All Forum Posts by: Mario Valenzuela

Hello, I'm in AZ so I'm not familiar with CA landlord and tenant law, please check with an attorney or your local and state laws to be sure things are in good order.

I'd hold off on charging people any app fees until a unit came available that they're eligible for. Our broker only allows for us to process apps if we have an actual rental listing in place for them to apply for.

I don't see any issues putting people on a waiting list or even taking a refundable deposit, but running their credit for potentially no reason for a rental that hasn't been listed yet could cause issues. Credit bureaus update their information continuously and I'd want the most up to date information on a given applicant. As well other things change such as landlord verification and employment. So in essence depending on how long the wait, you may end up having to process their application all over again anyways.

Hope this helps, good luck out there!

Hello Debby, eek that's a tough one. I'd say it's always best to do what's best for the landlord regardless.
If the dog's a threat to people's safety or is damaging the property, then I'd say try to get them to remove the dog, or evict them and find someone who is honest. They lied on their application, this would be enough for me to be okay with evicting them. We've had this same situation occur. In our case our owner client was okay with the dog, against our better judgement of course. That dog go out and bit a small child, it was horrific. Of course things don't always go this way, but now a vacancy is a risk I'm willing to take over other possible outcomes. It's taken me a while but I've finally learned whenever making exceptions, doing favors for or just helping a tenant out has always come back to haunt me. However each case is different, as well our laws may be quite different out here in AZ. Good luck with this, hope all the best.

Hello, you may have to check and follow your specific state laws or guidelines concerning this issue. But here's my take on it, to me, that second sentence is making the applicant aware there may be other applications that maybe better qualified. If so, the landlord may be choose one of these better qualified applicants over theirs, even if they may have submitted theirs first. And it makes a point of stating that you will be going by the specific criteria as listed in the application paperwork.

Yeah definitely the same here, but I think that if she were to get arrested on the premises, harm someone else or damage the property, even if due to the legal addiction you could then take action. But it does seem she is protected on that front. Hope all the best to you sir, please let us know how things turn out and what you did.
Thanks!

Hello Evan, I'm not familiar with NC's Landlord & Tenant Laws, in AZ we'd probably not be able to evict her on this alone. But we'd want her out based on her behavior. The question is, are there damages being suffered by the landlord. If the tenant's damaging the property, harming others, or not paying rent or other such issues then eviction is likely. But if she's paying the rent, not harming others or the property, there doesn't seem to be any reason to remove her other than you not wanting her there. Granted none of us want for a tenant to harm themselves or pass away in our house, but this is there own personal freedom to partake in prescribed drugs, alcohol, and other legal but possibly dangerous adult activities. If she continuously keeps having to be taken to the hospital I'd hope that who ever is checking on her would take necessary actions to stop her from harming herself further. All this to say, your best bet is to come to a solution with the tenant and work it out in hopes of a favorable outcome, however difficult it may be.

Originally posted by @Dennis Wayne:

This is the great American love novel or what ? What was the point of this post ? 

Thank you for your question, this is my first post. I'll be sure to try to keep it shorter next time, I didn't know there was a limit on the length of posts. The point of this post is to help landlords make the right choices when it comes to helping tenants. My sincere apologies if I offended or confused you. 

Have you ever heard, "An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile hoping it will eat them last." by Winston Churchill?

Landlord-ship can be a dangerous jungle and an experienced property manager can help you make it out not only unscathed but with a good experience to tell bout it.

Tenants... the word can run chills down the spines of those who have had unpleasant experiences with them. Tenants come in all shapes and sizes, but like water coming down a mountain they'll almost always take the easiest path. Not to say they are inherently bad, this is just human nature. Not all tenants are created equal, and good ones do exist, I've been one of them. So choose the best ones and treat them correctly and it can take you far with a pleasant experience for you both.

How do you know which tenants to choose? Good question, it's actually simple, but maybe not easy. This goes beyond choosing a tenant by their credit score, income and employment, even the richest most credit worthy people can end up being terrible tenants. Through it all, the way you behave with them will also lead them in how to behave with you.

Follow these rules to develop a good working relationship with your tenant as well as to see if they are really good to begin with:

1.) Don't "Help" applicants or tenants, they should be able to swim on their own. "Helping" includes making exceptions to rental application criteria, allowing tenants to pay security deposits in increments, giving them a break on the rent, or late fees, etc. This enables tenants and sets them up for failure, it also puts your landlord client at risk. Not only that, you may also create unintended Federal Fair Housing infractions. When you make one exception for a tenant, expect that to be the rule and to have to make one exceptions after another for the rest of the lease.

2.) This is a continuations of helping the tenant, but is a bit more detailed. We want tenants who read the lease, our emails and other instructions we send them, thoroughly. Tenants have a tremendous amount of responsibility beyond paying the rent. If a tenant is unable to follow simple application instructions or is unable to provide required items such as ID's, pay stubs, or refuses to follow our processes, this shows they aren't taking us or the transaction seriously. What will they do with the property?! We don't make exceptions, having to do this with vital parts of any of our processes is a sign of bad things to come. You wouldn't rent a car to someone who can't turn the car on or doesn't know how to drive or who refuses to follow the laws of the road, why would you entrust them with something worth much more than a car.

3.) "I pay my rent on time, I'm a good tenant!" This is usually the cry of a tenant who's been denied something they feel they are entitled to. Yes, tenants should pay the rent and on time, but sometimes tenants forget they agreed to pay the rent in return for specific performance on part of the landlord. The landlord provides a habitable property with functioning items per the lease. Fulfilling their agreed upon contract doesn't entitle tenants to do whatever they want, to not follow other rules or that they will receive special treatment. Discussing each party's expectations and obligations out in the open immediately is the best way to go and will ensure smooth sailing in the future.

4.) Be up front, say what you mean and mean what you say. Building trust is simple, but maybe not easy. If you follow all of your own rules you'll be surprised how well tenants follow them too. We inform tenants of their rights as well as their responsibilities. We also inform them of the landlord's and our office's obligations and what all of our roles are in the transaction. We always enforce late fees and do our best not to make any exceptions for any reason. This goes for tenants and our landlord clients alike.

5.) Finally, this one is for all the softies. I used to be one until I saw what my appeasing and soft ways got me and the poor tenant. In the end you'll have to deal with the tenants if they go bad. When it comes time to evict them you have to look back and ask yourself, could have I avoided this needless cost? The cost of eviction, of your time, of your energy? And of course the cost to your landlord client... Maybe, maybe not, sometimes you do everything right and things still end up sideways. But most of the time, had you not felt compelled to "help" the unemployed student with a co-signer, the person who is in desperate need of housing because of their lack of planning. These people exist and will tug a tune on your heart strings. If you really want to help them suggest a lower rent price or a different rental they are more qualified for.

(Some exceptions or more appropriately accommodations for elderly, disabled, or other protected individuals are very much encouraged, this list is not meant to include these protected classes.)

I hope this helps you on your journey through landlord-ship, it can be rewarding to you if you do it right. So set you and your tenant up for success!