All Forum Posts by: Marcia Maynard

What kind of issues? What type of drama? Find out the root cause.

If it's a noise issue between an upstairs tenant and a downstairs tenant, take a look at how to mitigate noise between floor/ceiling and between walls. Multifamily will inherently be a challenge regarding noise, shared community spaces, and parking unless there are good policies in place, you enforce the terms of the rental agreement, and you have done what it takes to mitigate the ability of sound to travel between living spaces.

We try to save tenancies when we can. We've had bickering tenants in multifamily before. We addressed it head-on and were very clear as to what we needed the tenants to do and what the consequences were if they did not sort our their differences and act more congenially.  The problems subsided and both of those tenants (duplex) have now surpassed 12 years of tenancy. It's possible people can change, some just need a little guidance.

Aluminum siding dents. Holes drilled through are not as easy to fill, so watch what the the cable guy is up to!   But it also would add another layer of insulation, which is a plus.  Eaves can help protect siding from the elements, so wide eaves and covered porches on the sunny side of the home are great to have no matter what kind of siding you have. Also, make sure plant foliage is cut away from any siding and don't allow tenants to stack wood or junk against the house. :-)

Could be a data entry error that caused the discrepancy. Not uncommon. Some county websites will show history of permits that were pulled for a particular property, you could check that. Depending on when an improvement is made and the type of improvement, it may or may not require permitting. This all varies by jurisdiction. Perhaps pose your question to your county assessor's office. Of course, no need to reveal the address. :-)

Yep. Got to be careful. It's all in the approach. We welcome non-English speakers and those with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). However we don't provide or offer to translate at our expense the forms necessary for the application and leasing process. However I will provide a list of resources of agencies that can assist the prospective tenant and current tenants who have problems reading, writing, and/or understanding the English language.

@Patti Robertson

Thanks! Got it from the drop box download. Great form! I'm going to put it in my tool box!

@Todd Powell  I fell your pain.  I'd go back to those tenants with the ESA animals and get the necessary documentation. Create a file for each animal and owner. Use the form that Patti shared. If your current tenants lied about having a qualified disability and the need for their specific animals as related to that disability, then it would be grounds to remove the animals and/or tenants. In any case, do more frequent inspections when animals are in the home and charge for damages as you discover them. Good luck!

@Tyler Labelle   I read your the terms of agreement.  Nothing in there about Zelle.  Seems the tenant can mail rent or pay rent in person to the Rinehart Property Management office on Ebenezer Road. Late fee of $25 kicks in on the 6th and increases $1 per day after that. On the 10th an additional $150 would be due.

Rent is due on the first and late on the second. If not paid or postmarked by the 5th, a late fee kicks in on the 6th. That's today!

If your jurisdiction allows it, you can post notice to Pay Rent or Quit anytime after the due date of the first. But when you allow a grace period before charging a late fee, common practice is to wait until the end of the grace period before posting notice to Pay Rent or Quit.  Sounds like the 10th is when the previous owner would take the matter to their lawyer. Cleaver to charge extra to the tenant at that point by writing that into the lease! I just might borrow that idea.

If you are not Rinehart Property Managment, then best to amend the lease agreement with the signature of all parties to clarify how rent would be paid and received.

Next step... If you have not received the rent by now, serve a Pay Rent or Quit notice today.

I recently had a discussion with a friend who put down laminate and tile in their entire home. Wish he didn't due to the way noise travels laterally and vertically in the home. If given the opportunity to do it again, he would have put carpet in the bedrooms and hard flooring (laminate, LVT/LVP, tile) in all the other areas. We're getting ready to redo the flooring in a single story duplex unit and plan to carpet the bedrooms and use vinyl planks or vinyl sheets (industrial grade) in all other rooms. Some products have more sound dampening capability than others and are worth the extra money IMHO.

Running an Airbnb is stepping into the hospitality business. Different mind set than being a landlord. Works well if you enjoy hosting and have a knack for it. @John Underwood is absolutely right. You need to know about all the costs involved and be prepared for this kind of commitment. 

You will have a high season and a low season, as well as the shoulder season to consider. Less demand in the winter will mean your summer season needs to be strong to carry you through. That also means more guest arrivals and departures in the summer, so if you are doing this yourself, you'll need to stay in town for the make-ready between guests. Also, make sure you have adequate insurance to cover potential risk. And, consider parking availability and how the neighbors might react to seeing a variety of people coming and going.

We have 17 residential rental units and rent one of our houses as an Airbnb. We enjoy providing hospitality and sharing our place/town with travelers, so that's our motivator, not just the income we can generate. I suggest you think about your WHY before you jump in, then pencil it out. Good luck!

@Chris Parrish

Washington State Landlord-Tenant laws are good for landlords and tenants. "No Cause" Termination is a simple way to go and can't be contested and is an effective way to remove a tenant (not allowed in King County). Since the tenant is on a month-to-month agreement, you could go that route.  In most places it is a 20-day Notice to Terminate. In others it is a 60-day Notice to Terminate.

Longview is in Cowlitz County. So that's good. I'm going to tag @Michele Fischer since she used to invest in Longview and may know some resources for you.

We work with Quinn Posner, who also represents the Clark County Rental Association. He's good. He's done two evictions for us that were swift.   His website has some valuable information for landlords, so it's worth reading.  His office is in Camas, WA and he serves all of Clark County and Skamania County.  He may be able to give you a referral for Cowlitz County.

If the tenant receives rent assistance from HUD and it is a building owned by a private party, that probably means the tenant is in the Section 8 voucher program. If so, I can't imagine how the unit could pass their inspection from how you describe it. Even so, you need to follow the rules for Section 8 too, which you can find out from the Longview Housing Authority. You may be able to talk to the tenant's case manager for some tips too. The current owner may have a contract with the Section 8 office, so try to get a copy of that.

Good Luck!

@Dave B.   It seems there are a few pieces of information missing here. Assumptions were made. So perhaps the responses you've received already will fit your situation or they may not. Please clarify:

• Is the tenant on a month-to-month rental agreement or a lease with an end date? If the latter, what is the date the lease ends?
• Is the tenant's rent paid up through the current month (April)?
• Are the tenant's utility bills paid or will the father pay those?
• Does the landlord-tenant law for your jurisdiction allow "no-cause" termination of a rental agreement?

If you received rent for this month (April), then your tenant still has right to possession of the unit at least until the end of this month. You can't evict for non-payment of rent or declare abandonment at this juncture. You can't change the locks. If the tenant gave his father the keys and permission to retrieve his property, you can't stop this. It's good the father has been communicating with you. Hopefully you'll hear directly from the tenant too.

If your tenant didn't pay rent for this month (April) or is in arrears for previous months of non-payment of rent, then you should serve the proper notice for non-payment of rent, such as a "Pay Rent or Quit." This is the precursor to eviction. Try to get payment of April rent from the father if you can. You still can't change locks at this time because you will not have legal possession of your unit until the tenant voluntarily returns it to you (part of a good move-out plan) or a court returns possession to you through the eviction process (a long and costly process).

If your tenant intends to not return (obviously) then he or his designee (father) will need to settle things with you. That's why I mentioned a "move-out plan". The move-out plan does not ignore the terms of the rental agreement/lease. Voluntary move-outs are much better for all parties concerned. Proper notice to vacate varies by jurisdiction. In our jurisdiction it's a 20-day notice, but in most jurisdictions it's a 30-day notice.

"No Cause" termination of a month-to-month rental agreement, if allowed in your jurisdiction, can start the process to regain legal possession of your unit sooner than waiting "for cause".  In the case of a lease, it will end when the term is up, or the lease is broken, or the tenant is evicted "for cause."

If you know the whereabouts of the tenant, it will not be a case of abandonment, so abandonment procedures wouldn't apply. A tenant can be legally served while incarcerated. You may also be able to verify the tenant's intent to end his tenancy and his wishes regarding his personal property. Work with that.

Yes, you are entitled to compensation according to the terms of the rental agreement and the law for your jurisdiction. You are also allowed to negotiate a faster move-out which may result in less cost to you and less damage to your unit. I'd go that route and make it easier and less costly for all parties concerned. Your goal should be to regain legal possession of your unit as soon as you can, with the least amount of monetary loss and the least amount of damage to the unit. Then do your turnover (make-ready) for the next tenant and rent it as soon as possible to a qualified and responsible tenant. All is not lost.