All Forum Posts by: Maria M.

Hello everyone, I would like to ask you for advice about this puzzling situation. I inherited tenants on a yearly lease who always paid on time and keep their apartment spotless. Only, their rent is extremely low because they used to do construction work for the previous owner in exchange for a lower rent. I decided to raise their rent $500/month, even though market rates for comparable apartments in that area are $200-$600 higher than that. I even offered to have them repaint the house in exchange for a lower rent, but they refused. I started communicating with them via text messages (they don’t seem to read emails) 4 months in advance about the rent increase and they assured the increase was fine and they wanted to stay. Anyway, in the last two months I was not able to have them sign a new lease. First I sent a DocuSign document and didn’t hear from them for a while, when I re-asked them to sign it, they said they were not able to open it. So I re-sent it , they said it didn’t work again. I gave them a lease in person to review and sign (I gave them the lease first as they mostly speak Spanish and the lease is in English, so I wanted to give them the time to read it). I haven’t heard back from them in a week. I still have about two weeks before the 60 days mark before the end of the lease. Should i send them a rent increase certified letter? I never did, as I thought if they signed the lease that’s a legally binding contract and the letter would be superfluous. Or should I just send them a letter of non renewal of the lease? I was told they have always been good tenants but if their rent is so much below market rate and they are not willing to raise it, it’s not worth keeping them. Unfortunately I can’t just call them to try to clarify what is going on as they speak Spanish and I mostly don’t, so we have to communicate in writing. I would really appreciate your advice, thank you!

Hello, I have a question about the procedure for rent increase. Since l had to increase rent for a tenant, l first talked about it via phone and text message (it’s very difficult to communicate with them via email), then signed the new lease.
My question is, if they already signed a lease with the new amount stated, do I still need to notify them via certified mail? I am in Florida, which requires written notice for rent increase. The lease is a standard lease and doesn’t mention anything about how notices have to be delivered. Thank you!

Thank you Ecaterina. It is a multifamily in non tourist area

Hello, I am relatively new to landlording in Florida, and would like to know what are the best and worst months to find tenants. I have a tenant whose lease ends on August 31st, but he is okay extending it until January 31st, so I would like to know which date in your opinion would be best to find a new tenant. Thank you! 

Anyone concerned about sinkholes? Is sinkhole insurance worth it? 

Hello,

I would like to ask for advice regarding an insurance company willing to insure for liability only, as I am self insuring the property itself: I don’t have landlord insurance. The only company I found so far is Lloyd, but it doesn’t seem to have a great reputation. I am looking for liability insurance policy for a multifamily in south Florida. Thank you! 

I think you should put a clause in your lease that says tenant is responsible for repairs under $50 or $100 (depending on your tolerance for repairs not done). I think the issue here is that they call you for all the small things like light bulbs, faucet dripping etc. as there’s no way that major repairs come up twice a week. Make sure they inform you about water leaks, as those can create big damages!

P.S. Some tenants really see repairs needed when there are none. I had a handyman come multiple times for one of those tenants, and he was puzzled, as everything worked perfectly! That’s when I ignore the complaint. There’s not much else I can do. Even doctors sometimes get repeat patients that complain about nonexistent illnesses…