All Forum Posts by: Marcia Maynard

We use the 10 year lithium ion ones too. Haven't found a 10 year carbon monoxide alarm or would do that the same way. We are looking at having at least one photoelectric as well or a photo/ion combo, so appreciate the links you all are providing on this topic and the supporting rationale.

We document with tenant required signature that our alarms are installed and working at the time of tenant move in. When we do our 6 month inspections and at any other time we are inspecting a unit, we check all are functioning. But, we will do more documentation now. Never can have too much documentation, eh?

We impose a $50 fine each time a tenant disables a smoke alarm. In our state we could charge up to $200, so the tenant feels I've let them off easy. Repeat offenders are rare.

I live in a state that legalized marijuana, but can and do have a no-smoking policy for all of our properties that does not allow smoking of any kind on the premises (in or outside of the unit).

From our rental agreement:

USE: Tenant agrees the premises will be used for dwelling purposes only and not for business. Tenant will not use said premises or any part thereof for any illegal purpose.

ILLEGAL DRUGS: It is forbidden to have, use, store, manufacture, or sell illegal drugs on the premises. Tenant agrees to take action to keep the premises free of illegal drugs and drug-related activity.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE: Tenant agrees not to allow any person residing on the premises, or any guest, or invitee to use controlled substances (including alcohol and prescription medications) in a manner that will either disturb the peace and quiet enjoyment of other Tenants and neighbors adjacent to the premises; or endanger the health and safety, or well-being of Tenants or other persons.

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Some amusing comments on this thread, but in all reality you absolutely need to be concerned. Monitor your property closely and keep local law enforcement informed of significant findings. Law enforcement will only act on a preponderance of evidence. Partner with them.

We have inherited illegal drug users and have seen the illegal drug users transition to dealing. We have had the good tenant turn bad. We've also rented to tenants who passed our radar and turned out to be users and/or dealers. Rarely does a situation like this have a good outcome.

You have seen the red flags. If you don't take action to protect your property and strive to keep it safe and free of illegal activity, you will be opening yourself up to a different kind of risk - liability.

I agree with the comments of @Patrick L. and @Bill S. Your tenants are obviously attracting the wrong kind of people to your property. You must act now, and don't worry about the time of year and all of that. It's important to have enough cash reserves to weather through situations like this. You may be able save the tenancy, but don't count on it, especially if they are into addictive substances. If it were me, I would address the issue prior to renting out the other unit.

Keep us posted and good luck.

I forgot to mention, the attorney needs copies of the rental agreement, notices served, and other supporting documentation. We prepare for this by keeping individual tenant files with all rental agreements, correspondence and documentation in chronological order. We bring our tenant's file to the attorney's office and the attorney copies what they need. We also maintain a rent register, bank records, and other documentation that would come into play if the tenant should try to contest the unlawful detainer ruling. We budget $800 for an eviction to cover attorney costs, filing fees, processing fees, sheriff service, and all other associated costs.

Some experienced landlords or property managers do the entire process themselves and bypass an attorney. Unless you are very knowledgeable and experienced I would not recommend it.

I recently spoke with a landlord in Oregon who did the whole eviction himself and did it the wrong way. The tenant got an attorney from a legal aid agency to help her and the landlord ended up losing. He had to get his own attorney to get out of the legal mess. He had to pay her attorney fees and in all lost some $4,000 in the legal process before all was settled. She's out of the property now, but he's still out over $2,000 in lost rent and damages, legitimate charges. He's too battle scarred to chase her for his money. His mistake? Not serving legal notice properly and not following the requirements of his state's landlord-tenant law. He said he would never try it again without and attorney. He lost time and money, not to mention the toll of the stress.

Good topic. Great idea to be proactive. 18 years and 15 units into this business. We have only had to do one full eviction, but we are now preparing for our second one.

There have been several times when we have come to a mutual understanding with the tenant that they should leave and they have. We always try that route first.

The posting of the appropriate legal notice is the first step of an eviction. We can easily do that by using forms that have passed legal muster and by following the proper procedure for serving notice. If the tenant does not comply and we decide to proceed with unlawful detainer action we take it to an attorney.

After the court has ruled in our favor and our attorney has informed us of our date with the county sheriff, we prepare for the move-out. The sheriff asks us to NOT tell the tenant the date/time for their safety and ours. No one wants to be greeted by an angry tenant waiting with firearms.

At the appointed time, we come with a locksmith, two moving men and their moving van and us in our protective gear (work clothes, gloves, N95 face mask, and eye protection) and boxes and bring construction quality plastic bags. We also bring a large trash can, as we can toss things of no value. We also prearrange for storage at a nearby storage facility.

The sheriff approaches the property first, determines if there is anyone inside, posts his legal document then steps aside and stands guard as our locksmith gains entry and changes the locks (some landlords to the locksmithing themselves), our movers start moving furniture to the van and we pack up everything else in boxes and bags. Sheriff is still standing by and we do this as fast as we can.

Our state law requires us to store the tenant possessions safely for 45 days. If the tenant wants their things back, we can charge them for moving and storage only and then we must return their possessions. We charge $30/hr for our time, plus our real costs for which we keep receipts.

The time we had to go the full distance, the tenant wasn't home and when she returned her apartment was locked and empty. She screamed at us over the telephone. What didn't she understand about the letters and notices that proceeded this? Her friends told her it would take 2 or 3 months for us to get her out. From start to finish (3-day notice to pay rent or quit, 10-day notice to respond to the court, two-weeks until our date with the sheriff = 4 weeks) it took just about one month. It could have been sooner if the sheriff's schedule was not so full.

The tenant was surprised we acted so fast. We didn't see her again until day 45 at the storage unit when she wanted to get her property back. She paid us every penny for moving and storage. Alas, we didn't recover our rent, damages and legal fees even though the court awarded in our favor, as it is nearly impossible money from a tenant who has none, especially after they move out of state.

We also had a tenant abandon a property once and that required us to follow a different procedure.

@ George P.

What works for your climate and what works for mine will of course differ. I'm sharing what works for me. This morning it is 19 degrees fahrenheit here. These products are helpful to us. I do what I can to prevent damages from cold weather as we experience it. If I were in your climate in Michigan I would use what works there. If I were in Alaska I would do what works in Alaska. It is all relative.

We changed all of our outside water spigots to the frost-free type. The valve is thus further in where it doesn't freeze and the water in the outside part of the spigot drains out. We also make sure outside hoses are disconnected and the spigots are covered with a spigot cozy before the cold weather arrives. With the frost-free type spigot, even if a tenant reattaches the hose at the wrong time of year we haven't had any problems.

My plumber told me there are two things that are hardest on a house.

1. Water that's going where it shouldn't be going.

2. A homeowner trying to do his own handyman work.

Water can cause a lot of damage quite quickly. A true emergency. We want tenants to call us any time of day or night if they can't stop the water flowing and to report what has happened. We show tenants how to turn off the water, but learned the hard way you must periodically test the shut off valves under all sinks, toilets, washers and hot water heaters as well as master shut offs. They can age and fail.

We set "water alarms" near every hot water heater and under the kitchen sink. On more than one occasion this has alerted the tenant of a water leak or alerted us that something was wrong and we were able to mitigate the damage.

Establish a good relationship with your HVAC repair company, electrician, plumber and carpet cleaning company. Our business as a loyal customer has gained us their favor and they have been quick to respond to our needs.

Oops, clicked the wrong button and sent a post without my response to your questions.

1. Keep receipts for parts/materials, invoices for hired services, and yes charge for your labor if your jurisdiction allows it. We usually charge $20 per hour for our time, but in some situations (like really disgusting work) we have charged $30 per hour with no push back from the judge. We only have 14 days to return deposits or account for their withholding, so sometimes we must determine our costs before the repairs are complete. When tenants move-in we give them a list of customary charges for common damages, so they won't be blindsided. We give them the list again when we receive notice that they are moving. One of my favorite tools is HD Supply catalog because it gives prices on parts/materials for most anything needing replacement.

2. Yes she could file with the court, but why give her reason too? Whether a law suit has merit or is frivolous, it will still cost you time and money.

3. We have in our rental agreement: "ALTERATIONS: Tenant agrees not to alter the premises without prior written consent of Landlord. Landlord encourages Tenant to make the dwelling "their own home" and will allow a certain amount of decorating and modifications. However, all changes made by Tenant must be reversible and property must be restored to original condition at end of tenancy, unless other arrangement have been made with Landlord. Tenant agrees not to do painting, wallpapering or structural modifications to the premises. Tenant agrees not to make alterations, changes or additions to plumbing fixtures, light fixtures, heating units, or locks. Any alterations or decorations made by the Tenant become the property of the Landlord when Tenant vacates." That proactively covers it. If you didn't have an agreement in place that covers your situation, then be reasonable and in good faith negotiate a solution with the tenant.

4. Remain professional at all times. Only withhold the amount of security deposit that you are legally entitled to withhold. Follow proper procedure is compliance with landlord-tenant law. You may be inconvenienced, frustrated or angry by the tenants actions. Don't make it worse by your own actions. Remain calm and try to negotiate a win-win.

Let go of the 60-day notice concern. (Does your state allow you to require a 60-day notice? I thought it was 30-days in your state. Tenants do not waive their rights by signing contracts that are not in synch with the law.) When she gave you a 30-day verbal notice, you could have followed up by giving her some guidance to make the move-out process go more smoothly. Alas, you missed that opportunity this time. As you learn from this experience, you will become better at handling move-outs.

Here is our process, if you care to borrow it:

If a tenant informs us verbally of their intent to move, we remind them they must give us a written notice as per their rental agreement. We provide tenants with a Notice to Vacate form and move-out instructions at the time of move-in. By the time they decide to move, they have often misplaced the form, so we give them another one as soon as we hear wind that they are considering moving. They don't have to use our form, it just makes it easier for them and provides us with what we need.

When we receive their written Notice to Vacate, we mail them an acknowledgement letter that states the date of our receipt of the notice, the date we understand they will be out and what happens if they can't make it out by that date. We give them the move-out instructions again, which includes a list of common charges for damages. We remind them of the amount of their security deposit and what they must do to receive it back. Our forms and instructions reference applicable landlord-tenant law.

We keep an eye on the property to get an idea if they are preparing for their move and make a note if we observe a moving truck. If we do, are items being moved out or moved in? Believe it or not, we were evicting a tenant, saw the moving truck and thought YEAH! she really is moving! Until we noticed she was moving more items into the apartment, from a storage unit that had rent past due.

We ask the tenant to contact us to schedule a date and time for the move-out inspection. We prefer to do the move-out inspection with the tenant. We start by asking the tenant to show us any known damages. Then we ask the tenant anything in the unit is not working or needs repair. We point out any deficiencies that are beyond normal wear and tear and give the tenant a chance to take care of those.

We have had tenants clean an oven right then and there; we have also had tenants tell us to just deduct the cost of the oven cleaning from their security deposit. I never make promises to the tenant about how much of the security deposit they will get back. I do take photos of the deficiencies while we are doing the inspection, so they have a pretty good idea of what is coming. I almost always find something later that I overlooked during the move-out inspection, especially when cleaning - another reason I try to clean as soon as tenant moves out.

We have a Return of Possession form that both parties sign. In it, the tenant acknowledges they have moved out all of their belongings, have returned the keys and are ending their tenancy as of a specific date. It explains what we will do with any belongings we find left behind and references landlord-tenant law on the process for return of the security deposit.

We have a good track record for returning deposits because we nudge tenants to do what they need to do to get it back. In Washington State we have only 14 days to return the security deposit or provide a full explanation for the basis for which we retain any or all of the deposit. Its hard to meet that deadline when there are significant deficiencies to take care of, but we always do with at least one extra day to spare.

If the tenant does not want to do the move-out inspection with us, it is a red flag and usually points to damages that the tenant didn't want us to know about. If the tenancy ends because of a problem tenant, we rarely are able to get the tenant to do the move-out process in our customary way. That's okay, it just requires us to be extra diligent with our documentation.

No, but a friend of mine did. Law enforcement handled the tenant. Victim's assistance and insurance took care of the Landlord. The Landlord had not done due diligence in screening the tenant and knew nothing about how to manage property and tenants.

Most people looking for 4 bedrooms want more that 1 bathroom. :-)

How you handle it also depends on your local laws and utility company policies.

In our municipality the owner of the property must pay for garbage/recycling service for multiplexes, but we can require the tenant to pay for such on single family homes.

One of our plexes does not have separate meters for the water, so we pay for that too. However, we factor the cost into the rent.

I've seen utilities handled in a number of ways by different property owners. Some take a utility deposit in case the utilities don't get paid and become a lien on the property. In our town the tenant will be chased for unpaid electricity, natural gas and telecommunication services. The water/sewer and garbage/recycling companies will go after the owner and put a lien on the property if necessary.