non refundable pet fee of 550. Do i include both amounts in my list and letter to her and just total them and deduct what were damages from the 550 even if it doesnt exceed it she wont get it back anyways? Or do i omit it and not mention any of the pet damages as that was what the fee was for. I did not charge any pet rent monthly. 

The carpets were heavily stained and soiled with pet feces and pet urine that would come out of the non refundable pet fee not the sec dep even though lease states need to professional clean carpets amd provide proof in form of receipt upon moving out.  Can i still charge for this from sec dep or is it double dipping?

@Theresa Harris = I haven't done either yet. The lease expires in 4 months but they are late on the rent and pay 1/2 at a time? not sure if I should just suck it up until 2 months out and then give them 60 day notice of non renewal and that might be easier to get them out?