All Forum Posts by: Marcus Morin

Quote from @Bryan Montross:

I agree that you need to have something in your lease stating that it is not a valid lease until the security deposit and first month's rent are paid. Or have a separate contract as Wesley W stated.

What was the outcome of this situation? Did you talk to a lawyer or just remarket the property? Or did the tenant actually move in? Just wondering what action you took after getting BP advice and how it worked out for you. Thanks.

Hi Bryan,

I lucked out a little bit. After my post the tenant finally reached out and wanted to push the dates back by a couple days. I took the opportunity to rewrite the lease to include language that the security deposit and first months rent needed to be paid for the lease to be valid. Then the tenant was actually approved for financial assistance through his church and they made a payment to me right away. Tenant is moved in with no issues now. It worked out but I made sure to take all the advice from above to improve for the next time around. 

Quote from @Mike Dymski:

This is a bad spot.  The rest of us collect the security deposit, at a minimum, at the time the lease is signed and many collect both the deposit and first month rent at signing.  In this situation, I would contact the tenant one last time and put it back on the market.  Hopefully, they do not try to occupy the unit and you have to evict.

Appreciate the reply. Lesson learned for sure. My first long term rental. In the future, would I have them sign and pay at least the security deposit before I put my signature on the lease? I wasn't sure how to handle the timing on that which lead me to have the lease just say prior to keys being handed over. The scenario of them bailing didn't even occur to me. 

Tenant signed a lease with me to start on 09/01. As soon as it was signed, 08/12, the tenant went silent. I've tried reaching out several times by phone, text, email with no response. First just as a simple welcome and introduce myself, coordinate security deposit payment, asking if they'd like to see the property prior. Then just to get a simple response. No money has been paid and the lease only states it needs to be paid prior to getting keys. I'm getting worried and not sure my options. Am I stuck just waiting to see if he finally responds and pays by 09/01? Can I move on and find another tenant? Obviously waiting is not ideal with the mortgage due 09/01 but I don't want to find myself with legal issues either. Appreciate any advice.

Quote from @Carolyn Fuller:

I think you responded exactly as I would have responded. 

Of course it isn’t your fault but it also isn’t your guest’s fault. You should do everything possible to fix the issue even it ends up costing more than the rental fees.

Bottom line is we are in the hospitality industry and we need to adjust to that fact. 

Thank you! It was such a grey area situation but I agree we should always look to make things right. Next time I might have taken a little more time to asses and maybe offer something that didn't completely make this a loss. Appreciate the response.

Quote from @Ned J.:

Personally I would not have paid for any of the fees..... at best, maybe the Uber trip to the tow yard. How much did you shell out in total? If I was feeling generous that day, MAYBE just MAYBE I'd split the cost 50/50. Depends on how the client is reacting. 

This issue is not under my control and not my fault the client parked in an obviously marked handicap spot. I cant fix people making dumb decisions Yes the number is on the curb but it also has a blatant handicap sign. If I had been the client this would have triggered "this cant possibly be right" in my brain and I would have figured out why before I just left my car in that spot. Why would a STR have an assigned handicap spot?

If the client wants to fight it, that's between them and the HOA that mismarked the spots.

 Thank you for the response. I actually haven't given her anything yet as she is still trying to sort out how she is even going to get the car back. She's having issues with the registration. I made a knee jerk reaction to try and resolve the issue right away and offered to pay for those fees. I think that is the lesson learned here. I panicked as soon as I saw the message. Next time I'll take a deep breath and handle it from more of a business perspective instead of panic and emotion. 

Quote from @Michael Baum:

So is it marked as an official handicapped spot? Nice big sign on the black T post I can see?

If so, then they are 100% at fault for parking in a handicapped spot without the proper placard.

A simple phone call to you would have solved that problem.

Everyone who drives knows not to park in the handicapped spot if you aren't handicapped with the proper placard. People do it, get towed or a nice $450 ticket. They deserve it.

 Yep, the sign is just out of frame but it's a clear and visible official handicapped only sign. I appreciate your response as I had the same exact feelings. 

I give specific instruction to my guest on which parking spots are reserved for them. It's a condo complex so assigned parking with numbers painted on the curb. The guest pulled into what she thought was the correct spot and the picture below will give you an idea why she thought that. The spot was a handicap spot though but the curb was labeled 128 which is my spot number also. I had no clue the handicap spot had the same number. I think most guest have kept looking for the 128 spot that wasn't handicap cause this has never happened before. Long story short, car was towed cause she had no handicap stickers or plates. The car was just purchased and the registration hasn't been updated. Tow yard won't release the vehicle. I'm writing this live so I have no resolution yet so any advice might just be for future reference on how to handle.

HOA has admitted the curb is incorrectly labeled and will correct but not further help from them. I've offered to pay for the Uber to the tow yard and pay to get it released. It hurts having to do that but wasn't sure what else to do. Also, don't feel it was my fault and maybe only partly the fault of the guest and the HOA creating the confusion.

How should I have handled this situation as far as taking care of the guest? Should I have offered something different that didn't hurt my pockets so much?

Appreciate any advice.